Future Tactics: The Uprising

"Renegades with fancy gauges..."

It's summer time here in the good ol' United States. As the weather starts to heat up, we appreciate the little things that define our summers. Little things like barbeques, baseball games, and horribly cliched summer blockbuster action movies. Unfortunately, this summer has been dealt nothing but huge movie franchise movies to draw out audiences. In an attempt to quell my craving for some cheesy B-movie science fiction, I decided to turn my attention to the new game releases during the spring and early summer. I recently came across a game called Future Tactics: The Uprising. I started this game in hopes of some decent entertainment and great gameplay. Luckily for me, Future Tactics has plenty of both to offer.

Come to think of it, the plot of Future Tactics would make for a decent summertime flick. Basically, a group of explorers find some sort of strange artifact during their travels. Of course, the explorers throw caution into the wind and start fiddling with the ancient device. Suddenly, the device starts glowing and produces some sort of reptilian monstrosities. Eventually, the human race is at risk of extinction as whole world is overrun with these super-powered beings. You have to use strategy and cunning to outwit countless enemies on the battlefield. The plot seems overused nowadays, doesn't it?
However, its cheesy plot is balanced with a somewhat decent storyline. You play as Low, a headstrong young man seeking revenge for the death of his parents. He also has deep feelings about the protection of his little sister, Pepper. While the general premise of this game doesn't seem like too much, the emotional undertones can appeal to older gamers. Also, we are given brief cut scenes and looks into Pepper's diary to gain perspective on the individual characters.

Fortunately for us, the character dynamics aren't all about drama. Part of what makes this game so likable is the amount of humor mixed in with the emotional angst. Low may be going through emotional withdrawal from seeing his parents getting murdered by alien scum, but his half-witted macho approach to combat makes him both funny and endearing. The introductions and dialogues among the various other characters can make for some hilarious moments early on in the game. Low and Pepper are fighting for their lives against seemingly impossible odds, but they still bicker like a normal brother and sister. It's little things like these that make the characters so much more realistic and appealing.

All character appeal put aside, the meat of Future Tactics revolves around the various battles you'll have to endure. However, there are a few twists included for those of you tried and true tactical gameplay fans out there. We've become accustomed to having our tactical games be restricted to characters stats, abilities, and movement grids. For those of us that have grown to despise all of these RPG elements in our strategy games, Future Tactics offers a great alternative. No longer are we held back by individual character stats. No longer must our movement ranges be restricted to the certain terrains and movement costs.

Instead, Future Tactics focuses much more on basic strategy that relies mostly on common sense. Everything in the various levels can be used to your advantage. Your characters can move almost freely throughout the massive levels and attack strategically selected locations. Is there a building in your immediate vicinity? Try climbing it to gain a better view of the battleground as well as avoiding enemy fire. Is that an enemy hiding underneath that deserted bus? Why not tip the bus over with a few well-placed blasts to crush the enemy in a single move? Is there some sort of pickup on a high wall that you can't get to? Why not blast a hole in the wall to create a foothold or ledge within jumping distance? Anything is this game, the cars, the rocks, even the very soil you step on can be used for your advantage. It's up to you to figure how to utilize your surroundings to their fullest extent.

But for those of you that like the straightforward shooting match, there's nothing wrong with some good old-fashioned sniper tactics. This game operates on a turn-based battle system. When you're attacking you must carefully aim our shots to get the maximum effect. To be perfectly honest, I hated the targeting system at first. Your circular field of vision is constantly moving when you're trying to aim. Luckily, the aiming system has a few little tricks that make it easier for those of us who don't have that perfect handling capability of the controller. Once you've got the enemy locked on in the range of vision, you can perfect your shot using two crosshairs to make the precise shot on your opponent's body. For those of you who prefer to take out your enemies with headshots, you'll love the targeting system once you've grown accustomed to it. Also, there are plenty of weapon upgrades and pickups that can be used to power up your party.

But before you start demolishing the landscape with your weapons, you might want to take a look at what's being presented to you. In terms of graphics, this game is about as pretty as one of those aliens that you're trying to kill. Everything seems to have a blocky, cartoonish style. We can see most of the expressions on the character's faces, but they seem flat and drawn out. This unrealistic presentation may or may not be appealing for some gamers. These aren't your typical anime-style heroes. Scallion looks like a Yosemite Sam wannabe with a bazooka. Low looks as if his chin could be used as a blunt object. But you're going to be spending too much time setting up strategic points and trying to avoid enemy fire to be worrying about the poor graphics.

The same goes with the sound effects. The gunshots and explosions sound great, but the character voice acting is a strain on the ears. Low and Pepper have these really thick British accents that can be impossible to understand with your volume turned low. Scallion has a stereotypical loudmouthed Texan accent to complement his burly stature. If you're willing to turn up your television volume and focus on their conversations, you can learn plenty about the individual characters. Also, this is both blessed and cursed with a repetitive soundtrack. The aliens get two or three great heavy metal music mixes that cycle through the game. The heroes get a mixed bag of background music, mostly mixes with slight jazz attributes. If all else fails, you can just push the mute button while you're playing. You'll be too focused on staying alive than on the unsatisfactory music selection.

So, where does this leave this summer's alien-bashing tactical hit? For those of you that love tactics games, this is definitely something to look into. For those of you looking for an alternative to the constantly rehashed tactical gameplay, Future Tactics offers some nice alternatives. However, be warned: this game requires a keen eye, a fair logic, and some creativity blended into one battle strategy. Some of you may not be able to make that transition from the usual type of tactical gameplay to this different method. Also, this game has a quite a learning curve. If you haven't figured out how to combat effectively, you may find yourself dead within a turn. Thus there is a real need for patience and strategy. If you're willing to take some time and learn your way around the battle mechanics and other gameplay aspects, you can have hours and hours of fun with this game. Future Tactics is no summer blockbuster, but it's still much more fun to watch.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 07/01/04