{"id":20253,"date":"2020-07-08T00:01:27","date_gmt":"2020-07-08T00:01:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/?p=20253"},"modified":"2020-06-26T20:16:26","modified_gmt":"2020-06-26T20:16:26","slug":"ultracore-switch-ps4-vita","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/2020\/07\/08\/ultracore-switch-ps4-vita\/","title":{"rendered":"Ultracore (Switch, PS4, Vita)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>If Ultracore feels like a long lost 16-bit Genesis title, that\u2019s because it kind of is!\u00a0 There\u2019s a bit of interesting history behind it.\u00a0 Originally, it was called \u201cHardcore\u201d and set to release on the SEGA Genesis and Amiga in 1995.\u00a0 It was developed by a company called Digital Illusions, also known as DICE, and the game was pretty much completed.\u00a0 Unfortunately, at this time the PlayStation just came out and everyone was interested in 3-D gaming, so this one got lost in the shuffle.\u00a0 A short time later DICE went under and the game was all but lost.\u00a0 But recently it was found again and Strictly Limited finished it up and made it available to download under the name \u201cUltracore\u201d for Switch, PS4, and even the Vita (reviewed on Switch here).\u00a0 It\u2019s a run and gun game with bits of exploration mixed in as well.<\/p>\n

I imagine if this game were released back then, it would\u2019ve had an expansive story in the instruction booklet, but from what I can tell you\u2019re a lone soldier infiltrating an enemy fortress.\u00a0 You can run, jump, and fire your weapons.\u00a0 Controls are a little different when you shoot.\u00a0 You can fire in multiple directions, but as you are firing you don\u2019t move.\u00a0 But you can back up and move forward sometimes.\u00a0 To move again, just stop firing.\u00a0 It takes a little getting used to but otherwise controls are fine.<\/p>\n

Even though the game is set up in stages with a robot boss to fight in each one, you\u2019ll explore underground mazes and the stage progression is pretty seamless.\u00a0 You\u2019ll sometimes come across hidden corridors with goodies and weapons in each one, and can pick up ID cards and switches to open doors and such.\u00a0 Every so often you\u2019ll come across a computer where you can view a map of the surrounding area.\u00a0 You can switch weapons like a laser pistol or missile launcher, but aside from your default weapon, the others have limited ammo.\u00a0 Graphics are pretty impressive with lots of stuff going on at once for a 16-bit title.<\/p>\n

Aside from the controls that take some getting used to, there are some other problems with the game as well.\u00a0 Even though you can take multiple hits and get plenty of lives and can start right where you left off, you only get a limited number of continues so the game can be pretty hard to beat unless you\u2019re really good at these kinds of games.\u00a0 The mazes also have a knack for sending you plummeting into insta-death spikes and pits with no time to react or know they\u2019re there.<\/p>\n

Other problems have to do with the era in which this game was released.\u00a0 You can continue on later stages via a password system, which was acceptable back then but I think they could\u2019ve put in battery saves now.\u00a0 Also since games back then relied more on instruction booklets to help you figure out the game, this one has no tutorial mode so you have to figure out a lot of it on your own.\u00a0 Which isn\u2019t too hard to do, but in-game instructions would\u2019ve been helpful.\u00a0 But if you like playing long lost 16-bit titles, you may want to check this one out.\u00a0 It certainly would\u2019ve been one I would have at least rented back in the day.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Kid Factor:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ultracore is rated E-10 with ESRB descriptors of Fantasy Violence and Mild Blood.\u00a0 You shoot all manner of robots with futuristic weapons, and some of the still shots show wounded soldiers laying in pools of 16-bit blood.\u00a0 Reading skill is helpful for the text, and younger gamers may find it too difficult.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If Ultracore feels like a long lost 16-bit Genesis title, that\u2019s because it kind of is!\u00a0 There\u2019s a bit of interesting history behind it.\u00a0 Originally, it was called \u201cHardcore\u201d and set to release on the SEGA Genesis and Amiga in 1995.\u00a0 It was developed by a company called Digital Illusions, also known as DICE, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":20250,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20253","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-game-reviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20253","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20253"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20253\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20255,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20253\/revisions\/20255"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20250"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20253"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20253"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20253"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}