Gaming Target - Xbox: Future Tactics: The Uprising

Written by Kyle Williams on March 24, 2004

Final Glimpse: ...or, how to conquer the future one turn at a time.

I find it interesting how the word "tactics" equates to "turn-based" in videogame speak. Let's see... there's Final Fantasy Tactics, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, Tactics Ogre and Dynasty Tactics. Those are just the ones that came off of the top of my head and let's see--Yup, every one of them is turn based! Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not complaining about this. In fact, I love turn based strategy titles and feel that the genre doesn't receive the TLC that it deserves. I just find it interesting that so many of them have the word "tactics" in the title. Well, like the tradition or not, Future Tactics, the latest release from Crave is entering the fold next month.

Set in twisted, alien-infested future, Future Tactics will put you in control of a rag-tag band of humans that have survived the alien invasion. As the only hope for saving mankind, it will be up to you to lead them to victory. Utilizing a turn-based combat engine that is promoting action over stat management should be a boon for Future Tactics, drawing in many of the casual players that are intimidated by the overwhelming scope of a game like Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. This should also help to speed up gameplay, thereby increasing the titles draw. Now, this isn't to say that character advancement won't be an issue. It just won't be the driving force to the game.

Of real interest is the addition of deformable terrain to the combat engine. In description, this feature sounds very similar to (read: exactly like) the GeoMod engine employed in the Red Faction games from THQ. For those of you that aren't familiar with the concept (shame on you!), this will let you blow holes in walls, shoot floors out from under enemies and launch massive boulders across the countryside. Not only is this kind of feature a great gimmick, but it brings a whole new level of strategic problem solving into the mix. Thinking outside of the box will be rewarded, not stifled.

After completing the 19-level single-player experience, you will still be able to come back to Future Tactics for some multiplayer action. The two-player battle mode will allow you to control many of the variables that can throw the balance off between a newbie and a veteran. By letting you set handicaps, alter the availability of power-ups and tweak victory conditions, Crave is hoping to let you keep the action flowing forever. True, there will be no network support of any kind, but you shouldn't expect anything otherwise on the GameCube.