It's been more than two decades since Nintendo released a Kid Icarus game - and gamers have been clamouring for it. So it has been rolled out on the 3DS in graphical glory and, despite being an impressively deep game for a portable, it's not without its faults.
The control system is so demanding and awkward, that a stand for the 3DS has been bundled with Kid Icarus: Uprising so it can actually be played. It combines airborne scenarios (on rails) with more grounded scenes in typical third person style. Angelic wee hero Pit takes on a variety of world-saving missions in the brilliantly-rendered title, and although the story isn't the most immersive tale ever, the script is packed with quips and character-qualifying background and quickly gets you invested.
There are armaments aplenty - 100-plus options - each of which can be used either in melee combat or as projectiles, plus upgrades and perks effectively give you an endless supply of dead-makers. Put simply, this game is about killing lots of enemies, and then level bosses, and then killing lots of enemies again.
But it's designed as a stylus game, and despite its reasonably small form factor, the 3DS starts breaking your wrist when held one-handed. Hence the stand. To drive Pit on ground levels you need to move the circle pad to move him, and the stylus to aim and move the camera. Button reassignment is possible, but still takes a while to get your head (and hands) around. Airborne levels are simple and much more entertaining to play. This will keep you busy for a good 12 hours in total, winding up the difficulty will enhance that even further and probably teach those nearby a few new choice words.
Graphically, it's stunning, although the frame rate can suffer in extremely busy battle situations - especially when in multiplayer mode. Glitches and control dramas aside, it's still very nice to have the Kid back after all this time.
