Yakuza-style Wii launch title Red Steel had a rough ride at its E3 showing, but in interviews at last week's Leipzig Game Convention, developer Ubisoft promised that it has taken the criticisms seriously - and is busily improving the title for release.

As Wii's first original shooter, the concept of Red Steel 's gun-and-sword antics ended up being a little more exciting than the reality in its E3 showing, with tetchy controls and a slightly disappointing sword-fighting mechanic. We'd hoped to come out freely swinging, but found that it was more a case of using the Wii-mote to make gestures which the game then followed up with a pre-determined animation.

Both the visuals and sword-swinging have been receiving a makeover, with Ubisoft stating that the newfangled version will follow your Wii-mote slashes directly - although it's still unclear whether you can mix up chopping with a few choice stabs. The sensitivity of the crosshairs when shooting guns, another of our issues, has also been adjusted.

We'll let you know after our next hands-on with the game if the changes have been for the better.

August 29, 2006