RETRO – The fate of humanity is a concept that’s almost always in danger, as alien creatures seem to want nothing more than to wipe us out completely. In the distant future, a young pilot stands against a race of hostile aliens bent on conquering the entire galaxy—and his odds of success are about as slim as the game’s creators beating Halo at its own game. Well, one of those things happened, but the other… not so much.

For years, we’ve been strung along waiting for the release of Advent Rising. The developers promised a third-person shooter that would shake up the genre with revolutionary ideas, a groundbreaking story, and brilliantly fluid gameplay. Naturally, bold claims like these rarely come true, so I sat down to play the game with a healthy dose of skepticism. And while those lofty promises were never quite fulfilled, Advent Rising has still grown into a pretty entertaining TPS action game since its somewhat disappointing debut demo at E3…

Apocalypse? Now.

These days, even the slickest action games can’t win me over on graphics and smooth controls alone. To me, a truly well-developed story and interesting characters are just as important as any other detail. Since the narrative is largely penned by famed author Orson Scott Card (respect! – Ender), you could expect not to be disappointed…

The story is set in a distant future where humanity has mastered interplanetary travel and colonized a few worlds. It’s here that we encounter two alien races for the first time. One is friendly enough: they worship humans as gods, believing we’ll bring harmony and peace to the entire galaxy.

Of course, as history has shown since the first meeting between the Aztecs and Europeans, these arrangements work out only until everyone realizes humans aren’t exactly supernatural. Here, though, it’s not disappointment that brings trouble, but the other alien race—a species that considers humans less like gods and more like the lowest form of scum, bent on exterminating us from the galaxy. And just as we’re getting comfortable with our new fans, it’s these worshipful aliens who inform us of the bad news.

Our hero, Gideon Wyeth, is unlucky enough to be living with his brother, his girlfriend, and plenty of other humans on the gigantic space station targeted for the aliens’ first assault. From here, the game becomes a full-bore sci-fi action ride, where Gideon has to fight for survival against these alien invaders while watching friends and allies die before his eyes.

The narrative packs a far more powerful punch than similar games like Halo, and Gideon’s motivations are fleshed out far better than those of the faceless, helmeted, emotionless Master Chief in Bungie’s franchise. As the human race is gradually decimated, Gideon launches an ever more desperate and vengeful one-man war against the entire Seeker race.

Feels Familiar

It’s no coincidence I keep mentioning Halo, because Advent Rising’s gameplay feels very reminiscent of Bungie’s classic. The opening sequence, for example, is pure Halo: we have to fight our way out of a spaceship under alien attack, scrambling into an escape pod at the last second, only to crash-land on a planet and face even more trials.

The action at first is typical Halo-style nonstop carnage—if anything, there’s more focus on shooting and less on tactics. You get a recharging shield that drains when you take hits and only refills when you find a calm spot to rest. Not content with just borrowing from Halo, the developers also lifted the signature slow-motion mechanic from Max Payne, letting you dodge incoming fire and aim for enemy weak points in style.

Mouse controls can feel awkward at first, but you’ll adapt—though if you have a gamepad, you’re better off using it since this is basically a console port. Unlike Halo, you can dual-wield weapons (a feature from Halo 2 on Xbox), arming yourself with two different guns at once. You can unleash John Woo–style barrages on a single enemy, and sometimes Gideon will even auto-target two separate enemies if you’re attacked from both sides.

Sounds cooler than it actually is—the system gets frustrating when you can’t see enemies, making it smarter just to reposition yourself to face everyone. Weapon swapping isn’t as smooth as in Halo 1 or 2, either, where you could easily switch among well-designed human and alien guns. Here, it’s more like frantic scrambling. It’s not catastrophic, but it’s definitely weaker than either of the first two Halos.

Haaa… Psi

At a certain point, our hero isn’t just blasting away with pistols and shotguns—he doesn’t get a lightsaber, but instead unlocks his psi abilities (see: boxed feature). Why he has these powers isn’t exactly clear, but they’re certainly useful in the heat of battle. The friendly aliens gradually teach Gideon how to use these powers, hoping the young pilot will help them defeat the enemy aliens.

Using these psi powers is actually less of a pain on keyboard than it was on the recent console release—you can switch between them conveniently. Comparing Advent Rising to the recently released Psi-Ops, the latter’s hero is so overpowered with psi tricks that you never really need to use them all (or even any, if you just want to shoot), whereas here, so many enemies swarm you at once that you’re basically forced to experiment.

Some enemies use shields (again, very Halo) to protect themselves and can even reflect your shots, so you’ll need to get creative with your psi powers. Sometimes you’ll want to hurl objects at their heads; other times, you’ll need to knock groups of them flying with a surge attack, or save your own skin with a well-timed shield.

