This was supposed to be THE game to get to go along with Zelda this year. We all were sucked into the hype and made to believe that this game would be really great, and not only that but be a true showpiece for the Wii's graphics capabilities. It turns out that this game got the gameplay all wrong and the graphics only half right-sometimes.
I bought Red Steel on launch day with Zelda, I have played a great deal of it to this point. When I first read the reviews for this game before it came out (Gamespot) I figured that they were just being biased again (Zelda review anyone?). Sadly, it turns out they were right. This game is just broken and it is definitely the developer Ubisoft's fault all the way.
Problems with Red Steel:
-Control is not good, in fact it makes you want to play with dual analogue again. For the Wii, control is the most important aspect, and this game is a failure at making the Wii-mote something better for FPS games.
-The Sensor bar looses the Wii-mote at critical times during gameplay. It seems to have a very weak and shaky connection with the Sensor bar, and its the only game that has done this to me so far(I've played 6 Wii games). Unforgivable.
-Yes we all know that the game just turns too slow, and I knew this going in but it does make you seem even more crippled when you add in the Sensor bar issues and sensitivity issues.
-The graphics are really horrible looking a lot of the time. The Wii is not about graphics right? I totally agree with that, but I've posted screenshots of Red Steel on my site that were made to look better than what the actual game looked. I was definitely expecting more. The jaggies are so so bad that it pains me to watch this game in action sometimes. The Wii can do so much better. I'm talking BAD jaggies guys; in a later level in the game there are a lot of lights on the wall and if you look at the lights just a little bit ahead of you they break up into a couple white jagged little lines. When you get close to them they finally become a solid rectangular light. You have to see it to understand for yourself. The textures on most walls are good, but there are way too many walls that have no texture on them at all and makes this game look very bland at times. The character models kinda look good, but I would have to say that Resident Evil 4 had better looking ones with more detail. Sad. Also if you play this game on a non-widescreen TV you will have black bars that are permanently on the screen and you can't adjust anything with the aspect ratio in the option menu. The list goes on. All of these things add up and make this game just look very weak even compared to other Wii launch games.
Guys, I was looking so forward to this game. Anyone who followed this site knows how excited I was for Red Steel. It is so disappointing to see that this game fails on so many levels when I was so hoping for this to be a really great game. Ubisoft will most likely make a sequel because it looks like this game is selling really well because of all the pre-hype. I hope they fix everything that was wrong with this game and make the sequel much improved on all levels.
You want to see the potential of the Wii-mote in a FPS game? Call of Duty 3 gets the job done so much better than Red Steel for the controls. However, Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz has a FPS mini game called "Monkey Wars" that INSTANTLY feels great and easy to play. Its very sad that a MINI game in Monkey Ball can make a game like Red Steel (2 year dev time) look so bad in comparison. First Person Shooters can be done well on the Wii, just try Call of Duty 3 or Monkey Wars and you will see the true potential that we have been waiting for. There is no doubt in my mind that future FPS games will be totally awesome on the Wii. Red Steel is going to be a painful growing pain for developers to learn from.
15 comments:
Wow. Thats really strange.
I bought Redsteel and CoD3 with my Wii and feel just the opposite.
I have had lots of trouble getting into CoD3. The controls seem broken to me.
Redsteel on the other hand feels just right. I have recommended it highly to several friends who are also enjoying it.
I guess it just goes to show that everyone has their own tastes. I think this is fine, I just hope that bad reviews don't sully redsteel too much because I really do think its a solid game considering its a launch title with a new control scheme for a genre that is VERY closely watched on Wii.
Have you tried the Mini game Monkey Wars in Monkey Ball yet? I was being totally honest with my problems with Red Steel, it wasn't because I had a different taste for the gameplay. I was trying my best to like how the game was played but it was just so out of control and when the sensor bar couldn't read the Wii-mote on certain occasions it really made me angry at the developers. I know nothing is wrong with my controller or my senor bar because every other game works perfectly. IGN had a problem with Red Steel loosing the sensor bar as well, I'm not alone on that one. Call of Duty feels much more responsive and many reviews agree.
You must be using some type of interfering lights. Mine did that and I turn the lights off now.
You would think so, but I always make sure I have the lights out while I'm playing Red Steel. It still craps out on me. Not all the time, but enough. Enough to piss me off and damn the game to hell. Others have had the same problem with Red Steel and it is the only game that does that to me on the Wii. Add in the disappointing graphics and it quickly becomes thumbs down.
I haven't had it lose my cursor yet.
I just got back from about a 40 minute session with Redsteel. I was playing with an effort to notice any niggling problems.
Overall I liked the game so I think that caused me to overlook some things.
They are:
1. The bad guys say stupid shit......a lot!
2. Now and then, (but not often)
the reticule will hop around a bit. It seems to happen when you stand close to a wall with your gun angled upward.
