Given the opportunity to play our second
most anticipated mobile title of the year, you'd certainly expect us to be excited. Instead, we're left with a sense of disappointment. Revelling in the innovation and sheer quality that
Reset Generation promises, it's hard not to lament we didn't place it firmly at the top of the list.
After experiencing firsthand its cleverly-crafted gameplay and brilliant presentation,
Reset Generation has affixed itself a new spot as the mobile title we're most looking forward to this year.
A touch of
Tetris, a dash of
Advance Wars, and a heaping helping of humour – it's all here.
Reset Generation is purely about gaming. From the hilarious heroes that act as parodies of popular characters from video game history to the core mechanics inspired by classic titles, every piece has been carefully installed to serve as an homage to gaming. In fact, the central premise of the game is a throwback to one of the most iconic titles of all time:
Super Mario Bros.
Playing as one of ten heroes, the goal is to capture your opponent's princess. Since princesses are kept in castles, you need to make your way across the grid using blocks to form a path to your opponent's castle. Once you make it to the castle and nab the princess, you need to hightail it back to your castle to win the game.
Blocks are the most important part of the game, as they determine your ability to move across the grid.
Tetris-shaped blocks, which can be moved into any desired position and rotated on the game grid, drop at the start of each turn. You're only able to move on blocks matching your character's colour, so dropping blocks to create paths is critical to success. Linking five or more blocks in a row triggers a combo, letting you travel further on the grid than normal blocks. Obviously, laying down combos helps in reaching your opponent's castle faster.
Should your opponent drop their blocks on the same spot as your blocks, however, they disappear. You're also able to destroy blocks via bombs lobbed each turn. Breaking combos is an effective way of preventing a quick kidnapping or even stranding a hero on the grid without any possible path for movement. During a pitiful cross-platform match against producer Scott Foe, he effectively isolated me from the grid by dropping his blocks where he predicted I would drop mine. As a result, the blocks were destroyed and I was left without any path on which to move.
Fortunately, hero powers enable you to overcome setbacks like this and turn the tide of a game in your favour. Each hero has a unique over-the-top power. The ninja, for example, has the ability to switch places with another hero on the grid using his ninja vision power. Ladies' man, the plumber's power, lets you charm your princess into grabbing an bonus item from the map. The most aggressive power belongs to the sci-fi knight whose sci-fi mind trick enables you to control your opponents temporarily.
An 18-mission single-player campaign walks you through each of the heroes, instructing you on the basics of the game and letting your familiarize yourself with the mechanics, strategies, and unique powers. Once you're up to speed on how to drop blocks and steal princesses, you can move to multiplayer where
Reset Generation really shines. Up to four players can head online and play each other on either an N-Gage-compatible handset or PC via the web. Every game is ranked and recorded, which comes in handy for learning strategies and tricks from the replays of top-ranked players. No worries on getting slapped around by someone infinitely better than you, thanks to a matchmaking system that pairs you with other players near your rank.
Beyond its arsenal of online gameplay features,
Reset Generation boasts the most robust set of community features of any mobile game ever. Your rank, any point pick-ups you've earned, belts (special commendations specific to the game), and other personal information can be tracked on your player page. Amazingly enough, Nokia is releasing all of the game's assets upon launch for community use; in fact, players are encouraged to create their own content to be shared via the game's official website.
Irresistible charm draws you to it, but its unparalleled set of features and innovative gameplay will hook you on
Reset Generation. We simply can't wait to play and thankfully, we don't have to. Nokia promises to launch the game before the end of summer.
