E3: Red Steel 2 bundled with WMP

By Tom Bramwell Published 2 June, 2009

Creative director details game.

Ubisoft has announced that Red Steel 2 will be bundled with the Wii MotionPlus peripheral, which it requires to work, when it comes out this Christmas.

The first-person action game will only work with WMP after it became "an integral part of the game" according to creative director Jason Vandenberghe.

"When we received advance prototype versions of the Wii MotionPlus, and took some time to see what it could do, we realised that it was the solution we had needed to make the new style of gameplay we had been experimenting with work," Vandenberghe said in a Q&A released after Ubisoft's E3 press conference.

Vandenberghe cited the 1:1 movement-recognition, and its ability to measure the power of your swing and movements made even when you're not pointing at the screen, as key reasons to go with WMP for Red Steel 2.

Ubisoft also released more details on the game itself, which is set in a mythical Nevada desert - "a version of 'now' that's recognisable as modern, but with the volume turned way up", described as a jumble of East and West. A "Wild Wild East".

You play as the last surviving member of a "clan of protectors", which has been all but wiped out by an unknown villain - which puts you on a path to revenge.

Although there's gunplay, the coolest bit is swinging your katana around, with a customisable enemy lock-on mechanism, various combos and finishers to unlock, and the opportunity to fight with sword and gun at the same time.

Check out our Red Steel 2 screenshot gallery for more. Or check out our hands-on with Wii MotionPlus.

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (6) Latest comment 3 years ago

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  • DFawkes #1 3 years ago

    Good, I wasn't bothering without a bundle. Though thinking about it they were always going to have a bundle, making WMP compulsory then saying you'll have to buy one seperately would be silly. Also, at least I might get 2, with different games.

  • neonemesis #2 3 years ago

    Good move. Wasn't interested in any of the other WMP bundles so this is nice. Red Steel 2 sounds like a big improvement over the original so I can't wait to have a go with it.

  • Zomoniac #3 3 years ago

    Did anyone else see the headline and get confused as to why Red Steel 2 would be bundled with Windows Media Player?

  • Mr_Bogus #4 3 years ago

    Does this mean "bundled without having to pay an extra €/£ 15?

  • jaguarwong #5 3 years ago

    I think this is up with Splinter Cell as the best demo of E3 so far - love the style.

    I'm glad they're bundling, would be a bit like selling a car with a steering wheel otherwise.

  • CallousB #6 3 years ago

    This looked surprisingly good.Very fluid and really great art.

    Only thing I didn't like was lack of blood...not becasue I want it to be ultra gruesome..just because it looked like it needed something to show the blade impacting (I'd be happy if it was black blood ala lord of the rings..or even green/blue...just something to show the impact of the killing shot).