Future Tactics: The Uprising
Just a “filler” title, or a hidden gem? Find out what we think!
Tags: Future Tactics: The Uprising Categories: PS2 Reviews, Reviews
Posted by Craig "American Idle" Hansen on Aug 5th, 2004
| Title | Players | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Future Tactics: The Uprising (title page) | 1-2 | ||
| Developer | Publisher | Genre | Online |
| Role-Playing | No | ||
Future Tactics: The Uprising is the kind of game it would be easy to overlook.
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The game, a more action-oriented take on the tactical-RPG genre, comes from a small publisher, Crave, with almost no advertising budget pushing the game to the forefront of anyone’s minds. It’s the kind of title that could easily get overlooked since it’s not connected to a pre-established franchise, as in the case of last year’s Final Fantasy Tactics Advanced on GBA. Instead, Future Tactics is an increasingly rare beast in console gaming: something new and a little bit different, rather than a copycat title or a sequel.
It would be a mistake to pass FT:TU by, however. Oh sure, it’s not going to be anyone’s game-of-the-year candidate. It’s not going to convert many people who aren’t already tactical RPG fans. But it offers a surprising amount of entertainment value and some fresh twists on the genre it’s a part of, considering it’s a title that could easily fly under most peoples’ radar.
The basic set-up is this: it’s the future and … well, let’s just say, if this reviewer never again hears the phrase, “in a post-apocalyptic world…” it would be just fine with him. But I digress. Okay, so it’s the future and creatures of some sort have either invaded or mutated and taken over by wiping out most of humanity. Those few humans who remain must fight to survive and maybe take back at least a portion of the planet for the humans.
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You play as Low, a teen boy who, along with his kid sister, do much of the fighting in the game. Special appearances by your father and other human characters add some variety along the way as the story develops. The graphics are high-polygon-count 3D models and while not quite cel-shaded are highly stylized and cartoony, but appealing.
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The heart of the game is the story mode, which tells the tale of Low and his sister. Unfortunately, there are only 19 levels to the story mode which, depending on your skill, translate into anywhere between 10 and 20 hours of gameplay at most. This is the most disappointing aspect of the game, since just as you start grooving on the game’s unique battle system and rhythm, it’s suddenly over. Even GBA tactical RPGs like Fire Emblem deliver far more gameplay hours, and at a much lower price. Still, for 19 levels, you’ll be challenged by and loving the game as each level has been uniquely designed to offer new and different challenges from the one preceding it; in other words, figuring out the trick to beat level 3 doesn’t mean doing the same tactical approach in level 4 will work; in fact, it probably won’t. That’s smart game design, so it’s a darn shame they didn’t extend it to a more appropriate length, like around 50 levels, to put the game closer to on-par with other tactical RPGs.
Of course, there’s a practice range mode to familiarize yourself with the controls before jumping in to story mode; and there’s a two-player battle mode that’s highly customizable. What’s disappointing, in such a short game, is the lack of extending that two-player battle system with an online mode, since FT:TU seems appropriately designed for online gameplay. Too bad.
The fact that Future Tactics boasts a subtitle, The Uprising, suggests that Crave hopes to extend the game into a series. If so, future chapters simply must contain a greater number of single-player, story-mode levels to conquer, and should also add online gameplay. Without more game for the buck, it will be hard for this series to succeed in the long-term.
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Now, let’s talk about the battle system; although it is a tactical RPG, Future Tactics is not as bogged down in statistics as many examples of the genre; instead of showing off the damage stats of you weapon and the health and defensive stats of your opponent, the game has a more simplified interface, displaying health bars for each character. Also, the effectiveness of your attacks are simplified into getting your opponent in your sights, then lining up a vertical line and a horizontal line that specifies where your shot will land; you only get one chance per turn, so make your button-presses count! Once you’d lined up your shot, it’s fired and you see a percentage of our effective or powerful your shot was. Obviously, an 89-percent shot will do more damage than a 23-percent shot. That’s why all that lining up counts; for best effect, you want your target in the center of your sights and both lines of aiming lined up right at the center; if you have the target off-center when you set the camera, even if you like up your targeting lines perfectly, you may only be capable of a 36-percent shot, based on placement within the targeting viewer.
Attacks are displayed dramatically, in full action sequence, in environments that can and likely WILL be damaged in the process. This can also affect your strategic options; if you are trying to destroy a catapult, for example, located at the top of a cliff, you might be able to climb up to it and attack it directly; but if you try shooting at it from the valley first and miss a couple times, you’ll eventually do enough damage to the cliff that climbing up to attack from closer range may no longer be possible.
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One nice aspect of FT:TU, especially for younger gamers, is that failing a level does not mean starting over from scratch; while you may have to repeat the battle-level, but if you choose Replay instead of Quit, you carry your experience with you, so that you’re better-equipped the second time around if you gained levels prior to failing a battle. A mixture of new strategic approaches and a stronger character will eventually overcome even the most-challenging of levels.
Some tactical RPG nuts may not appreciate the more action-oriented simplification of their favorite genre, but the key thing to keep in mind is this: the game is no less strategic than a standard, stat-heavy interface. Terrain, line-of-sight, approach, weapons and other factors that are so important in all tactical RPGs all also play a part in FT:TU. The genre hasn’t devolved into a Zelda-style action RPG yet, so if Zelda’s not your thing, Future Tactics will still be a friendly place for you to play.
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In all, FT:TU is a bit of a hidden gem but would be far more appealing if it were about 250-percent longer. At 19 levels, you may want to rent this one, rather than own it, or wait till it hits the bargain bin. But once you do rent or pick it up, for those 19 levels, you’ll experience one of the better games that no one’s talking about right now, or even aware of. If it had 50 or more levels, this is a game that could be a contender for an attention-grabbing title. As it stands, with such a small number of levels, it’s better-positioned to be a hidden gem worth a rental.
| What Works | Score |
|---|---|
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+ Great battle system that retains strategy while hiding a stats-heavy interface that would normally intimidate the more-casual gamer. + Each level smartly designed to provide non-repetitive challenges. + Story and characters a bit generic, but generally work for the style of game this is. + Sharp, high-poly characters with destructible environments to play in. |
6.1 |
| What Doesn't | |
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— Crave overlooked a no-brainer: where’s the online mode? — Only 19 levels in story mode means 10 to 20 hours of gameplay at most. — Be careful! Going “destroy your environment”-crazy can have negative results in your ability to reach level-objectives (though it can create unique ways to solve challenges, as well). |
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| Under the Shrink-wrap | |
| Future Tactics is one of those games it would be easy to overlook, but offers more fun than you might expect. Worth a look, especially for tactics-style RPG fans who crave a bit more action to their battle system. | |
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Tags: Future Tactics: The Uprising
Posted by Craig "American Idle" Hansen on Aug 5th, 2004 and is filed under PS2 Reviews, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can post a comment, or trackback from your own site.
