Review: Reset Generation

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Review: Reset Generation

Mon, Aug 4, 2008

Back in May, GameCyte attended the unveiling of Nokia's mysterious "Project White Rock," a new game for the phone giant's relaunched N-Gage platform. That game turned out to be Reset Generation, a retro-themed head-to-head puzzle/boardgame/combat mashup which would also be free available, for free, on PC. We later had the chance to play Reset Generation on its intended mobile platform, and fully explore the game's single-player and multi-player modes. With several dozen princesses now rescued (lord knows how our castle can contain them all), we're pleased to report that Reset Generation makes a fine addition to one's mobile gaming lineup -- and you'd be a fool not to give the free PC version a whirl. You know, since it's free, and all.

Faceoff Reset Generation is a collection of every gaming cliché, cultural reference, inside joke, and archetype that developers RedLynx could find. The objective, as such, is the oldest and most time-honored video game task: Rescue the Princess. Each player in a 2-4 player game has a princess of his own, and should another player "rescue" that princess out from under him, he will be eliminated from the game, awarding victory to the last player standing. The game, which is turn-based, works out to be a mix of strategy and luck, with more emphasis falling on the latter as the number of players increases.

The game's single-player "story" mode plays somewhat differently, guiding you through a series of missions with varying objectives and rules. You'll want to play through it, regardless; the first few levels serve as helpful tutorials and introductions to the various game elements, and it also introduces you to the game's cast of cleverly re-imagined characters, from Plumber to Hedgehog to Monster Summoner. As we touched on in our preview, each character was conceived and rendered by one of gaming's more notorious artists, and their over-the-top personalities are helped along by amusing voice acting and the occasional cut-scene.

It's important to note, though, that Reset Generation doesn't rely purely on these character parodies for its humor; every gaming joke, both old and new, has been crammed somewhere into the game, and even sometimes into the very gameplay. Level 50 Elf summons her mighty LARP powers by shrieking, "Lightning Bolt! Lightning Bolt! Lightning Bolt!" Ninja defends his honor by declaring, "Rescue? Forget it! Try my fist!" Dr. Lovebomber, a tiny mad-science arsonist, giggles at a successful attack with a jab at our favorite legal pal, "Murder simulator, indeed!" The voice samples will almost all make you chuckle, and are thankfully varied enough to last a while before wearing thin.

Cannons The "regular" game, either in single-player arcade mode or online multiplayer, plays out quickly and easily; one can expect a full match to last 5-10 minutes. Given that this is a mobile game, this is a good length for getting in a match or two while on the bus or waiting in line. Mind you, you'll want headphones; the constant chatter from the characters and the boisterous sound effects and chiptunes from 8 Bit Weapon will get you a lot of stares if you're playing in a crowd. The graphics, full of color and personality, are mostly a good match for a mobile phone; the pixelated look is wholly appropriate to the Reset Generation's uber-retro theme. On the other hand, the graphics do contain my main complaint about the game: Often times, you will find yourself playing on a game board that is larger than your screen, and the display doesn't automatically move to focus on what's going on. In a game where random items may appear just off-screen, or a new warp pipe might allow your opponent to get directly to your princess on his next move, you'll be forced to constantly scroll all around the screen with your own controller, or else be caught off-guard by the one crucial game element you couldn't see.

Save Me The flow of the game is simple. Play begins on a random board, with each player starting at their castle. Each turn plays out in three phases: Place blocks, which provide movement and attack bonuses for only your character; fire cannons, which can destroy certain blocks and any item pickups; and move, which also encompasses using items, stealing princesses, attacking other characters, and executing special moves. Placing blocks and firing cannons are all done simultaneously -- each player has a limited time to decide where they will lay their four-tile piece, or to aim their two cannon shots, and then all 2-4 choices are resolved at once. This places a real offensive/defensive split on each, since blocks placed on the same squares will cancel out, and cannonballs heading for the same square will both bounce away to a random new location. If there's a handy item near your character that you think someone else might be trying to destroy, you might want to use one of your own cannonballs there to knock away any incoming shots (of course, if you're the only one who shoots it, you've just destroyed the item).

From there, each character makes his individual move in a pre-set turn order. Careful block placement will typically determine your best course of action, but randomly-appearing items will present new options on the fly, often providing you with an unusually lucky chance to turn the game to your favor. More items show up when there are more players, so a 4-player game that goes on long enough will frequently devolve into a minefield of random chance, as a suddenly-appearing weapon or teleporter prevents even the best-planned princess rescue from seeing completion. In addition, rushing headlong into an enemy castle before items can fill the playing field is inadvisable -- if you die in the game, your princess is instantly thrown into the waiting arms of your killer, meaning that if your opponent kills you while standing on his own castle, he automatically resuces your princess, and you lose. Of course, this doesn't mean you can just hang out at home and wait for the other players to deliver your victory; after a few turns of sitting on or around your own castle, your princess will angrily accuse you of camping, and boot you out onto the playing field by force.

Try my Fist Still, Reset Generation's random occurrences and game-altering items are by design, even though they always seem to show up when you least want them. Once you have a few games under your belt, Reset Generation is the kind of game you'll be able to pick up and play at a moment's notice. Thanks to its short match length, well-paced game phases, and enthusiastically announced in-game events, Reset Generation is very n00b-friendly, while containing a wealth of jokes and homages that long-time gamers will instantly appreciate. If you own an N-Gage capable phone, this one's worth the download.