Red Steel

So it begins. The first scans of the magazine can be found here. Game Informer unveils Ubisoft's Revolution-exclusive first-person action game Red Steel and it looks pretty awesome. If the final graphics in the game will be as good as the target renders in the magazine, I will be mostly pleased. If you want state-of-the-art graphics, you should buy a PS3 of Xbox 360. The codenamed Revolution will have very good graphics but after a while, the difference with the other two platforms will become increasingly visible. Not that I care, I care about gameplay and that's exactly what the Revolution will offer. A new way of experiencing games, apart from the classic way games are played on PS3 and 360. The latter isn't bad at all, it's just different. Not better, not worse, just different.

Some people think the whole Revolution controller isn't such a big thing. 'Instead of pushing a button to reload, you just move the controller away from the screen, I can't see how that would improve my game experience?' To me, that's the whole point. No more pushing buttons. You move like the character in the game moves, you aim the gun/controller in your hand instead of moving a joystick around, you slash your controller around and the character in the game mimicks your exact movement with his blade. You don't just play games anymore, this time you really become a part of them. Some people think this control method will become exhausting after a while. Work on your condition, lazy ones! The Revolution is all about immersion in the game and that obviously will require some fysical effort.

Of course, you can still play the games like we have been playing them for a long time now, with the controller lying in your lap. Fine by me, I will probably play my games that way when I first play on the Revolution. But Game Informer tells us that the game feels so much more immersive when you actually stand up to play. The character in the game isn't sitting in a couch while blasting other people's heads off, why should you? 'Because games aren't meant to be fysically challenging, they are meant as recreation for the lazy ones'. For a long time, yes, they have been. But why would a change in that habit be a bad thing? Why would you reject total immersion in the game? Standing up while moving joysticks around and pushing all kinds of buttons isn't special, it doesn't improve your experience. Stand up and aim with your controller at your enemies, duck to take cover, pull your controller away to reload, swing the controller over your head to throw a grenade, reach behind your back to grab your sword, fix your view on an enemy with your right hand whilst moving around with your left, now that's an intense experience I am not afraid of experiencing myself. Even if it means getting tired after a few hours, it will have been worth the effort in the end.

Nintendo will drop some serious bombs at E3. Forums worldwide are ablaze by this Red Steel announcement, imagine what will happen if Nintendo itself shows possibilities beyond imagination with that controller. Nintendo will show multiple Revolution games, Ubisoft will have some other amazing projects, then we still have other developers, the third major feature -which some have described as even more impressive than the controller- and more information about the virtual console and possibilities to link up with the Nintendo DS. E3 is one month away, but I already know which next-gen console I'm getting first.