Red Steel 2 (bundle) (Pre-Order Edition)

Samurai swords and six-shooters never looked so good wrapped in shrink wrap. The Red Steel 2 Pre-Order Edition bundle for the Wii brought together Ubisoft's motion-controlled katana-slinging FPS with a handful of extras that most players never even knew existed. This particular version, exclusive to select UK stores through pre-order only, came as the standard game bundled with the Wii MotionPlus accessory, plus a 20-page art book and four bonus in-game weapons.

Red Steel 2 was the redemption arc we didn't know we needed. The original Red Steel launched alongside the Wii and promised sword-fighting precision that the hardware simply couldn't deliver. The sequel fixed everything, requiring MotionPlus for true 1:1 tracking and wrapping it all in a cel-shaded Wild West meets feudal Japan aesthetic that still holds up. It's one of the Wii's most underappreciated titles, and the fact that it underperformed commercially makes these pre-order editions even harder to track down.

The art book is the real draw here, offering 20 pages of concept art from a game whose visual style was genuinely ahead of its time. The four bonus weapons, the Tataro .357 Magnum, Cord Industries Barracuda .357 AMP, Kuro No Ken katana, and the Nihonto Hana Blossom Sword, were digital unlocks that added variety to an already satisfying arsenal. Since this was a UK-only pre-order with no special packaging beyond the plastic wrap holding everything together, finding one sealed is like stumbling across a hidden temple in the Nevada desert. If you're building a complete Wii collection and you care about the obscure stuff, this is exactly the kind of edition that separates casual collectors from the devoted.