Advent Rising

Advent Rising is one of those games you enjoy playing so much, that even when it annoys you to tears you still think it's great. The thing that really impresses me most about this game is the movement and action. If you're a UT player you'll already be used to the dodging movement, and being able to lock onto an enemy and slow-mo headshot him while doing a cartwheel looks cool no matter how many times you do it. It's let down in a few areas by some stupid design moves. Enemies respawning constantly can cause some major annoyances in some areas as they flood through a doorway you're supposed to get through. The story is let down a bit at the beginning, it was set up a little too hastily: "Oh we found you, but oops Aliens now know where you are and want to kill you." These are pretty much the only reason it didn't get a 5star. This is probably the most fun I've had with a game in a long time; you have to play this.

I played this for the Xbox when it first came out. The music seemed epic and the story was very good. It's a shame it'll never be finished, as I was really hoping for it. I even had Advent Shadow for the PSP pre-ordered at Gamestop until it was removed from the list. I found the game to be amazingly fun.

I pick up that game because I was looking for a good story in a future-far-far-away. The first contact with the menu is nice. The game is supported by a good music, better than many than I heard except Morrowind. The gamepllay is a bit tricky at first hand and I needed a bit of time to get accustom to them. The camera is sometimes annoying but I manage to overlook that. The system automatically saved your progression (and often) so you do not to have to care about it and therefore as you mind is distracted from that you are fully immersed in the game. The storyline is good for that game, it's true and keeps you on going to the "what's next ?" The system with the weapons and powers (including hand to hand combat) is interesting with the different levels of expertise gained. Basically the more you use the them the better you get. You have a limitation concerning the level but when it starts to be ugly, the difference between the 1 and last one really helps! And when you get a level concerning a power during a fight, the least that can be say is that it is not pass unnoticed! I was learning how to use them as much as the character in game so no training! In a way it's logical. It might be confusing at first but quickly I started to get it. There are many different big nice areas and places to discover sustained by a good soundtrack (I really liked it) and in-game cutscenes that are good and immersive. Hard to not feel compelled for that "hero" and humanity in that game while watching them! And the joy of piloting a ship (ok, just once but it worth it!) and a buggy (I feel almost like playing Halo when driving one). Concerning the enemies, they are not weaklings so watch out at the beginning and when facing certain of them, you might restart 5 or 6 times before get out of there but the game is rewarding when you pass them. The point too is that they are coming in waves just one after another. At the beginning I was thinking "will they stop coming ?!?!" and realized "well, it's the way to lead an invasion after all!" So it keeps you going further or face endless battle. It's good for getting levels but it's frustrating when you did gained some and died at the end! It's a face pace game. I didn't have a lot of time to sit and rest before my computer. The quiet, nice moment at the beginning is the calm before the storm. Sorry, before the fire storm. You want to make some brake and rest you mind before going back fresh! In spite of the camera it's a good game! It's arcade-like control, fast pace and with a really decent story, good (one of the best) in-game music I've heard (if you pay attention to hit between two raging battle) and good graphics. You just need to pause it sometimes to relax you brain from the tension and there is a lot of it! I am still going in game right now but I was truly surprise by the quality of that game. I am not an arcade style fan (Might and Magic 6 suits me well) but it worth a try for the price. PS: You do not want to let children play with it as few cutscenes are brutals (I have the first scan of the alien in mind...).

This game is a lot of fun - but it could have been so much more. This is one of the few psionic action games available for the PC. If you like the idea of using paranormal abilities in a fast paced action game, then the purchase should be a no-brainer. But if you only want your action games polished and bug free, you should propably look elsewhere. During my playthrough I had about 5-10 CTDs which is a fairly high amount for me. The best thing about the game is the fast paced combat with its fluid combination of weapons and psionic powers. The unusual control scheme works surprisingly well and using your powers and weapons with the console-based autolock system is very convenient. You will often find yourself fighting and finishing off multiple enemies in a couple of seconds while simultaneously switching between your current power and weapon, dodging enemy fire and throwing in an occasional melee attack for good measure. I can't stress this enough: fighting in this game is fun. Propably the most fun I had in a PC Action game with some sort of supernatural hero. Fighting is a lot more fluid than in Second Sight, the pace and integration of weapons is a lot better than in the Jedi Knight series, Enter The Matrix isn't even a contest and Bloodrayne is no comparison in style and feeling. I didn't play Psi-Ops, so I cannot really compare the two. Combat is what makes this game stand out and so much fun to play. There is the possibility of leveling your weapons and powers through usage, which allows for minor customization of your playing style. A neat feature. However the game certainly has its flaws. One already mentioned are the bugs: climbing is a mess, glitching bosses, CTDs,... The most annoying are the CTDs, but those are usually compensated through the automatic checkpoint system. The others are really minor annoyances. The most striking flaw for the gameplay experience is the poor balance of weapons and powers. This means two things. First, while power and weapon customization sounds neat (and is to a certain extent) it falls short of its potential; a lot of weapons are fairly useless, so you will very soon start focusing on the more potent ones or simply ignore useless powers and weapons altogether. At the end some powers will be so ridiculously powerful that you can simply walk over groups of 3 or 4. Secondly, since the enemies use the exact same weapons as you do with the same poor balance, some groups are surprisingly strong which often means that you are dead within a matter of seconds without knowing why. Fortunately checkpoints are frequently enough so that you will not lose much time. With a better balance and maybe a few weapons and powers more customization could have actually meant something making replays a lot more rewarding. You can choose not to use certain powers but then you will be at a significant disadvantage. Another flaw is the story presentation. For one thing, a lot of prerendered cutscenes are of noticeably lower quality and resolution than ingame cutscenes, which makes certain characters almost painful to look at. Why spend so much time creating unique character designs when you destroy the whole experience by having low quality cutscenes? There is also a problem with the cutscenes content. There is unbelievably little dialogue in them. Why would you hire a distinguished science fiction author for writing the screenplay (not the story itself!) when you only use so preciously few of dialogue lines. As a result the storyline often feels rushed without having its essentials satisfyingly explained - especially the often abrupt changes of scenery. But it just could be that Orson Scott Card is not a talented script writer. All things considered, this game is still a great experience; the story does not really surprise you (that propably would have happened in the sequels) and there is certainly a lack of polish in the game, but when the game lets you wreak havoc with so much dynamics and style those problems are easily forgotten. With better balance allowing for real customization and a more coherent story presentation this game could have been one of the greatest. The way it is, it's "only" great fun. (If you are interested in a psionic action game with a more serious story you should check out Second Sight - available here)

The controls are impossible. Small wonder they never produced the promised sequel. Stay away from this one at any price.