Ubisoft thought about re-branding Red Steel 2

After a lackluster first installment, "Red Steel" isn't exactly a brand gamers associate with quality. Ubisoft knew this, and even considered burying that ugly little memory under a new sword-swinging, gun-slinging IP.

So why didn't the publisher finish off the Red Steel franchise while it was down?

"Well, the question has certainly come up," creative director Jason Vandenberghe said in an interview with Nintendo World Report. "But let me put it to you this way: if I was here, getting ready to release a different game, (call it 'Blue Iron') a first-person sword-and-gun fighting game exclusively for the Wii, made by the Red Steel team, shipped by Ubisoft, I'm going to assume your first question would be, 'oh, you mean like Red Steel?'"

"Yeah, kinda like Red Steel. We actually spent a good chunk of time talking with our fans about the first game, and it was clear to us that, regardless of the 'official' meaning of the name, what 'Red Steel' meant to most people (and, in fact, to us) was the promise of truly physical sword-fighting gameplay, with guns. I think (I hope) that it will always mean that."

We kind of like the idea of "Blue Iron," though, if only because it sounds like we'd be skewering Smurfs or something awesome terrible like that. Oh well.