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Taking Red Steel for a spin
Chris Kohler over at the Wired Blogs recently got his hands on Red Steel and came to the conclusion that he is pretty darn good at it. Citing other journalists' claims of having a tough time getting used to the controls and busting caps in Yakuza with ease. Chris also notes that he did not get his hands on the game at E3 or Nintendo's NYC event last month, stating that the controls were "spot on" and made for "an immersive, thrilling ride."It's good to hear some positive news about Red Steel, right?
G.R.A.W. composer returns for Red Steel
While it could be considered unimportant news to some, we feel that musical composition and score are just as important to a game as its story and graphics. It's often overlooked, however we're happy to report that the gentleman responsible for the musical composition in Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter is also taking over the duties for the company's upcoming flagship Wii launch title Red Steel. Tom Salta used a variety of Japanese instruments in sculpting the score to Red Steel, instruments such as the Koto, Shamisen, Shakuhachi and Taiko. We look forward to dispatching Yakuza (and tapping our feet during) when the game releases in December.[Via Go Nintendo]
Red Steel interview reveals more on locales and controls
Creative Director for Red Steel Nicolas Eypert recently took part in an interview with Shacknews to discuss some things about the game's content. Nicolas reveals that while the game will feature a lot of environments in Japan, you'll be able to visit some American locales such as a tuning garage and massage institute. Japanese areas in Tokyo are confirmed to include a harbor, geisha neighborhood, and gambling area. In discussing weaponry in the game, Eypert stresses that all of the usual firearms you'd expect will be included:"You have all the standard weapons you like in a shooter: shotgun, assault rifle, pistols, grenades... The thing is that we adapted the controls for the Wii. So now you can directly launch a grenade as if you had it in your hand. You can launch it from above or roll it on the floor. That completely changes the way you enjoy the weapons."Sounds great! Head on over and check out the two page interview for more on the game's controls and focus mode, the bullet-time-like game mechanic that allows you to slow down time for greater accuracy.
Rumor: Nintendo deliberately lying to us?
What's that little ActuJV? You have some "inside sources" at Nintendo? What are they telling you, hm? Nintendo's been purposefully withholding information on their system's specs in an attempt to blow us away with the graphical capabilities of their system at the next press event? Should I make a Ferris Bueller joke now?The next event referenced is set for the 14th of September and taking place in New York city. While this would be an excellent explanation for the graphics of some games, we can hardly believe that Nintendo would purposefully make trailers for other titles such as Metroid Prime 3: Corruption and Super Mario Galaxy look worse than they actually are.[Via Joystiq]
Ubi dishes out more Red Steel info
Sure, we know a bit about Red Steel, Ubi's Yakuza-killing FPS where you're in charge of saving your bride-to-be through a violent combination of sword and gun play. Yeah, old news. But did you know that, during a nice dinner in America, Japanese Yakuzi spray up the place in an attempt to get your future bride's father's ancient sword, instead fatally-wounding him and abducting her, fleeing back to Japan? Oh, no? Not so smart now, eh?Once you get to Japan, you'll also enlist the constant aid of Otori, who teaches you the art of sword combat, and Harry, night club owner and your primary source for learning the way of the gun. There are also other characters listed in Ubi's press release, along with a run down of their research into Japanese architecture and culture. The team also attempted to gain an American perception of the culture through visits to various Japanese centers in major US cities. With so much time put into making the atmosphere believable and realistic, let's hope they found some time to improve the game's controls.
Red Steel development costs might surprise you
A French news site is reporting that the biggest third-party title for the Wii, Red Steel, will incur costs of around 10 million Euros in development. Now, for you American folks, that's roughly 12.65 million buckaroos. It may seem like a lot, but in the grand scheme of things, it isn't that big of a deal.Think about development costs for both the Xbox 360 and PS3. Imagine if this game was being developed on either of those systems, we could easily see that doubled (maybe even tripled in the case of the PS3), due to excessive costs associated with creating those photo-realistic HD graphics. Also, this game has been in development for under a year and will launch with the console during the fourth quarter of this year, which again would make costs rise significantly would it be made for the other two systems, as even more man power would have to be dedicated to pushing the game out on time.Now, if the development cycle were a little longer, say 2-3 years, we'd see a significant drop in the development cost, but as it stands now, should this figure be correct, $12.65 million US is not that much money to produce a AAA title.[Via Zogdog Forums; Thanks Danger-P!]
Publishers missing out on Wii revenue
Well, duh. Ubisoft was the only publisher who saw potential in the console, potential enough to create a new IP and take a chance on Nintendo's next-generation gaming system, a console that had been merely shrugged off as another GameCube. In speaking with TheStreet.com, James Lin, an industry analyst and consultant for Simba Group, commented that a lot of publishers were "caught off guard" and "weren't expecting anything." Ubisoft, obviously, stands to gain a significant amount of revenue when their game Red Steel releases alongside the console.Only time will tell how publishers will see the Wii. Should the console be a success this holiday season, which we think it will be, then Nintendo should gain a significantly larger third-party presence on their console than the GameCube enjoyed. Last chance here guys, better get on board.[Via Next-Gen]
Ubi director makes interesting comment about Red Steel local multiplayer
While covering Red Steel during an interview with Ubisoft's creative director Nicolas Eypert, Gamepro managed to squeeze an interesting comment from the Ubi director. This interesting tidbit, reads:"[You'll] have up to four players. If they play together in split screens we can only say that the fight will not be only on screen."So what could this mean, exactly? Are we reading too much into an innocent comment or is he just teasing us about future aspects of the game yet to be announced?[Via Joystiq]
Screenshot roundup: Red Steel
Ubisoft recently released 10 new screens for the highly-anticipated Red Steel. Most of the shots showcase the one-on-one sword fighting the game gets its name from, yet also some nice scenery of the bright Japanese urban locale known as Tokyo. Even if our impressions at E3 kind of put us off, we still would like to believe this will be one of the best titles for the Wii at launch. "Enjoy beer?" Don't mind if we do!
