Advent Rising (PC)

Author's product rating:   

Gameplay/Playability
Graphics
Sound
Value for Money
Longevity

Advantages:	Smashing, immersive story arc; haunting musical score; movie - esque widescreen
Disadvantages:	Underfunded adventure cost Majesco dearly

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Advent Rising is a third/first person action-adventure romp set throughout a few worlds and ships in the Advent Rising universe. The player controls Gideon Wyeth; one of the last surviving humans after a series of attacks by the evil Seekers; the propagators of a galactic alliance.
Legend has told of a race called humans whom will one day ascend into great power and bring harmony to the galaxy, uniting the races under an umbrella of prosperity. The Seekers, frightened by this, start their galactic alliance in order to influence the other races' views of humans. For the Aurelians, nothing can sway them.
With the Aurelians' help, can Gideon avert a human extinction at the hands (and they have four!) of the Seekers?

When I saw Advent Rising in the store, it was cheap. I'm a sucker for cheap goods even if I don't need them. There's something about a bargain that just screams out for you to buy it. This I write after navigating across my room past my double-sided playing cards, inflatable dartboard and my parachute that opens automatically; on impact.

A few quid and two minutes later I was the proud owner of one of the greatest and most epic games made in recent years. I just didn't know it yet.
I was in no rush to go home, but went anyway just for something to do and, admittedly, it wasn't until the next day that I actually installed the game. It loaded up into a main menu remniscent of Disney's Atlantis, somehow. Not in colour, mind you. AR's menu screens are all pleasing swirling oranges and yellows (I think, anyway; I'm partially colourblind). Then I was captivated as my speakers began to waft in my direction a most wonderful musical score. You poked and prodded it out of me; I didn't even click New Game until the music was finished.
When I did, I was treated to a pleasing pre-rendered opening cutscene, and this then cut into a real-time render (as in, in-game graphics). But wait! What's this? I can control the little shuttle while listening to the characters talking!
Oops. Flew it into the alien ship. What a fine excuse to start over, but wait... Now I'm caught by the main menu music again. Just a few more minutes, then I'll start...

I'll cut the blow-by-blow description there.

Over the course of Advent Rising you develop some extraordinarily fun powers, and each power has an alt-fire mode (as do the game's guns). These powers allow you to use certain offencive or defencive strategem, such as deflecting a Seeker dropship's rockets back at it... Boom! As they say.
But this is no excuse to pretend humans have some fantastic future as masters of the galaxy; oh no, Advent Rising actually comes with an original and engaging plot. And what a plot! There is simply too much to it to explain here so I urge you to play the game; simply reading about it anywhere isn't good enough. I guarantee that you will be sucked in and, if you're not, you are obviously a Seeker.

It must be quite clear by now that I was definitely pulled in and thus it brings me on very neatly to addictiveness. Say goodbye to your friends because between the music (breath-taking), the gameplay (dangerously fun) and the story arc (stunningly... stunning), you're not going anywhere. I had completed the game within three days, which is something I just don't ever do.
It is, however, by no means easy. Several parts have you pit against wave after wave of Seeker scum, but luckily for you you've got your guns, and your powers. Oh, and don't forget your close-quarters-combat skills! There is nothing more fun than leaping into the air towards a Seeker, then bringing down a fist on its face. At times you can also pull special moves, though thus far I am to work out a pattern to triggering them. But let's just say this; I was wrong before when I said there is nothing more fun than leaping into the air towards a Seeker, then bringing down a fist on its face. There's a whole lot more fun things to do.

The graphics are, while adequately pleasant to look at, a few years dated. That said, everything is curvy where it should be and the textures are far from bland. The Aurelian ships are simply wonderful, looking sort of like metallic jelly. Damn. Now I want some jelly.
Gameplay is in either third or first person mode; you can switch whenever you like and, if preferred, play the entire game in one view. I found third person preferable, since then I get to see my powers in their fullness, although seeing them in first person view is cool, too. Advent Rising is also presented in widescreen which lends the entire game a brilliantly movie-esque feel and when combined with the musical score, one has to double-take and just make sure they haven't put a DVD in by mistake.

Yeah yeah yeah, I know I keep harping on about the music, but it really is fantastic. Majesco hired Tommy Tallarico, along with the Los Angeles Orchestra and Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and not a penny (or cent) was wasted there. The game is accompanied by the most hauntingly fantastic music ever to accompany a game, with absolutely no exceptions at all. I strongly recommend 'Greater Lights', sung beautifully by Charlotte Martin.

There are a few problems with Advent Rising, though honestly they're not so much disappointsments as downright crying shames.
Firstly, the game was intended to be part of a trilogy. Majesco, however, spent too little on advertising and as a result almost no one has heard of this game. I even had to submit a suggestion to Ciao just to get it added. As a result, Majesco made huge losses on the game because no one was buying a game they had never heard of (which is fair enough, I only picked it uo because it was cheap; I had no idea what it was going to be like).
Secondly is the longevity. Oh sure you've got plenty of hours worth of gameplay, but the game is too addictive! It draws you into its embrace and doesn't let go until you've completed it. On the other hand, you can go back to any section of any level and have fun, so that's a great boon.
Crashing. Unfortunately it will sometimes intermittently crash, seemingly more often when you deploy your shield under a certain set of criteria. These criteria, thankfully, do not align very often and when they do it just gives you an excuse to go straight back into the game. Advent Rising loads phenomenally fast, too and from a crash you can be straight back in the level within about a minute. Considering some games take twice that just to load their levels, this is pretty astonishing.

Please please please don't let these problems dissuade you from buying Advent Rising. It is an astounding game made by a little-known company that, regrettably, managed to foul up their advertising strategy. I was moved by this game, and you will be too.