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Next America's Army exclusive to the 360
Yesterday, Ubisoft and Red Storm announced that upcoming sequel America's Army: True Soldier will in fact be exclusive to the Xbox 360. In an interview with Red Storm's creative director, Randy Greenback commented on why they chose to make the game exclusive to the 360 stating that, "First and foremost our experience level on the 360 is much higher, having gone through the development of GRAW and GRAW2 multiplayer. The second factor is that the installed base is much larger, which translates to a greater opportunity for a wider audience to experience the game". Awww, such kind words. The interview also touches on what new features True Soldier will include, how the team's experience on GRAW 2 has helped, and what fans can expect from the game. Make the jump for the latest dish on Xbox 360 exclusive America's Army: True Soldier.
Rumor: Red Steel sequel to go online
It seems everything we know about Red Steel 2 we know from job postings, including its very existence. The latest rumblings stem from a job opening on Gamasutra from developer Ubisoft seeking an online programmer specifically for Nintendo Wii. The position is for a studio in Paris, "where Red Steel and Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter games have been developed." The listing also notes that "knowledge of Unreal" (presumably the engine) is a plus. Nothing has been confirmed; Ubisoft has committed to making a plethora of Wii games, meaning than any possible unveiling might be a ways off. The first Red Steel, a Wii launch title, received much press in the months before its release but ultimately did not meet the hype, as indicated by tepid reviews. [Via NeoGAF and Wii Fanboy]
Red Steel 2 online 'confirmed'
Ubisoft posted a job announcement looking for an online programmer for Wii projects. The listing states that the job is in their "Production Studio in Paris, where Red Steel and Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter games have been developed."It seems kind of likely that this involves Red Steel 2, which was itself basically announced via job listing, but let's not get out our Jump to Conclusions Mats. Yes, slicing your friends up online would be pretty great. But Ubisoft works on a lot of games other than Red Steel, and there are a lot of things you can do online that aren't playing games, as Nintendo has ably demonstrated with every Wii channel.[Via NeoGAF]
Ubisoft fourth quarter sales pushed up by warfighters, turtles
Leading to the obvious conclusion: Ubisoft needs to somehow combine the gritty realism of the Tom Clancy franchise with the anthropomorphic antics of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Politically charged yet irresistibly adorable properties like Tom Clancy's Splinter Shell and Tom Clancy's The War on Terrapins are sure to tap into hitherto untapped fountains of marketability and financial prosperity. Not that Ubisoft is currently in dire need of money, mind you. Gamasutra's detailing of L'Ubi's most recent financial report suggests that the publisher is already exceeding analyst expectations by exchanging one type of green for another.The company's fourth quarter sales saw an increase of 37% to $267.5 million, largely instigated by the one million unit success of Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2 on Xbox 360, as well as the TMNT film-based game which dragged in 1.1 million units in its eight platform-wide net. Sales for the full 2006/2007 fiscal year stand at $923.4 million following a jump of 24.4%, with earlier titles such as Red Steel, Rayman: Raving Rabbids, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas and Petz being key contributors.Ubisoft expects profitability to increase further in the coming year by supporting new-gen consoles and expanding their presence in "the casual market on the Wii and Nintendo DS systems." Oh! We've yet to add casual games into our bubbling cauldron of cross-franchise success! So, that'll be Tom Clancy's Krang Age, then?
Wii ad 'too violent' for some in UK
Red Steel and Twilight Princess are reminiscent of terrorist videos ... at least to one individual in the UK. Apparently, this ad was a bit too "violent, offensive, and disturbing" for seventeen (yes, seventeen) television viewers in Britain, and they made their displeasure known. After a review by Britain's Advertising Standards Authority, however, the ads were deemed okay to go. "We also considered that viewers were unlikely to link the ad to recent events in Iraq. We concluded that the ad was unlikely to cause serious or widespread offence," the Authority said. Translation? Damn, y'all are sensitive.Obviously, we've now won the console war. Sony and Microsoft can just go home. Good game, guys. Good game.
Seventeen Brits complain about Wii ad violence
Nintendo's advertising efforts have apparently hurt the company's kid-friendly image with at least a few Britons. An adjudication statement from Britain's Advertising Standards Authority outlines seventeen distinct complaints over the animated violence in an ad for Twilight Princess and Red Steel. One complainant even thought the ad was "reminiscent of recent videos released by hostage-takers in Iraq." Yikes!Fear not, freedom-of-speech loving Brits; the Authority reviewed the content and determined that "the ad was unlikely to cause serious or widespread offence. [sic]" Surprisingly, we have yet to hear any similarly official complaints about Sony's excessively weird PS3 ad campaign. Apparently a creepy guy in a jock strap ranks below simulated sword violence on the British disturb-o-meter.[Via VNUNet]
Ubisale at Toys R Us
There have been a lot of sales to report lately! If you picked up a Wii at Toys R Us yesterday, you now have an opportunity to get some relatively good games for a decent price, from now until the 10th.Toys R Us is offering three Ubisoft-published Wii games for the price of two. Your choices are GT Pro Series, Open Season, Rayman: Raving Rabbids, Red Steel, and Monster 4x4: World Circuit. This offer is valid online, but we aren't sure about its status in TRU stores. If there are three games in that list you're interested in, or two games you're interested in and one you think you could get a decent price for on eBay, then you are in luck![Via QJ.net]
Looks official at last: Red Steel sequel
While it certainly looked like things were headed in that direction, now it seems that a Red Steel sequel is pretty much confirmed. The only thing left is for an official press release to start making the rounds. The good ol' Dojo of Pain, the game's community website, recently featured the following telling quote: "...if any student think he anywhere near ready for Red Steel 2...Get Ready to Do My Laundry! [sic]"Late last year, Ubisoft posted a job listing announcing they were in need of a designer for more Red Steel action ... a designer with online experience. While Red Steel may not be the best game ever to hit consoles, the multiplayer is actually pretty fun, and taking the fun online could really make this a viable franchise. Well, that and actual cut scenes.