Red Steel: dueling blades, no mercy!
Seriously, I did the same exact thing at E3. What? Don't make that face, you can't give these Yakuza scum any mercy! For the sake of clarity, every time the player blocks, this is from shaking the nunchuk.[Via Codename Revolution]
Red Steel to contain blood
According to a post on the IGN Insider boards, Ubisoft's Wii title Red Steel will feature blood spurting from enemies, yet to retain the T rating , no blood will stain the walls and floors in the environments. A similiar employment of the technique may be seen in Call of Duty 2 on the PC and Xbox 360. The post says:"It's the same controls, I just believe they were a bit tighter as we were developing on the GC dev for, well, for a while. I can assure you that we have plenty of time to refine, tighten, and ensure that the controls are solid. In regards to the blood, there will be blood - just not in a grpahic way. I believe you can have blood spurt and then disappear and still not receive a teen rating. Regardless of that point, the game is all about the controller and it's movements - not so much about the graphics."[Via NeoGAF]
Wii impressions: Red Steel
In gaining access to Nintendo's VIP booth, the first thing on my mind was engaging in some action of the crimsoned metal variety. Upon startup and gripping the Wii's remote, with nunchuck attachment, firmly in hand, a feeling of elation washed over me for what was surely to be the highlight of the show, the culmination of everything I could hope for from this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo. Sadly, this was not to be.In jumping into the game, the first thing that surfaces is that the positioning of the Wii remote to the TV is paramount to success. Standing was no good. Sitting was better, albeit the aiming was lacking sensitivity. Moving back from the television display did no good and moving closer only made it worse. So the conclusion quickly turned my dream for the console into one hellish nightmare.The game's sensitivity was just off.Your character could not turn fast enough, making everything outside the direct point of view almost impossible to engage, and even firing effectively at visible targets was too difficult. Turning was slow and cumbersome, although it should be said that it was a ways more improved in Metroid Prime 3 Corruption, so it's safe to assume this was a freak incident in this game alone.The game's graphics also seemed washed and there were several of the dreaded 'jaggies' appearing about the edges of every enemy and the protagonist's forearm, along with his firearms and sword. I could easily dismiss this, however, as the game was being displayed in 480i on a 50+ inch plasma display. So while this blogger is still anxious to see the final product, the E3 demo build of Ubisoft's Red Steel failed to validate previous excitement for the game on the console.
Nokia's 8800 back in black
You know, we have to hand it to Nokia for keeping their luxury 8800 handset worthy since its launch over a year ago. Already available in original stainless steel, a limited Aston Martin Edition, with over-the-top gold plating, and even as a candybar-style knockoff -- she's now resurrected herself in Black stainless steel. And that £799/$1429 price tag makes this the most expensive version yet. You go old girl, you go. [Via CrowdedBrain]
Mr. Katamari not interested in Revolution
For how quirky and unique a game Katamari Damacy is, I find it odd that its creator is not interested in the Revolution at all. When conversing with Gamasutra's sister-publication Game Developer at GDC, Keita Takahashi claimed "So, there's nothing I really want to do with it right now." He went on further to say "I'm not really interested in it. I don't think a controller should have that much influence on the enjoyment of games."Don't you think he's kind of missing the point? Isn't it not so much that the remote influences the game, but more that it adds a whole new dimension to the gameplay? Red Steel isn't a brand new type of game forced to compromise to the remote's characteristics, it takes the unique properties of the remote and aims to mix it with conventional first-person gameplay to create something new. How can you possibly not be interested in that?! Of course, comparisons to Red Steel aren't all that valid since noone has tried it, but you get the point, right?
Ubisoft Montreal: Yep, we'll make more Rev games
Yannis Mallet, the recently-promoted Ubisoft Montreal Studio CEO, conducted a small Q & A session with Gamasutra. Most concerning the upcoming Nintendo Revolution was the allusion to Ubisoft working on more titles for the platform aside from the already-confirmed Red Steel. When asked about upcoming games for the Revolution, Yannis said "I can say definitely, as any other developer, we are looking at this magical platform, and we want to be part of the adventure. You know already that Red Steel is made public in Game Informer. That's an exclusive Ubisoft title, made in Ubisoft Paris. And I'm pretty sure we'll see other Revolution games from Ubisoft. And some of them, I'm sure, will be made from Montreal."
More Red Steel info and teaser site launch
So the latest word on the web is that the Ubi-confirmed launch title Red Steel will not have any blood, a game which features violent themes of gun and swordplay through a first-person perspective via the Revolution's remote. When we first announced this unconfirmed project of Ubi's, we had no idea such a major part of the gameplay would be censored.The game's teaser site has also launched, should you want to check it out.
