Future Tactics: The Uprising

"Tactics in the Future Sure are a Lot of Fun!!!"

Future Tactics: The Uprising came to my attention when I saw a quick pair of screenshots for it. It didn't look like a HUGE hit, but it's slightly different approach to strategy games had me interested. When it was recently released, I went down to my local game supplier, and checked in. After doing my shift, I purchased Future Tactics: The Uprising, and headed home to give it a spin.

Story: 8/10
The story is a pretty run-of-the-mill. It's in a semi-distant future, and it opens with Low and his father attacking some aliens. Who kinda just appear. FOR NO APPARENT REASON! But it's all good. Basically, you are trying to kill them all. But, there are several little sides to the story, and Pepper's (more on her later) Diary, that provide a rather interesting tale. I wont spoil it for you, but it is very interesting, in my opinion.

Gameplay: 10/10
This I like, this I like very much. No more chessboard grids and number crunching and weapon/unit advantages. This, you have an area that you are allowed to move each character around in (similar to Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits), except on a much larger scale. You are free to move through your section of the rather well made levels, and even jump right next to your enemies, OR EVEN ON TOP OF THEM, which is very funny, for a few times. The attacking is done in relatively real time as well. When you are ready to shoot, you click the icon, and you are brought into one of 2 preparation screens. For "Line-of-Sight" weapons, you get a cross-hair that you position over an enemy. You can then zoom or go to infra-red, if you have those upgrades. Then, you press A, and a line goes diagonally across the reticle and you try to stop it as directly over the center as possible, or, if you mis-aimed, you can aim it wherever you want, and then a third line comes in the opposite, but still diagonal direction. And then you can give the shot a power boost, if you have THAT upgrade. Then comes the bomb and distance weapons. You get a circular grid extending from your character, and you stop the outreaching line as it pulses from the center to the end, and then back, and then the second line spins from the center, like a clock, and you try to stop THAT as close to the enemy or whatever target as possible. It gets easy after you do it, and thankfully, this provides a fresh take on a slowly tiring and repetitive genre.

Graphics: 7/10
They aren't terrible, but they are not beauty contest winners. The characters are decently animated, as well as the monsters, it's just not spectacular. One thing I do like is how the environment, being almost completely destructible, breaks and moves pretty smoothly. Shoot a huge boulder, and watch it crumble (or if you shoot a black one it will move, kinda like a huge wrecking ball), shoot bridges and make them blow up, or, my personal favorite, blast trenches in the ground and extend it from a river. Since enemies die in water over their head (most times, it can be a little glitchy), you can lead water trails back to them or in their path! But the point is, it all shatters in a way that makes sense. A boulder will roll slowly, except for the rare occasions when it goes FLYING!!! buildings will take damage to the areas you shoot, and canyons can be shot in the ground to provide cover.

Sound/Dialogue/Music - 7/10
The sound is pretty average. Guns sound ok, explosions sound good enough, and the menu and selection sounds are passable. Music is largely forgettable, and if you do listen, you probably will tune it out. But the dialogue - It's not so much good as it is absolutely hilarious. Low has a SO fake British accent, Scallion is the buff manly badass, and Pepper is the puny 8 year old Harry Potter clone, with Grenades. But their lines in general, wicked funny stuff. Here are a few examples:
Low - Who the HELL are you? (He will say this to EVERYONE!)
Pepper - Low, my feet hurt. Low, I'm scared. Low, I'm cold! (No one cares)
Scallion - Hold on to your underwear ladies. The guy with the 10 ton gun is in town.
Wardwarf - Now if you would all follow me, and even you, the boy with the big nose...
Funny stuff. Not so good or well acted, but the laugh factor is high.

There is some adequate multiplayer, and you may want to play through single player a few times and pass around the upgrades in a few different ways. And besides, its a very original game, and there is a $19.99 retail price. If you can find it, pick it up.

I give Future Tactics: The Uprising for the Gamecube an 8.4/10.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 06/15/04