Paradox hacks Red Steel, releases the ISO into the wild
With Xbox 360 and PS3 games getting ISO-dumped right and left, it's about time the Wii got a little taste of hacker-dom. The famed "Paradox" group of hackers did the honors this time, and went so far as to upload the ISO of Red Steel for your DVD burning pleasure. Of course, you still can't actually play such burned discs on the Wii -- though Paradox seems to think such a hack is right around the corner -- and then there's always the whole illegal part of this equation, but if you already own a copy of the game and are just looking into modding your Wii for, erm, educational purposes, we don't really see what's stopping you. There is the fact that you'll probably need an in with these folks to get ahold of the torrent at the moment, but that shouldn't be too terribly hard to do.[Thanks, Bob T]
Reggie sez: Online in Q2
When the big man speaks, we listen. And yes, we're referring to the deity that is Reggie Fils-Aime, standing atop his mighty pedestal after supplanting Zeus for the title. He was recently on Spike TV's GameHead, speaking rather generically about the Wii. But, as you may have guessed, there was a diamond in the rough: the news that the first multiplayer online Wii games will be announced in Q1 2007 and start shipping in Q2. Finally!We're a little disappointed that online didn't come right out of the box; God knows some games really could have benefitted: Madden 07, Call of Duty 3, and Red Steel certainly could have used the boost. Still, at least a smidgeon of online functionality is coming quite soon, with the ability to trade custom levels in Elebits via the magic of the internet intertron. That's its new name. Thus have we spoken, and thus it is so.[We don't normally steal our sister site Joystiq's pictures, but this one was just too good.]
Red Steel 2 semi-confirmed
Sorta kinda maybe. Everyone's favorite overly-hyped-shooter-with-glitchy-aiming-mechanisms-and-unintuitive-combat seems to be gearing up for another go. Ubisoft's Paris division has posted a big digital "Help Wanted" ad on the internet, whose transcript shall be withheld to save the reader from silly BabelFish translation errors. In any case, it asks for a game designer for the "continuation of the Red Steel franchise". There is no direct confirmation that the sequel will be on the Wii, but come on. It's pretty damn obvious.One must wonder if the world really wants this. If they can iron out the bugs, improve level design, and add more realistic melee combat, maybe they'll have a winner. If not, we'll always have Super Smash Bros. Brawl to fall back on, right?
Metareview - Red Steel
Ubisoft's closely watched project has failed. True, Red Steel has likely enjoyed enough press to move units through the holiday, but critical reception is decidedly underwhelmed.Ubisoft's would-be-grand FPS is still broke, dashing hopes that a third-party developer would 'get' Wii at launch. Instead, Nintendo's lust for innovation has again proved to be a hurdle for developers conditioned in the old ways. Give it time. Game Informer (75/100) - "Aside from Zelda, Red Steel may be the most-anticipated Wii launch title. Unlike our boy in the green tights, this game's doesn't fully deliver on its promise ... Most of Red Steel's faults lie with the game's presentation. Enemies shout annoying obscenities in your direction during every firefight, the cheesy score is bad enough to incite chuckles, and the jaggy graphics look worse than many Xbox and PlayStation 2 games." IGN (60/100) - "When we first started playing the title, we were prepared to score it in the low 5s because of the controls. Defenders may claim that the Wii is unable to simulate a faster, quicker aiming mechanic, which is untrue. Activision's Call of Duty 3 looks like a mess compared to Ubisoft's effort, but it is still the better shooter because its controls are much more responsive ... [We] think that there will be a lot of gamers who will completely ignore any control drawbacks and focus on the prettier visuals and varied play. But these people will be kidding themselves, for although Red Steel was born to use Wii's controller, it rarely uses it in a satisfyingly intuitive manner." 1UP (50/100) - "[The] four-player splitscreen multiplayer, while somewhat fun, is sooo two gens ago. After playing games online, it's hard to revert back to the archaic act of herding four friends together in a room ... Don't be fooled into thinking Red Steel reinvents the FPS. It's nothing more than a ho-hum shooter with a creative but flawed gimmick stapled on."
