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Just want to inform you that you can pre-order Red Steel 2 right now!

http://pre-order.redsteel2.net/

Publisher Ubisoft not long ago officially announced that a sequel to its hit Wii launch title, Red Steel, was underway. Magazine Nintendo Power debuted with first details on the Wii MotionPlus-backed first-person title, which is apparently much heavier on swordplay (for obvious reasons) than its predecessor. Details on gameplay and story specifics have remained slim, but based on official artwork released, it would seem the title is a reboot for the franchise and stars an all-new hero — a half gunslinger, half sword-fighter.

Ubisoft is expected to fully pull back the curtain on the anticipated title at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2009, but the third-party seems to have either intentionally or unintentionally leaked the first trailer for the game to the Internet. An internal promotional video for Red Steel 2 showed up on YouTube Monday evening and the footage within matched the art style and jived with the current details known about the title.

Viewers will see in the footage that the main character can not only accurately wield his sword, swaying from left to right realistically by way of Wii MotionPlus, but that he seems to be able to switch between sword and guns at any time. The art style, meanwhile, is downright gorgeous.

Ubisoft’s Alain Corre has explained that, just as Red Steel was one of the first games out to take advantage of the Nintendo Wii (for better or worse), the sequel to that game will be one of the first games to take advantage of the new Wii hardware – the Wii Motion Plus.

The Wii Motion Plus is a new plugin attachment for the Wii Remote which contain extra accelerometers which should help improve response and bring the Wii closer to 1:1 motion control response.

The Motion Plus was first announced back at E3 2008 but, while many developers seem to have been kept in the dark about the device and are therefore unable to support it, Ubisoft seems to have been well prepared.

Speaking to GI.biz, Ubisoft’s Alain Corre admitted that the original Red Steel was a bit hit and miss, but promised that the next game will be much better.

“Red Steel 2 has been in development for many months now, and this new device will help us be even more precise in what we do with the product. The Red Steel brand is strong — I think we released it on year one, and that people understood that it was a first try on new technology, technology that wasn’t completely finished,” said Corre.

“And our game tried to grab the best out of it, and was a bit rushed to be sure to offer something in year one to Wii consumers. But Red Steel is still selling well — at a lower price of course, but still it’s in the top 30 or 40 in every country on Wii…What was missing from Red Steel though was the preciseness of the sabre and with this new device I think it will change the experience.”

When the Wii went on sale in November 2006, one of its most anticipated launch titles was Red Steel. Developed by Ubisoft’s Paris studio, the game was touted in Wii commercials as the main hardcore action game among the motion-sensing console’s initial lineup. The first television spot for the game showed a young man hacking, slashing, and shooting his way through waves of yakuza.

Will there be blood?

However, when the largely bloodless, Teen-rated Red Steel was finally unsheathed, it was far from the M-for-Mature bloodbath that many expected. Critics blasted it as a major disappointment, with a flat story and underwhelming swordplay.

Now, after years of rumors, Ubisoft is finally taking another whack at Red Steel. Nintendo Power magazine has teased its June issue by releasing an image of the cover–which features Red Steel 2 front and center. “Finally, wielding a sword in a Wii game feels as real as you’d always dreamed,” crows the tagline.

Actual cowboys never had coats that fancy.

Just as intriguing is the image on the magazine’s cover, which shows what looks like an Old West cowboy toting both a massive revolver and a katana. A tease of the contents page shows the figure sporting an ornate duster trenchcoat with futuristic armor inlays, perhaps indicating some sort of sci-fi Western mix or perhaps a supernatural frontier locale a la Darkwatch.

More importantly, the Nintendo Power teaser reveals that the new game will take advantage of the Wii MotionPlus, the Wii Remote motion-sensor-enhancing add-on set for release on June 8. How exactly the peripheral, which will also come bundled with Wii Sports Resort on July 26, will improve swordplay is not revealed, nor is a release date mentioned.

Wii gamers can add katanas and hand cannons to their wish lists, given that Ubisoft announced today that Red Steel 2 is set to arrive on Nintendo’s system this holiday season. As with the original, the sequel is being developed by Ubisoft Paris and will rely heavily on swordfighting and gunplay. Early shots of the game hinted at a possible Wild West theme, but the first official word says that it’s “set in a desert-bound, high-tech metropolis.”

A tale of shooting and cutting people designed for the whole family.

Ubisoft is hoping to improve on the originals control options; the publisher confirmed that Red Steel 2 would be “built from the ground up” to take advantage of the upcoming MotionPlus precision-enhancing controller add-on. For example, Ubisoft claims that the game will take into account factors such as the strength of a user’s sword swing.

Although Red Steel 2 may feature more-realistic replication of the act of swinging a sword, don’t expect any bloody, M-rated results. In a conference call with investors today, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said that Red Steel 2 is a game “designed to be sold to the entire family,” hinting at another bloodless T-for-Teen game.

UK, July 28, 2008 – Ubisoft executive director Alain Corre has confirmed the existence of the long-rumoured, not-very-secret Red Steel 2, with Corre noting the game has been in development “for many months now”.

Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, Corre admitted the original Red Steel – which launched alongside the Wii in 2006 to mixed critical reception – was “a bit rushed”, highlighting the “missing” precision of the in-game sabre as one area ripe for improvement.

However, Corre made specific mention of Nintendo’s recently announced MotionPlus add-on, noting that Red Steel 2 is “the typical product that will appreciate the new device”, with the possibility for 1:1 motion control helping Ubisoft “be even more precise in what we do with the product”.

Of course, Corre stopped short of confirming Red Steel 2 as a Wii exclusive, merely hinting that MotionPlus would be a good fit for its forthcoming follow-up. However, while we wait for official word from Ubisoft’s mouth itself, feel free to infer from his comments whatever you see fit.

Would like to welcome everybody to the hottest Red Steel 2 site on the planet!

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So once again welcome and thank you and I hope that you will become a regular member.

With best regards The gamer (Max)

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