Some potentially good news for those of us who are looking forward to Ubisoft’s Red Steel 2, as GameStop seems to have an idea of when it might be coming out.
It’s not official, but the pre-order on their website (via GoNintendo) says that we should expect it February 16th. If true, that means you should have plenty of time to butter up your significant other two days before you settle in to rock this wild, wild west.
In addition to this news (which is still unofficial, so take it with a grain of salt), Ubisoft has also answered a few more questions on their forum. Here is the latest batch, as answered by Creative Director Jason Vandenberghe:
Can you twist, tilt and turn the gun just like the sword? [Fender0]
Yup. 🙂
In practice, the motion is a little bit more limited because in general you want to keep the business end of a gun pointed at the bad guys, but the same technology that animates the sword in the hands of our hero animates the guns.
“Hey Chief, is it okay if I hold my gun like this?”
“Sure, anything you want, birthday boy.”
Can you hit with the sword handle? [Paradoja-Man]
Yup.
Well, actually, let me answer that as “sort of”. I think what you mean is “can I turn the Wii MotionPlus around and bash someone in the face with it?” The answer to that question at the moment is no – we haven’t found a good way to integrate that move into our current movement system that is satisfying. Sigh.
However! We do have a combo move that is a handle-bash to the face… which is the next best thing, IMHO.
Was the “Jump Attack” designed for some specific purpose or is it simply a flashy technique with aesthetic appeal? [Penguyen]
Well, first off, I’m glad you like it. 😉
Of course, it’s not simply there for aesthetics. Our combo system is based around the idea of driving enemies into different states (kneeling, prone, stunned), and a jump attack is an excellent way to drive an enemy to their knees. It also is a great way to trigger a finish move against a prone enemy…
…and that’s actually a lot of information about how our combo system works, right there. More on that later, I suppose!
Will different abilities be tied to different weapons? Each sword could have a signature move. [RumbleThunder]
While that is clearly an awesome idea, Red Steel 2 focuses around a single, very important katana. The most powerful moves that the player has are connected to this particular katana – it can do things other swords can’t do… um…
Ah, to hell with it, I’ll just tell you guys. There are, in fact, fourteen of these swords in our world – they’re called sora katanas, and they each have special and unique abilities. The story of Red Steel 2 focuses on one of these swords (the one belonging to clan Kusagari). This sword can (as you may have seen in the videos) generate and project a huge amount of kinetic force, and it is the primary sword that the hero uses in the game.
So, the real answer to your question is, technically, “yes, each sora katana has signature move(s)… but you use just one of these swords in Red Steel 2.”
…that said, there is at least one other sora katana that makes an appearance in the game.
Sounds like sequel fodder to me. Here’s hoping the game warrants one.
You can check these out, and many more, on Ubisoft’s Red Steel 2 forums.