Whether it’s shooting, jumping, or psi powers, your character progresses in classic RPG fashion—the more you use a particular move, the more you level it up and the more effective it becomes. It’s a cool idea, and I like it much more than systems like Return of the King or Demonstone, where experience just unlocked endless, forgettable combo lists.

Climbing Into a Combat Jeep—Hell Yeah…

Alongside the gunplay and psi powers, you also get to drive vehicles just like in good old Halo. The little combat jeep controls and functions almost identically to the one in Bungie’s game. You can hop into the driver or passenger seat, or climb onto the rear-mounted turret—conveniently located in the exact same spot as Halo’s.

And just like in Halo, your allied soldiers will pile into seats next to you or jump on the turret as mentioned earlier to fight alongside you. I suppose copying the best isn’t a crime—at least not in gaming—but the execution here is just a little bit weaker.

The jeep itself isn’t as fun or easy to drive, and the simulation aspect is nowhere near Bungie’s level. The game’s structure is also incredibly linear—you’re always heading in one direction, usually down a narrow path, so there’s not much freedom to tear around. Still, vehicle use borrowed from Halo is a welcome change of pace and spices up the constant shooting.

Borrowed elements go beyond Bungie’s classics—other TPS games feature fixed machine guns, too. When you jump into one of these, you’re practically invincible to infantry, but large, floating troop carriers or attack ships can still damage you behind the metal shield.

Get In Gear!

So far, I’ve focused on the positives, but now comes the inevitable letdown, which, as usual, involves the controls. Gideon wasn’t much easier to handle on Xbox, and on PC with mouse and keyboard, my problems only increased. Targeting enemies involves “locking on”—a green box appears around your target, gradually turning red. To “lock” onto aliens, you have to face them, so you can’t just aim accurately—you have to keep making sure the target is highlighted.

This is especially important for psi powers and can quickly become a pain. In firefights, you can just aim and spray bullets, but without psi powers, you’ll be alien chow in no time, so you have to get used to this slightly dumb system. The camera isn’t perfect either, though it’s not as bad as most console-to-PC TPS ports.

What bothered me most was the somewhat slapdash level design and inconsistent proportions—sometimes, it was hard to judge just how far you needed to jump across a gap. I wasn’t too impressed by the overall layout, either: the environments often felt too samey, or just bland and gray.

Where All the Women Have Mile-Long Legs…

To liven up the dull settings, the developers went for a colorful, cartoony, slightly exaggerated, vaguely anime art style. The visual world is original and, at least here, it stands out from its “big brother,” Bungie’s game.

The vivid palette didn’t grab me at first, but I got used to it. Unfortunately, the human characters are less impressive—there’s not much emotion in their exaggerated faces, and what really bugged me were their giant stilt-like legs. I have no idea what kind of deranged design decision led to every character having legs a meter and a half long, but even in this odd world, it just looks ridiculous.

The regular alien enemies don’t look as good as Halo’s, but important NPCs are about on par. If you own an Xbox and have seen (the hopefully in-development PC version of) Halo 2, you’ll just smirk at Advent Rising’s aliens…

Overall, the environments are pretty decent, but they fall short of even Halo 1. Textures are a bit weak, and the planetary surfaces seem barren. Maybe it’s just that Halo 2 spoiled me, and the first game is lost in the glow of nostalgia. Thankfully, Gideon’s psi-powers, the various explosions, and the stylish, grandiose cutscenes more than make up for these minor visual shortcomings. There are plenty of those, and they do a great job pushing the intriguing story forward.

John Williams Would Be Jealous

One thing you can’t accuse the developers of is skimping on the game’s epic atmosphere. The cinematic cutscenes help, but the score, performed by a real orchestra and featuring an Emmy- and Grammy-winning composer, is the star. The result is utterly captivating—go download a few tracks from the official website and listen for yourself.

Your subwoofer—and your neighbor’s nerves—will get a workout from the thunder of rockets, lasers, and explosions. If you’ve got a 5.1 system, this is a game that begs to be cranked up loud with speakers perfectly positioned. The voice acting is also top notch—every character, human or alien, is performed with genuine emotion and fitting emphasis.

They Bit Off More Than They Could Chew…

As a debut project from a new team, Advent Rising bears all the hallmarks of an overlong development cycle. The developers stuffed the game with tons of ideas, most of which don’t quite work. Because it resembles Halo in so many ways, comparisons are inevitable—and sadly, it’s just a notch below its legendary predecessor. Still, if you’ve already finished San Andreas and want a solid TPS with nonstop action, Halo-style vehicular mayhem, and an epic, well-crafted story, Advent Rising is worth a shot among this summer’s sparse new releases.

-Gergely Herpai BadSector- (2005)

Publisher: Majesco Entertainment
Developer: GlyphX Games, Demiurge Studios
Genre: TPS
Release date: May 31, 2005