Kid Icarus: Uprising

It’s been over 20 years since the last entry in the Kid Icarus series. Now with the release of Kid Icarus: Uprising fans and newcomers alike will have a fast-paced and engaging shooter to enjoy and marks a milestone for the 3DS. There is a steep learning curve for the controls, but once you get used to the mechanics you will find an excellent experience. Kid Icarus: Uprising uses scripted air combat battle, ground plat forming , plentiful customization, and satisfying competitive online modes to make Pit’s return a truly great one.

Uprising is about a flightless angel named Pit, a warrior under the command of the Goddess of Light Palutena. Pit must battle the forces of the Underworld and defeat there leader Medusa. The overall plot combines Nintendo charisma with Greek Mythology in order to tell a tale that suits the cartoon charm of the game. The characters you encounter are portrayed in a childish manner that offers brief moments of humor such as the flaming Pandora or the geeky Thanatos, the God of Death, who takes the form of an ogre. Each chapter begins with an on-rail shooter where Pit takes to the skies and eliminates enemies similar to Star Fox, but since Pit cannot fly he requires the aid of Palutena. She grants the angel the ability of flight, which she controls, for five minutes.

Uprising is a funny, well-written, and wonderfully voiced game. The players is instantly aware of the existence of every major character in each chapter an array of both clever and cheesy jokes and banters, especially between Pit and Palutena during the flight sections. Voice acting is perfect and the skits that are performed during the action are wonderfully paced. Combining Greek Mythology, odd themes from Pit’s pervious adventures, and video game references are comically used to the player’s delight.

At its core Uprising is a third-person shooter and air-based sections. In each mission starts in flight and Pit is set on a specific path by Patutena. To target enemies’ players must move the reticle that circles Pit using the touch pad and shoot with either the L or face buttons. You are given the ability to use special blue orbs to eliminate all the enemies and hostile projectiles from the screen if dodging isn’t enough. Palutena will send Pit through deserts, into canyons, and through the sea to locate and eliminate the main boss of each stage. However when Pit lands things become different.

During the ground-based sections of the levels Pit is limited to taking enemies head on and this is when things become difficult, especially at first. You now must move Pit while aiming a 360 degree environment and it become quickly apparent that the 3DS’s wasn’t design for this. The game comes with a stand that makes this a lot easier, but playing these sections in your hand can be difficult. They’re customizable options that allow players to choose to use the face buttons. Once you get use to the controls these battles become hectic fun.

Most of these stages simply require Pit to tackle waves of enemies to reach the final boss. Eliminating these enemies involves you to choose your weapons from melee, range, or mid range. They’re a lot of varied enemy types that each require a specific tactic to defeat: these included armored targets that are only weak from behind, enemies that explode in a poison cloud, and shoot lasers. Some levels allow the player to take control of certain vehicles such as giant mechs and angelic cars.

The difficulties during the ground sections quickly become problematic. Dashing it very touchy and players might find themselves involuntary falling off ledges or losing their breath. Pit can only dash for a limited amount of time and when he becomes tired he remains stationary for a few seconds before recovering.

Most of the time you will be shooting and attacking with one of nine weapon classes that include a bunch of weapons such as cannons, claws, slows, and bows. Shooting is separated into two categories that included rapid and charged shots. By holding down the fire button Pit will continuingly fire but wait for a till the reticle gains another lair and you can perform a powerful charged shot. If enemies get to close Pit can perform a melee attack. Each weapon you choose has an array of customizable stats and bluffs.

Customization is a large part of Kid Icarus: Uprising. Weapons can be brought using hearts you collect, fused together, and found. With the aid of a fusion grid players can see the fusion options available for the weapons in there storage and you can test any of your owned weapons. If players want to trade weapons using the StreetPass option by turning weapons into gems to be traded or purchased.

Hearts are the prime form of currency in the game and can be obtained by dissolving weapons, defeating enemies, and beating stages using the difficulty slider that acts as a wager system. You can either increase or decrease the difficulty by waging hearts and unlocking new areas in the level that can only be accessed on a certain difficulty. By beating stages and completing certain objectives players not only earn more hearts and better weapons but new powers and pieces on an outline puzzle board. Power’s act as Pit’s arsenal and the puzzle board outline challenges that can be completed to unlock another segment on the hidden picture. The powers act as support, offensive, and defensive abilities that can be activated using the touch-screen but are limited to a certain amount, and Pit can only be equipped on a limited grid.

When you want to test your skills against others players can go online or take on friends locally in either free-for-all or teams. Your weapons and powers in both the single-player and multiplayer are interchangeable. In free-for-all up to six players attempt to kill one another on a varied arena that hosts an array of platforms and other acrobatic advantages. The team-based choice called Light vs. Dark gives pits two teams of three against one another with a limited bar of health. Everytime a player is killed a portion of the bar is subtracted, based on gear, and if the bar fully depletes either Pit or Dark Pit emerges as one of the players, then not only do the players have to eliminate the other teams angel but protect there own. If the angel of that team is killed then that team loses.

When you adapt to the controls Kid Icarus: Uprising is a lot of fun. It is an intense shooter and although movement is difficult it does grow on you. A lot of content is offered here, especially does seeking some fun online battles. The 3D visuals look great, especially during the flight sections. Even after 20 years Kid Icarus: Uprising shows that Pit can still shine with the best of them.

Adam Siddiqui, NoobFeed (@Twitter)