Advent Rising

Advent Rising begins with first contact. An alien race named the Aurelians visits humanity’s homeworld (not Earth) and warns them that another alien race, the Seekers, is coming to destroy them. Minutes later, they arrive, and destroy the planet! The game had only just started when I reached my shark-jumping moment: the Aurelians teach Gideon how to use the power of telekinesis hiding within him, something all life forms have the ability to do to some extent. Queue montage: Gideon learning how to levitate objects. ...it’s the Force. Yeah, it's a ripoff of Star Wars. Gameplay does not improve in the later levels. It's just wave after wave of aliens, no real difference between the guns, no reason to change guns, no difference between any of the enemy types. I haven't played Halo, but from what I've seen of it, Advent Rising simply copies its gameplay. It's Halo meets Star Wars, and if the sum of the parts equals the whole, then this game is nothing more than a total copycat. The way the Aurelians worship Gideon even though he hasn't done anything reeks of pandering to someone's power fantasy. Gideon is a Mary Sue, but not the player's. I think that's what turned me off most: the Aurelians worship Gideon and treat him with reverence, but what does he do to deserve it? What is he contributing to this fight that the Aurelians are not?! One character outright tells Gideon "It's not easy being God." Second shark-jumping moment. Gideon does not deserve their respect! His powers are not that impressive, there is no justification for Gideon having them, and the aliens could have waged this rebellion without him, so why do they treat him this way?! This means the entire story is about how awesome Gideon is! It is outstandingly acted and animated (except for Gideon’s appearance changing between cutscenes for no apparent reason), but as ambitious as Advent Rising looks, it took no risks with story or gameplay, which means it is not ambitious at all.

I just bought this game, and at first I thought that would would just be another low thought out game, using the unreal engine, but I was impressed with the story and game play. The game is fun, yet I am not sure of it's replay value, since I have not yet finished it. I am eager to play this game through. Thanks GOG for another re-release worth trying.

I played this game on XBOX originally and love it. This game is so underrated that I can't believe people have not made this a bigger hit than Halo. Although at times the game control has issues, I found the story and pace of action spot on. This is easily one of the most enjoyed games I have ever played in all my 30 years of gaming. I say this because it is a true classic when you think of games that pull you in, the emotions of the characters at times with the climatic themes along with the sense that you must save yourself and the ones you love from extinction. I am sad that they did not finish the trilogy because people did not give it the proper reception it deserves. Maybe hope for it will come some day.

Great game. Instant classic really. Fun as hell, interesting story and characters. Nothing else like it. Mass Effect kinda reminds me of it, though.

This is actually a fun and enjoyable game that sadly falls short of on what the early gameplay promises. Excellent writing by Orson Scott Card, the whole setting has a Halo-ish feel to it, and the gameplay starts off as fun and well-paced with some RPG elements thrown in (weapon and psionic skill advencement). However, the game slowly starts to lose its steam as it progresses, and it eventually becomes a bit monotonous as it fails to use its own elements creatively as it did in the early stages.