Kid Icarus: Uprising

Kid Icarus: Uprising
Developer	Project Sora
Publisher	Nintendo
System	Nintendo 3DS
Release Date	JP March 22, 2012 US March 23, 2012 EU March 23, 2012
Rating	ESRB: E10+

Kid Icarus: Uprising is a the third Kid Icarus game to be created and is the first installment to be made in twenty years. Its development is due in part to popularity boost from Pit's redesigned appearance in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and he game was developed for the 3DS under the same head developer, Masahiro Sakurai, as the first official project for Project Sora.

Story

Medusa has returned and is starting a new campaign with her underworld army. Pit is sent out by Palutena to deal with Medusa once again, and along the way he meets a new ally named Magnus.

Gameplay

This installment features a stark departure from the previous 2D side-scrollers. This game is instead 3D and features Pit in open environments with perspectives more akin to a shooter game. Each chapter starts with an air segment in which Pit has the power of flight granted for around five minutes and gets to engage enemies in air combat. Pit then returns to the ground, where the gameplay allows for more exploration as well as melee combat. The chapter concludes with an expansive boss battle. Pit is initially armed solely with a blade, but as the game progresses the player can find a variety of different weapons, each with special properties, which can be chosen from. The game has a system of "fusing" weapons together.

The control system involves using the stylus on the touch screen for targeting, the circle pad for movement and the L button for firing and attacking. Additionally, the difficulty level for each chapter can be adjusted at various points on a scale from 1 to 10. The player "wagers" hearts to raise the difficulty level. If the player loses, they will lose hearts and be dropped down to a lower difficulty, but if the player is able to succeed they can find better treasures and reap more rewards.

Uprising also has its own multiplayer mode in which two teams of three can compete against each other. A unique twist will cause the last member of the losing team to be revived as Pit, at which point the others will have to defeat him to win. The game is also compatible with a set of AR Cards.