Before I give some feedback to this game, I'd like to point out that this game gets way too much credit here than it deserves. Sure, it's from gog.com, that's a good thing, which means it's DRM free, even better, etc. pp. But let's look at the rating system, 5 stars is the best a game can get, it's like 100%, the perfect game - so, no offense, but if anyone here who gave Advent Rising 5 stars did that on purpose, then he/she just never played a good game. Why? Read on.
Advent Rising is an over-ambitious project. It was intended to be an epic trilogy, with a compelling plot, great level design and loads of fun gameplay, clearly inspired by the Halo franchise (aliens, alien weapons, scenery). What's left is a third person shooter which is extremely tedious in the beginning when you have too little ammo for too much enemies which seem to appear out of nowhere and are best to be avoided by just running past them. Although there are different types of enemies, none of them are distinctive with a certain attack pattern. The gun fights with them are monotonous and lack good controls. After about a quarter/third of the game, the protagonist receives special powers, like telekinesis. Nothing that's new to the genre, but definitely better than shooting those lame firearms. Believe, you'll never use those again. Gradually you get new abilities which you can upgrade up to level 5 by using them. Most of them can be reached by simply performing the ability over and over again, like jumping for 5 minutes, which will get you level 5 of the jumping skill, which lets you perform new dodge moves. These abilities are also mandatory during the occasional boss fights, which are sometimes harder than they should be, thanks again to the controls.
Let's get to the story, mhm. I guess it's safe to say that the story is okay, at least for a game, with some cutscenes that are supposed to give some depth to the characters, but fail miserably while trying. Again, I hope nobody is impressed by this plot or these characters, otherwise I recommend them to read a sci-fi novel, even if it's just a mediocre one. Then again, maybe the excellent graphics and the overwhelming quality of the voice actors make this experience so immersive. Sarcasm, anyone? There is a point very early in the game where you have to decide if you save your brother or your girl friend - the game of course doesn't tell you beforehand that you lose the other one, but in the end, it doesn't matter. Why? First of all, you had almost no time to get to know the character you lose (and the character you save), and the character will save dies eventually anyway. Wow, that's a great plot twist, and I spoiled it, damn it. Speaking of twists, the plot takes another, extremely unexpected turn when the credits roll and you think: "It's finally over" or "That's it?" - and do you really want to know what the twist is? Then you have to buy and play the game. If you think it's worth it. For those of you who want some scifi alien action (with a story that's also marginal but definitely not worse than the one of Advent Rising), Halo is your game. And the ones who enjoy third person action AND want to experience a great plot, although playing a video game, check out Max Payne. Hopefully it'll arrive on gog.com soon - see you then.