HRogue's Full Review: Uprising X for PlayStation 1
I've been planning to write on this topic for a while, but it is difficult to pass judgement on this game. It offers a fair degree of action, especially at the higher levels. What I remembered as poor graphics actually turned out to fairly good after a I gave them a fresh evaluation. The strategic dimension of the game is potentially very impressive. Also, the game's use of dual analog controls is particularly inventive. Almost everything about this game makes me want to like it . . . so why don't I?
For those who are not familiar with the product, the idea behind Uprising X is something like a fusion of Battlezone and Warcraft. The core of the game involves roving the map in the Wraith tank, a superweapon combining speed, firepower, and armor in levels far beyond those of normal combat units. At various points on the maps, it becomes possible to put up "citadels," facilities which act as gigantic gun turrets as well as command centers for building projects. Various factories can then be teleported into the predefined spaces near the citadels. Depending on what factories you have active at a particular point in the game, you may be able to call in various support units. If someone had told me all that, I would certainly be very eager to get a chance to play this game.
I made quite an effort to "get into" Uprising X when I first obtained it, and I have since spent more than a few evenings searching to unlock whatever potential it might have. I do not mean to imply that the game is without fun. However, I often found it to be enough like actual work to spoil its appeal. Except for the training missions and the first real one player mission, most of the levels in the single player mode involve accomplishing complex tasks which demand a good deal of skill in handling the tank. This is in addition to practice on each mission so as to get a sense of the support units that are best suited to the objectives as well as the terrain features which may be helpful in combat. There a some games where practicing a mission until you can execute it with consistent perfection is truly rewarding. This is not one of them, and I would have enjoyed it a good deal more if it was not so easy to make a single bad decision and wind up without hope of victory in a typical scenario.
I found the control configuration to be truly delightful. One stick can be used to move the tank while the other controls the orientation of the turret guns. After a little practice, this proves to support some excellent play. Manipulating both sticks to line up shots while on the move can be challenging, but there is a real payoff in acquiring the skill. Unfortunately, many of the levels consist of clearly-defined paths bounded by steep, impassable slopes. Also, there are many small obstacles which the tank cannot simply roll over. As a result, it is often possible to get stuck during battle. I would have preferred level designs that did not rely so heavily on the use of slopes to confine the movement of the player's tank, and some sort of feature, like warning arrows or a small HUD with short range radar, to make it easier to identify and avoid obstacles while moving in a direction other than the way the turret (and thus the viewer) is facing.
Though my initial memories of the game's graphics were not flattering, on a second examination I had to admit that the game does have good use of color and detail. Though many of the units seem crude at close range, the designs are actually quite helpful in the sense that recognition of small profiles is fairly easy. Also, the many different worlds on which the game takes place each offer their own color schemes for terrain, local obstacles, and the sky itself. The variety in the background imagery probably has something to do with the consistent and somewhat surreal use of red, blue, and yellow on the combat units. Unfortunately, it seems as though the game enforces too short a limit of the range of vision -- such that it is actually possible to shot and be shot by units that are lurking unseen beyond the range of perception, even though they are still not so far away that they cannot be reached with a few seconds of driving.
The variety of support units and special weapons seems impressive at first glance. However, neither is really up to the standards of other contemporary games. For example, the few available alternatives to the standard laser cannon are uniformly unimpressive. One merely allows a high rate of fire with medium power, while the other notable weapon is pair of strange guided missiles. Skillful use of the lasers will consistently outperform these alternative weapons, making them more novelties than important elements in the game. Though the support units are central to game play, it feels as though it would not have taken much more effort to imbue them with a great deal more diversity. For example, bombers and infantry are good at eliminating immobile structures, whereas tanks and AAVs (the non-bomber aircraft) are better at drawing fire and dealing with mobile threats. Without adding much to the graphic artists' workload, it would have been possible to devise multiple levels of tanks, AAVs, et al. This game could have been improved substantially by a Warcraft-style hierarchy of structures and units.
I hesitate to give this game even a three-star rating, but I am willing to give it the benefit of the doubt on the basis of the quality of the 2 player mode. It seems to me that many of the game's flaws are less relevant to multiplayer competition, and that the ideas involved in construction and deployment could make this at least as interesting as the competitive mode of Future Cop: LAPD. Besides, even if the multiplayer version also fails to live up to the potential of the ideas behind Uprising X, the basic game is still not without merit. I may yet put in the time to see the ending of the game, and (though it is low on my list of games I would like to get my friends hooked on) I believe it would be worth making an effort to see what it feels like to use the two player mode in a match against another experienced player. Generally speaking I would not recommend this game, but, given its low cost, it may be a worthwhile purchase for fans of strategy-action hybrids as well as devotees of the old Battlezone game.
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