Kid Icarus: Uprising

Off the bat, I must admit I'm not much of a Kid Icarus Fan. I never knew who Pit was until I played Super Smash Brothers Brawl but after playing Kid Icarus Uprising, it's safe to say I know how great this franchise is. Kid Icarus Uprising was revealed a few years ago at E3 as a true AAA title to look forward to for the 3DS. However most attention was upon Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7. Don't be fooled, Kid Icarus isn't a game to pass by if you own a 3DS.
The gameplay is rather unique. The controls aren't the most comfortable at first but you'll surely get accustomed to it. I prefer using the stand that comes included with the game, it makes a difference. You'll play through chapters in the story mode, each are separated in 3 gameplay segments, a 5 minute on-rails shooting segment where Pit is given the ability to fly and fend off enemies, an on foot 3rd person action adventure and lastly a boss battle. The air on-rails shooting is reminiscent of Sin and Punishment, gives you a great sense of exhilaration. The 3rd person segments for some reason resembles to a mash-up of Zelda and Smash Bros, only issue I have is controlling Pit's view in this mode but once again you'll adjust. Project Sora, the studio responsible for this game I'm sure worked on Smash Brothers Brawl. Most menus and overall layout of the game has that Brawl style to it. The boss battles are quite impressive and rewarding if completed on much higher difficulties.
The graphics are some of the greatest I've seen to date for the 3ds. I thought Resident Evil Revelations was the best looking 3ds game yet, surely it is but just the vibrant colors and surprising scale to Kid Icarus will certainly astound even the ficklest gamer. The voice acting is rather quirky, I honestly expected Lady Palutena to have a more serious, goddess-like voice than a cartoony one. Pit's voice is suiting, very enjoyable. Dialogue is cheesy at times but entertaining on the most part. The story is interesting enough to keep you hooked until the end. Art direction for the characters are enjoyable, I'm not too big on greek mythology but yet again Nintendo can convert me into liking anything they want me to.
Multiplayer is hit or miss. I found it to be a little too frantic, too many things happening at once with all the different weapon classes and effects equipped, very fast paced. Guaranteed it's fun but I found myself enjoying the story mode slightly more. There is an incredible amount of depth in this game which really adds to it's replay value. A rather large weapon system. 9 different classes but practically endless variables. You can fuse weapons, acquire weapons via streetpass, completing story chapters etc.
Enclosing I strongly recommend Kid Icarus Uprising. It's one of the finer 3DS titles to date, has incredible depth in gameplay variety, comes with a 3ds stand and 6 AR cards to use with the 3DS camera. The value is there, don't pass this one up, Nintendo has done a phenomenal job rejuvenating Kid Icarus and it can't be ignored.

Let's get the bad out of the way. The control system is a bit frustrating. It's not something that will prevent you from playing the game, it just takes some adjustment. Your left hand controls the shoot button and movement of Pit while your right makes use of the analog stick to aim and control your point of view. A stand is provided but not necessary. After a half hour of gameplay you should be comfortable, it just takes a little getting you.

The good: fast, fun, & furious. I vaguely remember playing the original Kid Icarus, a side scrolling RPG where you collect hearts, jump on baddies, and shoot arrows. The Nintendo 3DS breathes fresh life into a franchise that many have forgotten about.

Each level is fairly straightforward: 5 minute aerial battle, 5-10 minute ground level (Zelda-esque) hunt for baddies, then a boss. The recipe is simple, but it's fun and I keep wanting to go back for more. You collect new weapons, and can redeem hearts for rewards & the like.

The 3D aspects of this game are flawless, though not entirely necessary if you find that aspect of the device distracting. A beautiful world with a fun story-line. Lots of laughs and hours of fun await.

The game is fun and has a cool retro feel, but the control scheme is brutal. You pretty much have to play on the included stand, which defeats most of the purpose of a 'mobile' game system.