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GF! Archival Version Copyright 1995-2004




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by 3do

Story:
The rebels have just stolen the technology to create the ‘Wraith’ battle tank from the Imperium. This tank can actually teleport troops into battle, in addition to having a staggering array of weaponry. With this new technology the rebels finally have the upper hand they need to take back their freedom from the Imperium. The only catch is that only the most skilled and tested pilot can control the ‘Wraith’ and command the Uprising. You!


Gameplay:
Once you begin a game, you start in your Wraith battle tank. The basic view is similar to a tank or flight simulator with a first person, 3-D view, much like the MechWarrior series. Once you get your bearings, you need to construct a Citadel. A Citadel allows you to build other buildings to produce units, gather resources, or control orbital satellites in addition to providing an incredible amount of firepower to your base.

Purchasing an infantry barracks, tank factory, AAV launch site, or bomber pad allows you to create your units. These units are created in battle by aiming your tank where you would like to place them, then pressing the appropriate key. Once created, these units are fully independent and shoot, move, and think all on their own.

To complete a mission you simply have to control all citadel sites.

Review:
When I first started Uprising, I expected to play Command and Conquer, just with some kind of cheap 3D engine thrown on top. What I found is a game with a well-developed 3D engine that reminded me more of the Mechwarrior series. The 3D graphics were great, even on my Pentium-120, and they looked stunning on a faster P2-266. And the graphics are even more impressive with a 3D accelerator.

OK, so the graphics are good. With all the time spent on the graphics, Cyclone Studios couldn’t have made a fun game right? Wrong! Uprising has exciting fast-paced action that will keep you playing again and again.

I’m sure those of you that have played C&C or Warcraft, or any of the real time clones have noticed a surprising lack of strategy. Once you can build your best units, why build anything else, right? Well, Uprising is different in this respect. No unit is ‘better’ than any other; each has its own strengths and weaknesses and this makes the game very complex. Take the infantry, for example. In most games infantry are nothing more than cannon fodder, but here they serve an important purpose. In Uprising, they are the demolition experts, who are the only ground unit which can destroy buildings without shooting them for half an hour. And while a tank can’t destroy buildings in less than two hours, they squish infantry by the busload. There is a definite strategy in deploying your units correctly that makes the game fun to play. This added strategy also makes a shoot 'em up game a lot less mindless.

One complaint I do have, though, is the unit control. At first I expected to be able to control each unit individually. This is definitely not the case here. Once a unit is created, it's under its own control. This can create a problem at times because created units that are not near enemy units simply don’t move. I remember running a mission where I was out of energy and couldn’t create any more units to take over a final enemy citadel, while I did have hordes of troops just sitting around. While this is annoying, it doesn’t happen too often. Definitely something to keep in mind though.

For those players who like single player action, the campaign game is GREAT! After the first three missions the rest of them are really tough but not quite impossible. These missions are the type that give you the "just one more try and I’ll get it" attitude. There’s also a tendency to play one more mission just to try out the new upgrades you purchased for your Wraith. Uprising is very addictive once you get hooked.

One of the nice things about the Uprising campaign is being able to upgrade your units between missions. For each mission you get "paid" and you can put this money towards upgrading your Wraith, upgrading your units, making your buildings stronger, or starting with pre-made units in the next scenario.

The final complaint I have with Uprising is how tough it is to learn. Using the mouse AND keyboard to control the tank is tough to get used to. Also, if you want to do anything other than move, you either need a sixth sense and a third hand to get to the other half of the keyboard, or you have to quit moving. This three-handed control stuff is hard, but after a few hours of playing time it does get easier to switch back and forth between moving and creating units.

Once you get the controls out of the way, this game is great! I can’t remember having more fun blasting a turret or taking out a building with anti-matter disks. Anyone who has ever enjoyed a Doom, Quake, Mechwarrior, or even a Command and Conquer should love this game. This new take on the 3D real time genre is one of the most original games to come out this year.

Pluses:
Very Original
GREAT 3D
Good Mix of Units
Fun Single Player

Minuses:
Tough Controls
Hard to Learn
Simplistic Resource Mananagement

--David Korus