As “The Force Awakens” release approaches, Star Wars has been rising in popularity once again.
One recent example is Star Wars Uprising. This mobile game takes place after the events of Return of the Jedi. The galaxy is in chaos.
The player’s character is—like many of Star Wars’ most iconic and lovable characters—a scoundrel. You make shady business deals with underworld thugs in exchange for valuable credits.
Typical levels in Uprising consist of the player taking a job, traveling somewhere, collecting something, and returning for a new assignment.
Each mission is relatively short. This is great because on-the-go playing doesn’t allow for long play sessions. But even the short missions become so repetitive you lose the satisfaction of completion.
It’s also not friendly to younger players. A high level of reading comprehension is needed to understand the game. Much of the story and tutorials are delivered in boxes of text. The violence isn’t graphic or overtly offensive. But there is some violence in each of the missions. And the number of small gameplay systems may prove overwhelming for kids.
This is especially evident in the way Uprising handles leveling up characters. As characters complete missions, they gain experience points that grant them access to “special” new abilities. But these abilities don’t feel particularly special. They’ll offer a few new options for combat and buff up a character’s toughness, but the effects feel negligible.
What’s more, players have to upgrade their equipment separately. After each mission, players are rewarded with a number of items, including materials to improve some equipment. It’s a tedious mechanic. It feels unnecessarily complicated considering the amount of time it takes to level up individual items.
Star Wars Uprising is graced with slight bits of charm. But ultimately it’s a lukewarm adaptation of the Star Wars universe.
