Last time we saw Ubisoft's yakuza-themed shooter Red Steel, it was🐻 looking kinda r♛ough. The wireless Wii remote wasn't offering the precision control we were promised and the visuals, while acceptable, really didn't look much different than a GameCube game.

Well, if today's new screens are any indication, at least the graphics are improving. These shots could easily be "target" visuals and not in-game grabs, but Stephane Bachelor, artistic director for Steel, says the work-in-progress graphics from E3 are still under construction, though 🙈progressing past what we've seen thus far.

Bachelor adds that Steel's overall visual design was created to convey the culture shock of a US c♐itizen living amongst all the Japanese gang violence. Seemingly contradictory sights, like dojos or fully dressed geisha plastered against the latest high-tech doodads, are all over the place. With any luck, you'll feel more immersed in the culture and colors of Japan as you shoot and slice thro🐈ugh waves of gun-toting guards.

Red Steel is a Wii🏅 launch title, a console that still doesn't have a concrete release date - though late October's looking pretty likely.

August 18, 2006