Red Steel 2

Developer: Ubisoft Paris

Publisher: Ubisoft

Release Date: March 23, 2010

System: Wii

ESRB Rating: T

Official Web site

In a nutshell: Slashes, shoots and leaves

0:00 I wasn't very impressed with the first Red Steel thanks to bland, repetitive gameplay and a general lack of character. This one adds support for the Wii Motion Plus accessory, which seems unlikely to solve either of these problems on its own.

0:01 Old west music plays as a huge sun beats down on the title. Easy, Medium and Ninja modes are for beginner, experienced and "True Master" players, respectively. Let's go with Medium.

0:02 Looking up at a too-bright sky from a first-person perspective. Vultures circle around the lens flare. Fade to white again, and when I come to an unseen voice sounds concerned. "Won't that tear his hands off?" "That'd be nice. Save me the trouble." A big bad biker dude comes into focus, a rope trailing from his hog to near my position. He rides off and I see my arms in front of me as I'm dragged across the desert, through cacti, under trucks and down a drainage ditch like the one in American Graffiti. Wow, this would be really thrillnig to actually play, instead of just watching...

0:03 Eventually I get one hand free, grab a gun and shoot the bike, After the resulting explosion, we cut to close up of a gun lit by firelight and pan over to my hand as I get up, slowly. The biker jumps through the fire. "I'm gonna cut your throat with your own katana. Ain't that poetic." I kick him away and into yet another explosion. "You'll pay for that! In blood!" Poetic isn't the word that comes to mind...

0:05 Finally in control, I'm told to find my gun, which I quickly do, reloading it with a quick one-handed motion. In the background, the biker says he's "got gold for the man who brings me his skin."

***-->CONTINUE READING AT<--***

***-->JOYSTICK DIVISION<-***

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Rayman: Raving Rabbids 2

Developer: Ubisoft Paris
Publisher: Ubisoft
Release Date: Nov. 13, 2007
Systems: Wii (reviewed), Nintendo DS
ESRB Rating: E10+
Official Web site

In a nutshell: Bwaaaaaaaaaaah! Part Two.

0:00 I found the first RRR game to be amusingly odd, if not that great playability-wise. I played a demo of this new one briefly at the last E3 and I'm hopeful about the prospects for more interesting mini-games this time around.

0:00.5 I know this game should be played with multiple people, but there's no one around and I really want to try it out now. So there!

0:01 The Disc Channel Preview screen has this incessantly peppy tune that's just too cute. Also a yellow submarine flying by. Do I smell a lawsuit from The Beatles?

0:02 A Breaking News alert flies on screen. "Hi, I'm Jennifer Hart live from Paris.... large yellow submarines have been identified from around the world." Bunnies invade the standard news scene and attack Jennifer with plungers. Poor girl. She was just doing her job. Rayman shuts off the TV with a disembodied hand.

0:03 At the Rabbids "Super Secret" HQ, Rayman sneaks in to find the deformed white bunnies deep in training. He puts on a bunny ear disguise, inhales some helium and proceeds to sneak in using his best Solid Snake impression. The Rabbids are being hypnotized by scenes of everyday mundane-ness, à la "A Clockwork Orange," but with less violence. Rayman falls through a skylight and is surrounded! The leader Rabbid comes in and everyone stands at attention. He seems suspicious of Rayman, and keeps glancing at the box for the first game to see if he's the same guy (LOL). Ray gives a helium-aided scream to prove his Rabbid-ishness. That was close! He gets led into a submarine by a comely flight attendant Rabbid. SO CUTE!

Read the full review at Crispy Gamer