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Well, it has finally arrived! Advent Rising from Majesco games has finally reached store shelves. If you haven't heard of it then that probably isn't surprising considering that the game was delayed a full year. Directed by Donald Mustard and written by Orson Scott Card the game showed much promise at past gaming entertainment expo's. Unfortunately, the game has failed on almost every conceivable level!
I mean no offense towards the developers or Card but what happened? The game just isn't as grand as it was cracked up to be. For starters, there are problems with the story. The story is as follows: A race of alien beings known as Aurelians are searching for the Humans who, to them, are mythical beings who will one day "deliver" the universe. At the same time, a race known as Seekers are searching the universe for the Humans as well in an attempt to wipe them out. The Aurelians hurry to establish contact with the last of the Humans in a desperate attempt to save them from destruction. A handful of Humans are saved and are brought to Aurelia to unlock the mythical power inside themselves. As the game progresses, your character will be able to attack the enemies not just with guns and rocket launchers but with force powers that would put Jedi knights to shame. Force pushes, telekinesis, time control, aeon pulses, and so forth will grow within your character to the point where guns are irrelevant.
Sure, the story sounds great...on paper. In the game, there are plot holes and logic errors that really drag the games story down to a low point. Why are the Humans considered mythical? What is their true purpose? Why do the Aurelians send only one ship to establish contact with the Humans if the Aurelian race believes they are Gods? There are many errors that occur throughout that give the story a choppy feel instead of a smooth transition from one scene to the next.
Not only is the story less than stellar, but the script writing also has issues. The characters lack depth and, at times, become more annoying than interesting due to voice acting that sounds more like a cheesy high school play. Cheesy one-liners, macho man talk, quick comebacks. It seems almost like the voice acting was intended to annoy the player rather than evoke emotional response.
However, the story, script, and acting aren't the only things bad about the game. There's also the game play. I played the X-Box version and was appauled when I started playing. The X-Box is capable of some very powerful things but unfortunately, Advent Rising is not one of these things. The game boils down to walk into a room, kill all the enemies(who are complete morons due to bad A.I.), rinse, lather, repeat. It is occasionally broken up by "find the switch" puzzles but if that's the best kind of puzzle the developers could come up with, then it's no wonder this game is supremely underwelming. The graphics are also a let down. After playing games like Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay and Halo 2 and with Half-Life 2 on the way to the X-Box, I expected Advent to look just as amazing. Well, guess what? It doesn't even come close! No shadows, no textures or bump mapping whatsoever, simplistic character design, herky-jerky animations, occasional clipping, and serious collision detection problems. Plus, the environments are extremely bland and virtually empty with almost nothing to interact with. But the worst part is the frame rate. Even though the game looks like crap, the game still has frame rate problems. If there are more than five characters on screen (and throughout the game that number increases immensely), the game slows down to a slide show version of itself. That's unacceptable and unplayable.
The sound also takes a hit from the sluggish frame rate. The sound would either dip down in volume or cut out altogether. Even though the music is superb, and quite possibly the best part of the game, that music is almost never heard in its entirerty due to bugs and sound glitches.
The controls have serious problems too. Due to the chugging frame rate, you will have to constantly struggle to maintain control of the action. The game also uses what is called a flick-targeting scheme. Flicking the right analog stick in the direction of a certain enemy will target them. It's a cool idea but hardly ever works correctly especially when the screen becomes crowded with enemies late in the game. The camera also has issues. It can barely keep up with the action and at times would stay locked on a certain enemy even after that enemy had been disposed of. However, you can switch between first and third person camera view but I guess that's like saying being paralyzed isn't so bad because I can still move my eyes!
If you haven't guessed by now, this game is practically bug city. Glitches and bugs occur everywhere. So much to the point where you have to ask the question: "Did the developers even play the game before releasing it?" There are bugs in the audio, graphics, and even some nasty crashing bugs too. After extended periods of play, the game would tend to lock up and become unplayable.
I wanted to love this game. Really I did! I appreciate the concept that the games developers' wanted to create: a game that would evoke emotion and be just as cinematic as a major motion picture. But if the game is terrible then how am I supposed to cry when a major character dies?(Spoiler, sorry.) The game really should be better. It was delayed a full year! The X-Box is capable of creating beautiful works of art but Advent Rising fails to grasp the power a system that features games like Halo and Ninja Gaiden.
Final verdict: I feel that this game should have been much better, but does feature some nice touches, and the feeling of your avatar growing into a god-like being is entertaining. But bad controls, bad graphics, dozens of bugs and glitches, and an incoherent story drag the game down to a less than god-like level. My opinion is rent it, beat it, take it back, and never play it again. Just buy the soundtrack. On a scale of 1 to 5, Advent Rising is nothing more than a 2. Maybe the rest of the trilogy will be better, but I'm not holding my breath.
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