Ubisoft presented the first gameplay demonstration of this Wii MotionPlus-enhanced sequel.

At the company’s E3 2009 press conference today, Ubisoft’s Jason Vandenberg demonstrated Red Steel 2, offering a taste of how the game improves on its predecessor, with an emphasis on how the required Wii MotionPlus will benefit the experience.

The demo opens with our unnamed hero–a cross between a gunslinger and samurai–waking up in a desert to find a pack of vultures circling overhead. Unfortunately, that’s but the start of our hero’s problems, given that the sound of a revving motorcycle interrupts the moment and peels off across the sand. It quickly becomes apparent that our hero is along for the ride, as a rope tethering him to the cycle drags him across the harsh terrain…and we don’t use that word lightly. We’re talking being dragged across roads, through flames, and barely avoiding being crushed by an 18-wheeler. It was a visually arresting opening that helped set the stage for the action-packed sequences that followed.

Watch the Red Steel 2 Demo Trailer

After freeing himself, Jason took the time to demonstrate how the sword and gun controls work by laying waste to a defenseless dummy. The controls seem to closely mirror those of the original Red Steel, with the left stick used for movement, the pointer for gun targeting, and Wii Remote slashes for swordplay. However, with the addition of Wii MotionPlus, the player’s control of the sword appears to be greatly enhanced, with the slashes performed in real life seemingly mirrored almost perfectly in-game. In addition, Jason mentioned that the force of the swing is also measured, which means that faster slashes inflict more damage. Oh, and the sword can now be whipped out at any time with a simple slash motion, as opposed to the context-sensitive moments of the original–a stark improvement that should make battles considerably more dynamic.

With the fundamentals laid down, Jason ventured deeper into town to engage some actual enemies, who should put up more of a fight than the aforementioned dummy. It was here that the versatility of the controls was truly revealed, with Jason swappign between gunplay and swordfighting on the fly. In one particularly brutal and awesome-looking move, our hero flipped his opponent effortlessly into the air with the sword and then shot him dead before he fell back to the ground. The demo concluded with our hero tackling a menacing-looking, hammer-wielding boss. It became clear that strategy would play an important role in these encounters, considering that our heavily armored opponent appeared impregnable from the front. Instead, Jason had to sidestep the enemy’s attacks so that he could get behind the foe and open fire on his unprotected backside.

Although Ubisoft did not confirm a release date, the company did announce that the game would ship with the Wii MotionPlus packed in. Stay tuned to GameSpot for more impressions as soon as we go hands-on with the demo later this week.

Check out the source at GameSpot