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 Steeland 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.
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.
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!
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.
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.]
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?
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.
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 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?
[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.
So, apparently Western fellows like to have a littlesushi 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?
Ubisoft has been kicking ass this year. In fact, they have been kicking so much ass that colossal EA is feeling a little threatened by their presence.
One of the most impressive Ubi titles coming for Wii is Red Steel. Though we are all about those cracked-out rabbids, being a ninja is way cooler. Red Steel is looking to be one of the best Wii titles and we have the details on the multiplayer modes.
Multiplayer is divided into three separate modes aptly named:
Deathmatch
Team Deathmatch
Mission
While Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch are pretty obvious, Mission mode is what has us most intrigued. During Mission mode, your Wiimote will ring like a phone. After answering it like you would a real phone, a voice tells you what you mission is and you must complete it before your rivals.
After receiving your objective, you will play a kind of hot-or-cold game. The Wiimote will beep as you begin the mission and will beep faster as you get closer to your target. Or, if you are far away from your target the beeping will slow down. This seems like it would be annoying, especially if you can't find your target. We still think, and hope, that it will raise tension in the game and make it more exciting.
The Official Nintendo Magazine (a European publication) recently got their hands on the very latest build of Red Steel, one of the most anticipated launch titles for the Wii. They seemed extremely impressed. Some of the major points:
The controls of the game felt vastly improved, thanks to software tweaks by Ubisoft and the final remote/sensor bar hardware from Nintendo.
The player is able to gesture toward defeated enemies to direct their movements.
The graphics have also undergone improvements of epic proportions. The excessive hyperbole involves "forgetting everything you've seen" and the visuals are compared to a prettier version of Resident Evil 4. Which is really damn pretty.
Apparently, the fire effects look really effin' good.
Red Steel might just be the bar to which all other first-person shooters are measured. Why, it might even start ... a revolution.
If you haven't been to the Red Steel site lately -- hell, even if you have! -- get over there and check out the updates. If the site is any indication of the quality of the finished game, we're sold. Times ten. From the music to the sound effects, down to the new feature of the Wiimote and aiming reticle, everything on the revamped site is pitch perfect. And don't forget to train with the sensei. It's always a good time to be a disgrace to the world of martial arts. That was a compliment ... right?
Red Steel looks more and more stunning every time we see new images and art for it. We knew that being a ninja was the most bad ass thing on this planet but we never knew that it could look so amazing. Not even a pirate could say no to that screenshot.
Ubisoft is really pushing the envelope with this game (it helps that it is on such an amazing system as well) and we hope it it falls in line as one of the best Wii titles. So far, we see no reason to not be amped about it.
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."
