Advent Rising

"Advent Rising has a deep story line that will draw you in quickly, but the frame rate drags the whole game down."

Genre: Action Adventure

Appeal: 7/10
Advent Rising may be a very very fun game, but it's low frame rate and extremely high amount of 'action' may turn away a lot of people. Luckily though, it has a very well made story, that may be pleasing to those who don't like the game itself, making it worth playing through to see what happens. If you don't like action movies or brawlers (stuff like Devil may Cry) there will be a very slim chance you will like Advent Rising. Now, if you do like those types of games, you should at least rent advent rising.

Story Line: 9/10
Advent Rising has a very deep story line, that may not be as grand as something like a Metal Gear Solid title, but it is very well thought out, and Sci-fi fans should love it. It begins in space, where people have made first contact with an alien race. This is going to be the first time meeting them, and it will be taking place on their ship. Shortly after the game has begun, you will bord the alien ship. This is where things turn ugly. These aliens inform the 'human' representative, that eons ago, humans home world was destroyed by an alien race called the "Seekers". Because of the strange powers humans had, and the threat they could have posed to everyone. And the "seekers" has followed their ship to Earth. Through the game many unexpected things will happen, and something rather 'nice' will happen to Earth. The story moves smoothly, and is played out with no less grander than a major Motion Picture. Sadly through, the game ends to be continued.

Gameplay: 8/10
Advent Rising is a typical brawler with a ton of twists. The game is done fully 3D, and you can get vehicles. The vehicles are easy to control, and can be compared to Halo. The vehicles control like your character, you have, a jeep (that can make short super fast boosts), an alien 'tank' you could say, and a space ship that you don't get to use very often. The biggest 'innovation' with Advent Rising is the attempt they made to make an interesting lock-on system. Advent Rising, uses "flick" targeting, this means you will need to "flick" the Right Stick in the direction of your opponent. This becomes very smooth when you get the hang of it, but unfortunately, there is a problem with targeting one enemy out of a crowd. The biggest flaw involves something with the graphics, it's the Frame Rate, the FPS (Frames Per Second) is so low, that at times the game will skip entire portions, making you get confused and loose track of where you are (though this only seems to happen when there are a lot of enemies around). The best things about this game are the weapons and (mainly) the abilities.

Weapons / Abilities: 10/10 :)
The weapons in advent rising aren't too well done, some of them are nice, but some of them are too typical and 'Star Wars-ish'. The weapon you begin with is a 'training' gun used for training. After the training you will receive a hand gun (it's what you would expect from a hand gun), You also get a typical machine gun, and a VERY typical red laser gun (that fires long, red lines) The most effect weapon in your arsenal will be the Seekers main laser weapons, it fires (at a high speed rate) green balls of energy that make small green explosions, you also can get two kinds of missiles (one that heat seeks, but moves slow, and one that is super fast but doesn't seek). However, the weapons are not the main thing you will be using to fight your enemies. Your most powerful weapon will be your mind. You can do many, extremely cool and extremely powerful things. You can slow down time, to the point that you can run circles around missiles and lasers. You can dash ultra fast, shoot ice that seeks it's opponent, flat out freeze your enemies and shatter them into pieces. You can fire energy, and even float into the air, and let off a massive explosion, you are also giving the power to deflect bullets, missiles, and send enemies and rock flying at high speeds. And of course, your most easy to use and handy power, the ability to lift things into the air and throw them! You can have two abilities and or powers equipped at a time. You can lift an enemy into the air, then unload your machine gun into them, and top off your attack by switching powers (with them still in the air) then slow down time, and play volley ball with them (by smacking them one way, then running to the other side and knocking them the other way again) Using your powers in inventive ways is very fun and pleasing.

Entertainment: 7/10
Though you will receive many many powerful abilities, you must progress far in the game to get the good ones. This can almost feel like a job at times. Though the game is easy most of the time, occasionally the door will lock, and you will be forced to fight hordes of enemies for a couple of minutes, though this may be fun for a while, it can get boring fast. Sometimes, you will feel like the only reason your playing is to get the next upgrade. Once you get a few upgrades the game will get funner and funner, until you will love the game. But after a while, you will want more powers to use, and the 'job' of trying to get new powers will begin again. This loop may make some people bored, and others may like it. If you really enjoy action this game is for you, if you like at least a little thought, you may not find Advent Rising as fun.

Graphics: 7/10
The areas are beautifully rendered and have some breath taking scenery in the later levels. The graphics are as good, if not better than Halo 2, but there is one major flaw keeping it from feeling like the graphics are great: The Frame Rate (FPS), it is very, very low. At times it can make you loose track of where you are. And even make it difficult to enjoy some of the amazing areas. And when there are lots of enemies on screen, things only get worse. The Frame Rate can get so low, that the game will skip entire portions of the game, making you loose your place, this can send you off a ledge if you don't stop and look around when things slow down. Other than that, the graphics are great. Though some of the explosions and weapons look rather odd.

Sound Effects / Music: 7/10
The sound effect lack in a few areas, however, this can be blamed on the game skipping at times. When your running, you do make sound, but it is so drowned out that it can be hard to tell. Also, the explosions and lasers sound weak, and fake. In the computer sequences the sound effects are detailed, and very well done. However, actual CG scenes are few and far between. They did pay a little attention to things, but not as much as some people might like. However, it will not make a huge impact on the game, due to the fact that most of the game is shooter, dodging, more shooting with some explosions thrown into the mix. The music is superb, however, there is a major problem with the way it is presented. Very orchestral style music will play at times of great 'peril'. They constantly play the music at all the wrong times, this drags all of the music down, along with the game.

Replay Value: 8/10
The first run through the game can be boring in some of the earlier areas. Though plenty of 'action' is thrown in, the game is very, very linear, it's like walking on a beaten path, you feel like you have almost no control of where you are going to go next. Though the actually fighting is fun for a while, after an hour of repetitive fighting your going to feel like taking a break. Though, you might not, because of the very well done story that will suck you into the game. After your first run though the game, you will get a couple of hours of enjoyment, and several hours if you diced to hunt down a cheat code. Advent Rising may not be too fun in the earlier levels, but once you really get into the game, you'll be playing for good amount of time.

Overview: 8/10
The story of Advent Rising is nothing less than amazing, it plays out smoothly, with brilliant design, the story line alone makes the game worth playing from start to finish. However, the actually gameplay can get boring at times. It's mostly shooting at first, luckily, later in the game you will get several powers that make the game fun. The ability to slow down time is cool, and powerful. The sound effects aren't perfect, but they don't play a major role in the game. The music on the other hand, will play at bad times, ruining some of the 'epic' parts of the game. However, there is one, major flaw in Advent Rising, the frame rate! The Frame Rate is low, very very low. To the point that it brings down the game at times. Other than that. This is a great game, I give it a solid eight out of ten.

Rent or Buy?
If you love action games, buy. If you like games with tons of action (or don't like them at all) it's worth renting.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 06/30/05