Kid Icarus: Uprising is the pinnacle of what the 3DS can offer.

User Rating: 1 | Kid Icarus: Uprising 3DS

Kid Icarus: Uprising is a joyous and triumphant new installment in the Kid Icarus series. With fantastic graphics, story, game-play, and multiplayer, this is truly the best 3DS game.

Kid Icarus: Uprising takes place 25 years after the events of the NES Kid Icarus game. Medusa is revived from the dead, and seeks to destroy mankind. As Pit, you must travel to various lands and defeat Medusa's commanders and defeat Medusa, with the help of the Goddess of Light Palutena. The story expands on this as it is revealed that the God Hades is behind the entire attack, and the focus shifts to defeating him amongst another evil God and an alien invasion. The story is original, and is fascinating.

This game features full voice acting for all of its characters, from Pit to Medusa to minor bosses. The dialog is often funny, and is acted well. Several characters have certain personalities and traits, which make the game all the better. The lip syncing is also great, with all of the dialog on the bottom screen matching the top in cutscenes.

The graphics of this game are among the 3DS's best. The game has quite detailed environments, and good lighting and shading. This is on the top screen, along with the fantastic 3D effect. Enemies, bullets, and environments pop out of the screen, and the depth is fantastic. The bottom screen is a different affair. It is a white background with the game's dialog and has stills of the characters as they are talking, even with the bosses.

The rest of the sound in this game is great. The sound effects sound great, and the soundtrack is fully orchestrated. It makes the game feel more alive and fits it.

The game-play of the game is a departure from the previous Kid Icarus games. It is now a third person shooter. Pit can equip hundreds of items from nine different categories, like bows, blades, and clubs. The chapters are split into three different parts: air battles, land battles, and boss battle. All three parts of each level are absolutely perfect, each with their own little gimmicks.

The controls are somewhat controversial in the game, but they work quite perfectly. You use L to shoot, use the control pad to move, and use the stylus to move the camera and use powers. The controls take a bit to get used to, but when you do, they work flawless.

Besides the long story mode, the game has a lot packed into it. It has a multiplayer mode, with two different ways to play: free for all, and light v. dark, and you can play either locally or online. The online connection works great, and the action is fast paced and furious. The only little flaw is that the multiplayer can be lopsided in light vs. dark. You can always play these modes against the computer.

In addition to a multiplayer, there is a vault section, filled with small mini games and collectibles. There is also a treasure hunt, in which you unlock collectibles by beating objectives in the story mode.

There is also a neat card collecting mode, in which you collect Kid Icarus cards with Pit, allies, foes, and items on them, and have them battle like the AR mode on the 3DS. My only complaint with this mode is that you need to be in a bright environment for the game to recognize the cards.

Overall, Kid Icarus: Uprising is a fantastic video game that uses everything the 3DS can do, and is as perfect a video game can be.

Pros:

+ Great story

+ Easy controls

+ Fun game-play

+ Wonderful graphics

+ Great characters

+ A plethora to do

+ Fun multiplayer

+ Fantastic music

+ Has a good AR mode

Cons:

- The AR cards can be hard to use