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The pen is mightier
than the sword. In
the case of
Kid Icarus Uprising,
the stylus
is mightier than the
sword. In this
regeneration of an
almost forgotten
franchise from
Project Sora and
Nintendo, full
attention was given
to the
implementation of
the 3DS
capabilities.
It's
controlled like no
other 3DS or DS game
made, and getting
introduced to these
characters in a
modern-era video
game is a blast.
After a 25 year
hiatus, Medusa has
returned with her
generals and the
underworld army to
wreak havoc on human
kind. Apart from the
humans, who have a
very small chance of
fending them off,
only one faction can
help those who value
what's good and
right. That's the
goddess
Palutena,
and her
warrior-servant Pit.
The faction of
what's good must
defeat what's evil
and restore peace
and order to the
land.
All of this sounds
super-serious, but
let's not get
carried away.
Kid Icarus Uprising
has a silly side
too. Everything
feels epic with the
title when you're
not paying close
attention to what's
going on. When you
look a little
closer, you'll
notice that your
enemies are
ridiculous. There's
a silly eye/nose
combo that shoots
bombs out of its
nostrils. There's
also an eggplant
monster that shoots
at you, and if it
hits you, you get
turned into a
walking eggplant.
That's the tip of
the goofy iceberg.
Other main sources
of zaney include a
witty back and forth
between Kit and
Palutena or the two
heroes and whatever
general/boss you're
facing in that
particular level.
Some of it adds to
the tension in the
game, other quips
and banter include
the words 'naughty'
and laser-eye
surgery.' Some of
the humorous stuff
is great, in fact
most of it is, but
it can be somewhat
distracting.
The humor is a big
plus and a small
negative, so is the
control system.
Instead of the
typical left stick
control and
button-mash with the
buttons on the right
side, Icarus is
controlled by
default in a more
unorthodox fashion.
You move with the
left stick and fire
with the right
button, but you aim
and change
directions with the
stylus on the bottom
screen of a 3DS.
It's a fun and
different way to
control a game,
especially through
the first few
levels. Nintendo has
made the new control
system a little
easier to deal with
by bundling a 3DS
stand with the game,
and that helps with
the comfort level
while you play the
game. However,
getting accustomed
to the controls is
one thing, mastering
them is another. The
process of mastering
these controls can
be extremely
frustrating. The
camera can take too
long to align in a
battle if you're not
great at the system.
And using a power-up
by finding it on the
touch screen is a
pain when you're
firing at bad guys,
which is pretty much
all the time, so
there are some
faults but they
don’t overshadow the
good.
For its quirks,
Icarus has some
great things going
for it. Count all of
the different weapon
combination and
upgrades among them.
There's a limitless
combination of
weapons that you can
use. There's also a
scalable difficulty
option before every
level that allows
you to wager hearts
and points you earn
in battle. It’s a
great quality for
this game and it
makes the
replayability soar
through the roof.
Add the multiplayer
content to this game
and it’s a game you
can play over and
over again.
Kid Icarus Uprising
is a solid game with
a ton of
personality. That
personality is both
good and bad. Say
what you want about
this title, but you
can't say that it's
not something
totally unique.
Everything from its
sense of humor to
its control system
is of its own. There
are plenty of
frustrations with
this game, but they
end up being worth
it to play something
fun and original.
That's really all
you could ask for.
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