Game Reviews - Indews

Advent Rising Rating:
Gameplay: 8
Graphics: 8
Sound: 8
Concept: 6
Tilt: 6
Overall: 7.2

Games that promise the world have only two paths to travel. They either come through with flying colors and guarantee themselves a spot in gaming history, or they fall to the very bottom of the pack and end up in the hall of shame. There is no middle path, no matter what the game actually offers. The fact that it promised so much only leads to greater disappointment. Sadly, despite Advent Rising being a fairly fun game, the fact that it promised so much but ended up with so many bugs and problems will put it into the latter category.

First off, let's go through the problems that hold Advent Rising back. While there are many great parts to the gameplay, there are also some glaring issues that should have been worked out. The camera can be tricky at times, the controls can be absolutely frustrating, especially in battle, and the enemy AI is quite ridiculous. Overall, the game is much too easy and the enemy is just programmed to shoot on sight, there is really nothing beyond that. The AI by and large is much too simple and it really detracts from the game.

The game does feature some cool, innovative gameplay elements. Primarily, it is the new "Flick Targeting" system. Simply move the right analog stick in any direction to have the targeting reticule target the nearest enemy in that direction and stay on that enemy no matter what. This auto tracking system is pretty cool however it only adds on to the weak enemy AI to make the game much too easy for the most part.

On another high note, Advent Rising does offer a fairly decent selection of weaponry to toy around with. The weapons a wide range of blasters and lasers and launchers of which the smaller weapons can be dual wielded for maximum potential. While these weapons are destructive themselves, the superpowers offered in the game are the true powerhouses. With these powers you can unleash psychic abilities and toss enemies around like ragdolls amongst other things.

The visuals in Advent Rising are fairly solid for the most part other than a few glitches and problems that prevent the game from truly looking beautiful. Everything about the game is styled well with plenty of personality and detail. The environments are beautiful, the characters are well modeled and animated, and the special effects are brilliant and sparkly. However, all of a sudden things don't look so good when the frame rate gets clunky. Also, Advent Rising has a big, continuous problem with its frame rate. Frame rate problems can make the prettiest game look very ugly very quickly.

Similar to the visuals, the audio aspect of the game is solid other than some problems and bugs. The game had the potential to be one of the best sounding games of the year. The music is epic and matches the game greatly, the audio effects go hand in hand with the visual special effects and really enhance to look of the game and helps to draw the gamer in, and the voice acting and dialogue is absolutely superb and only contributes onto an already engaging storyline. However, the sketchy music that frequently cuts out definitely is a pain and is quite annoying.

Advent Rising didn't deliver the world, and it never should have promised such. Hype can ruin a game and this is a crystal clear example of that. The game really is pretty fun for the most part spare some major bugs that prevent it from its true potential, however those who play the game were built up to expect something amazing, and amazing is not a word that can be associated with Advent Rising, sadly.