3. The sword fights are kind of easy.
Other than that, I think its pretty good. I'm not arguing with you, I'm just saying that since I like the game, its easier for me to overlook its flaws. I'm certainly not claiming its perfect.
Likewise, I'm having trouble getting into CoD3 so I am noticing more of the flaws.
Most launch games will have flaws in some aspect.
I haven't played monkey ball on Wii yet, but on your recommendation, I have added it to my rental queue.
One thing is for sure, from what I've seen of the games (I bought redsteel, zelda, excite truck and CoD3, and have rented THDJ) I really think the Wii has fantastic potential. I can't wait for the next games to come down the pipe.
Also, in case I haven't said it on here. Excite truck is a total blast. Make sure to load up some of your favorite "pump you up" tunes on the SD card because the music is a bit cheesy. Play it with a friend if you can.
Red Steel is just to buggy for a game that has been in development for 2+ years.
You're right. Its definitely buggier than it should be. I didn't realize it had been in development so long.
Anyway, the potential is really there. I'm going to have to put some more time into CoD3 and see whats up with that.
I was having some trouble with the reticule moving around alot. Like if I got off center even a little it would start to spin non-stop. Like when your analog stick is stuck just off center on the standard controller. It would only stop if I held it perfectly center.
Is anyone else having this issue?
Also, on a side note, the first time a soldier jumped out and grabbed me I about wet myself. That was very cool. I was pumping the controllers back and forth and nearly smashed them together I was so panicked. Very well done elements in that regard.
I've played Monkey Wars and can personally attest to the control being really smooth and good. I haven't played Call Of Duty 3 yet, I was basing what I said about it on reviews of the game that said it controlled much better than Red Steel.
How are the graphics in COD 3? Are they as bad as all the sites are saying?
I have to disagree with you on this one. I'd agree the controls have a few bugs but even with the bugs I felt like I never wanted to go back to analog sticks. I would say that the pointer in a game like Zelda is just perfect however for a launch game this just showed me that good things are to come of the first person shooters. I for one look faward to Farcry. I however enjoy Red Steel alot. It could be better but I'm happy for what it delivered. How are you enjoying the other games? Zelda by far ROCKS. I'm into the second dungeon and I just can't put it down. This system overall dosen't even compare to the 360 or ps3 for me. It is just so much fun. I know I well spent my money on the Wii.
I'm glad Red Steel works for you John, I really wish it did for me. I was so looking forward to this game and oh well I guess.
I hope Far Cry is going to be good. If you look at the videos for it, the characters don't even have shadows and there is very little lighting in the game. It just looks incomplete to me. The controls....I can only hope they do a better job than Red Steel. Monkey Wars feels great!
Well, that sucks.
I didn't expect Red Steel to be Game-of-the-Year material, but I didn't expect to see so many disappointing reviews, including yours.
Plus, I didn't even know the game was in development for two years. I guess Ubi-Soft is still trying to get the hang of the Wii-mote. I hope this game doesn't affect their support for the system.
The good news Biohazard, is that the mini game in Monkey Ball Banana Blitz "Monkey Wars" plays like a First Person Shooter should. Fast, easy control and most importantly you can turn on a dime. That is how Red Steel should have been, instead Red Steel is slow and clunky and buggy. It is out done by a mini game that probably took a couple of weeks to make at the most.
A great FPS is going to be done on the Wii, and it can be done. Give it time.
as for the graphics in CoD3. They pretty much look like gamecube with a few improvements. Character models are a bit better and they have some nice smoke effects. For the most part they are gamecube though. I wouldn't call them terrible but they are not great.
I've finally gotten in enough time and tweaked the controls to the point that I like them much better than I did before. Also, in case you didn't know, there is an option to eliminate the bounding box effect. Just turn off the "dynamic" aim in the setting and turn your sensitivity to max. It will be like using a mouse, but be warned, its got other problems. My favorite part of CoD3 so far has been the driving missions. They are short but they are great fun.
Like another commenter said, even though Red Steel (and CoD3) is not perfect, it definitely shows me that I prefer this over analog sticks for FPS games.
As for Red Steel, I have been playing it some more too and I'll just reaffirm that I am really enjoying it and that the experiences seems to be quite subjective. Several reviews have come out for it in Europe and in Famitsu that are giving it solid 8s. SO don't give up on this title just yet. Also, in other reviews they make mention that Red Steel had a very SHORT development schedule rather than a long one as was stated earlier. Apparently Ubi wasn't as early to the Wii dev game as was previously thought. This would explain a lot of the issues with Red Steel.
Has anyone tried the multiplayer yet for Red steel? Excite Truck, Wii sports, and the amazing Zelda has taken up way too much of my time for me to try out multiplayer red steel.
the multiplayer was pretty boring to be honest with you and seemed to control even worse in some ways. Zelda is fantastic though!
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