Wii impressions: Red Steel
by David Hinkle 
{ May 15th 2006 at 8:00PM }
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.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Loban @ May 16th 2006 10:46AM
This is pretty much the impression i've been reading from everyone who's tried Red Steel. So i'm really hoping that the game simply has ALOT of tweaking to go through before it's done, or it's just simply being poorly made. My biggest fear is that it's simply a functional flaw in the Wiimote and every game will perform like this, but I doubt that.
Jeremy @ May 16th 2006 10:57AM
There is a good reason it felt "off", it's because the Wiimote cannot do what Nintendo promised it could! Here's why: http://www.xgaming.com/newsletter/Wii%20Dupe.shtml
Jeremy @ May 16th 2006 11:03AM
"My biggest fear is that it's simply a functional flaw in the Wiimote and every game will perform like this, but I doubt that."
Unfortunately that is exactly the problem. I too was pissed to find out. Read the details here: http://www.xgaming.com/newsletter/Wii%20Dupe.shtml
George @ May 16th 2006 11:16AM
My thoughts exactly. I went to E3 and was very much looking forward to Red Steel. (Finally, a console game 1st person shooter that utilizes a PC Mouse Look feel). However, the controls were just not right (I was standing and not sitting). Looking around was too slow and I was fighting the controls. It was not an intuitive experience. I'm not a fan of a standard console controller for 1st person shooters, but would have preferred it in this case. I'm hoping that they can tweak the controls better. It would be unfortunate to have such a great concept failed by bad controls. I think I will need to demo the game at a store before I buy it this fall to be sure.
r-deezy @ May 16th 2006 11:17AM
All of the technical difficulities with the wiimote could, in part, have something to do with the ridiculous amount of wireless activity/bluetooth in the surrounding area.
Tush @ May 16th 2006 11:43AM
It is unsettling, I agree. But also do agree with r-deezy on the fact that there must of been a ton of interference. Hopefully ubisoft can tweak the feel before it comes out.. they have plenty of time.
David Hinkle @ May 16th 2006 11:56AM
Tush & r-deezy:
Understand that I played this in one of Nintendo's VIP booths, totally enclosed and elevated from the general Wii floor below (in the pic, up the stairs and over to the left). I do not believe interference from other devices came into play (I considered it).
Loban @ May 16th 2006 12:22PM
My guess is that the Wii hardware has alot of tweaking to go before it's finished. In fact, the sensors in the Wiimote may not be the final sensors at all. The public demanded a public showing of the Wii and they got it, but i'm betting if it were up to Nintendo, they would have kept it under wraps for a little while longer.
And it really doesn't bother me that the technology in the Wiimote is old. For God's sake, the Xbox 360 and PS3 controllers have button and analog sticks, woopee, big innovation there.
After all, like Henry John Heinz said: "To do a common thing uncommonly well brings success". Nintendo has always been obsessed with flawless, user friendly hardware, and the Wii will be no exception.
eric @ May 16th 2006 1:40PM
Obviously you guys didn't read the entire article.. Most likely because the article was titled improperly. Check the bottom of the article:
http://planetgamecube.com/newsArt.cfm?artid=11557
Nintendo has never disappointed. Never, and I don't see them disappointing this time either.
-e
MrFluffy @ May 16th 2006 1:58PM
Jeremy, stop posting that article everywhere. It proves nothing. Obviously, the so called "old technology" wasn't good enough or didn't work properly.
What's more, this is the first EVER time that these two technologies have been combined. So, you see, it IS original.
Shiro @ May 16th 2006 2:52PM
Cue: My first thought when I heard it was being developed by Ubisoft France.
Shiro @ May 16th 2006 3:00PM
"There is a good reason it felt "off", it's because the Wiimote cannot do what Nintendo promised it could! Here's why: http://www.xgaming.com/newsletter/Wii%20Dupe.shtml"
So what exactly did Nintendo promise that hasn't been delivered? From everything I've heard, many games play as well as or much better than the same kinds of games on other consoles. Plus, I'm not going to discount the hundreds of people I've heard who've said the Wiimote is incredibly intuitive just by hearing one Nintendo hater.
Loban @ May 16th 2006 3:57PM
Even Nintendo fanboys can admit that the Wiimote may not have flawless at E3, but remember, Nintendo still has 6 months to tweak it and make it perfect, and knowing Nintendo, it WILL be perfect when it's done.
And I sure as hell don't expect the Wiimote to be intuitive and simple to use the first time I use it (other than on really simple titles like tennis), any new controller is weird at first. But after a few days of using it, i'm sure it will become second nature.
TME @ May 16th 2006 5:23PM
The impression I'm getting is that the problem is with the game not the hardware. This is the first time this control scheme has ever been tried so I don't expect it to be perfect the first time around. What I AM confident about is that they will get it right eventually. By 2007 I think we will be playing games with much tighter control. There are alot more perameters to consider with the Wiimote. There's tilt, rotation depth acceleration, ect... Tons. Putting it all together into a smooth feeling game input must be tricky, so I don't expect them to get it perfect so early in the game. We'll see how things pan out at launch.
bob @ May 18th 2006 3:33PM
...strange, because the demonstrators seem to be able to play these games flawlessly. They are still changing things around, and as for thegraphics looking jagged, the charachters in the gaame look better then any thing on the gamecube ever, and also the x box.
tweak tweak