Live feed: watch someone play the Wii for a week
If you've been unable to score yourself a Wii yet, we'll give you the next best thing: a live video feed of someone playing the Wii for a week straight. Gamer Yoshi Madness will be playing the Wii using these guidelines: He will only be sleeping four hours a day (usually from 2:00AM until 6:00AM, he claims) He'll update the blog on his site every four hours He will only be leaving his room to a) use the bathroom (thank god -- although he goes on to say "if it's a deuce then it might take 15 minutes, classy) or b) if his dad needs something (parents and relatives might be over for Thanksgiving). While this is pretty ambitious, it's also a bit over the edge ... one week straight with only four hours sleep a night? That's a recipe for insanity. Still, the feed is more informative than most in-game videos you'll find online, and it gives you some real insight. If you're wondering about a game you want to pick up for the Wii, watch the video for awhile and then make your decision. Heck, watch it all week and see if you can keep up.Just be sure to allow yourself ample time for deucing.[Thanks, BB]
Red Steel screenshot madness, round 2
Here we are, just hours away from the US launch of the Wii. Still debating on Red Steel? Here are some shiny new screens to look over while you think about it. Several of these really showcase the lighting effects to their advantage. The Wii may not be able to boast the power of the PS3 or the Xbox 360, but if the design is good enough, Wii games can be just as beautiful.Check out the screens after the jump.
Red Steel screenshot madness
Say what you will about Red Steel -- whether you're interested in the game or not, the concept art we've seen from the design process has been uniformly gorgeous. We got our hands on some fresh new screens that are almost as pretty. Check 'em out after the jump.
Red Steel: how do you feel?
Red Steel is certainly shaping up to be one of the most talked about titles of the Wii launch. Love it, hate it, or maybe think it's just a quick rental way down the line -- likely, you have an opinion, and we want to hear it. And we'll even give you something new to talk about, like this new video from GameTrailers (sorry, you'll have to follow the link for this one). Though it must be said ... whoever is navigating in this video doesn't appear to be the world's most skilled player. It's either that or all the bad guys are capable of massive damage, and we're going to bet on the former.Check out the video and speak out: are you gonna get your vengeance on or take a pass on Red Steel?[Via NeoGAF]
Red Steel TV spot aired, for the kids
Ubisoft's first Wii ad, a Red Steel TV spot, has all the makings of an effective after-school commercial: Action (swords, guns, flailing arms, etc.) Humor (stereotyped Asian "master" ridicules disciple: "you suck") Reassurance (older gamer is playing; it must be cool) Are we sold? Nope -- but we're not the target. Think Ubisoft captures the kids' imaginations with this one?
Taking Red Steel for a MULTIPLAYER spin [update 1]
[Update: we've added the trailer, YouTube style, after the break. Enjoy!]We've heard about this mysterious "multiplayer" mode in Red Steel, but it was fraught with mystery and shroud ... till now. IGN has posted the official multiplayer trailer for the game, which you should probably go watch if for nothing else than the entertainment value of the trailer itself. When we play, we're totally ducking behind coffee tables for cover, and then climbing onto the ceiling only to drop down uselessly onto the couch we just left.In any case, the split-screen looks serviceable enough, though very little swordplay was shown (we assume there will be a swords-only option in the final build). Why couldn't it have been online? Bah. Red Steel 2, we're talking to you.
New Wii hands-ons, plus Phoenix Wright import
Game|Life has scored some precious hands-ons with Ubisoft's Wii launch titles and also managed some time with the Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Justice For All (DS) import while traveling to and from the Ubisoft offices. Check out the coverage: Monster Truck 4x4 and GT Pro - "...just old games with Wii controls shoehorned in, and how do you really get excited about that?" Red Steel - "I didn't play Red Steel at E3 ... So I had no firsthand knowledge of the game until today. And what I played was great. Apparently they've made great strides between E3 and today, because the controls ... were spot-on..." Rayman Raving Rabbids - "...this might be the best non-Zelda game of the launch, and easily a great showpiece for the controller's abilities." Splinter Cell: Double Agent - "After spending a half an hour struggling to complete the first level of Double Agent on Wii, I went home, popped in the PS2 version, and blasted through it unscathed in minutes." Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Justice For All (DS import) - "Not only is the game bilingual, it's actually a global product. When plugged into an American DS system, the title bar on the console's menu screen reads -- instead of Gyakuten Saiban 2 -- 'Phoenix Wright: Justice For All.'"
Japanese Red Steel trailer
So, apparently Western fellows like to have a little sushi with their shooters. Japanese guys, however, have to get their Red Steel on in a dramatically-lit boiler room. What is the lesson here? Red Steel isn't just a game, man. You have to have the proper environment. And while we still like the original master of intensity, this new video has some fights we haven't seen as well as hot grenade action, and you can't beat that with a stick. Follow the link for the video, as we can't embed it here.Anyone want to tell us what he's saying after the video? Where are you, dedicated Japanese translators?
