E3: Red Steel 2 bundled with WMP

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.