Advent Rising, brought to us by Majesco and GlyphX Games, is an entertaining game with a rich story and exciting gameplay. There are a few places where the interface is tricky to use but it is more than compensated by the intriguing story spun by the developers and Orson Scott Card, the famed author of works like Ender’s Game. The game begins with the story of two brothers on a world of humans, far from Earth. On this world humanity has built a high-tech civilization without realizing that they are merely settlers from a distant world. The story takes a little while to get going, but as soon as it does players will be swept along a tale of love, loss, devastation and ascension.

Advent Rising follows the adventures of a young pilot named Gideon. Like the rest of humanity he is shocked to discover during the first contact his world has had with alien life that humanity is considered holy by the aliens. But, as players will soon discover, not all aliens believe humanity is a friend to be found. Some, like the genocidal Seekers, believe humanity must be exterminated. Gideon’s homeworld quickly comes under attack by the Seekers. Within a few short levels everything is destroyed. The story is rich and involving, dependent on player choices. Early on you will have the choice to try and help Gideon’s brother or his fiancée before going back to try and save the other. These choices determine the sub-plots and cinematic movies you will see to a small degree, although the overall plot is still the same throughout.

When things heat up players will have access to a number of weapons. Human-made pistols, machine guns, and rocket launchers give way to alien-built energy weapons and plasma beams. Unlike traditional first-person-shooter games, Advent Rising runs from a 3/4 overhead view. This can make targeting tricky at first, but it is easy to get the hang of. If you’re having difficulty aiming you can always use the targeting system built into the game. Scrolling a mouse wheel up or down will let you switch between targets quickly. Only targets you can clearly see can be targeted, so if an enemy ducks behind a wall you can lose your lock. In the meantime all your fire will be directed at the target.

The system has its advantages, but it can also be a disadvantage. There are times when you will be charging the only enemy on your screen and find your character firing wide right or left at an enemy closing in from the flank. It is also a problem sometimes with the superhuman powers that players gain access to. Some powers can be triggered without a lock, but others require a firm lock to be used at all. There is also a maximum range on the targeting lock. Just because you can see an enemy does not mean you can lock onto them. This can sometimes be a problem. Another minor inconvenience of the combat system is the need to use a key to move between primary and secondary fire on your weapons. Being able to hold a weapon in each hand is useful and extremely cool, but it can be problematic to swap between fire types rapidly in a firefight.

The combat system itself also includes a simple experience-based level system. When you first pick up a weapon you won’t be very accurate with it. As you use it your skill will increase. The more bad guys you fight using that weapon, the faster it will rise. New levels are earned periodically and grant players additional accuracy, greater damage, and access to the weapon’s secondary fire mode. Every weapon has its own advantages and disadvantages. The human-made weapons fire quickly and their bullets travel extremely quickly. The downside is that ammo can be hard to find. In later areas you won’t find any ammo for the human weapons at all! A clever player will quickly pick up the weapons of their fallen foes and begin practicing. After all, if the bad guys are carting around the ammunition for their weapons it would be a shame not to use it..

One of the unique points of Advent Rising is the superhuman powers that players gain access to. In the tradition of Star Wars and the Jedi Knight series, players will gain access to limited powers at first and gain access to more advanced powers as the game progresses. The powers in Advent Rising use the same system as firearms in the game, so the learning curve is wonderfully short. Each power is useful when first attained, and greater mastery brings greater power. After a time it is even possible to completely do away with weapons in the game. As Gideon’s power increases he will become a devastating warrior, capable of decimating his foes. It also explains the reverent attitude that you find among your allies.

The telekinetic power, Lift is the first “ascendant” ability the players gain access to. Flinging enemies off of cliffs, spaceships, or just head-first into a wall can do some serious damage. More useful is the ability to toss foes into one another. Combat may be fast-paced, but you can still take the time to appreciate the humor as you fling one enemy into his buddies and knock them all to the ground. Surge is a different form of telekinesis. Instead of picking up an object and moving it around you simply propel everything in front of your character away with a blast of force. This can be very damaging, especially if your foes run into something. Again, walls can be deadly weapons. As the game progresses players gain access to more fantastic powers, projecting barriers to protect themselves or controlling time itself in a limited sense.

The graphics of Advent Rising are well done. The world is rich with vibrant colors. Each race you encounter has their own building style, mannerisms, and coloration. The Seekers, for example, tend to have blocky, graceless ships. They are also fans of red, green, electric blue, and black for personal armor and clothing. In some places the graphics are more spectacular, especially during the cut-scenes, but overall they are about what you would expect from a modern game. The sounds are also well done. The background music helps bring the tone of the game home with haunting melodies and rhythmic fight music. Individual battle-cries and weapons fire have a tendency to bleed together, unfortunately. It can also be difficult to tell where a sound is coming from in the middle of a firefight, which can make defending yourself a little tricky.

Majesco and GlyphX Games have built an entertaining game across many platforms. Advent Rising for the PC is a decent game with some excellent qualities. The biggest flaw to be found is the targeting system. At times it is very helpful. At other is can be problematic to use. This minor gameplay problem balances out the bonus of its intriguing plotline. Players who get the hang of the interface will find Advent Rising to be fun and challenging. The learning curve is fairly easy, but every once in a while something will crop up and require more understanding of how the system works. Mileage may vary but Advent Rising is definitely worth a look for sci-fi fans or fans of the first-person-shooter genre.

Tips:

You can only increase your skill with weapons by using them, which is a concern early on as you have limited ammo. When you first start getting powers like Lift and Surge you don’t have this problem. Your power recharges quickly over time. Make the most of this to level your skills wherever possible before you really need them.

Your health will recharge if you can sit still after a fight. Early on it’s a small recharge, but later in the game you will recharge to full health. Remembering this can save your life. When in doubt hide or throw up a protective barrier and regenerate!

Some of the Seeker infantry have shield emitters they carry around. When active the shield prevents damage from head-on shots, but immobilizes them. Remember that a sitting target is also a good target for a grenade. At worst, the alien will drop the shield and scurry for cover allowing you some cheap shots while they flee.

Its possible to pilot cars, enemy fighters, and cannon emplacements. If the going gets tough, look around for something to “borrow” and help even the odds.

Gameplay: 7.0
There are a number of good features to Advent Rising, including an enjoyable plot and the ascendant powers available to players. The targeting system can be a little problematic to work with at times, which leads to some frustration now and again.

Graphics: 7.0
The cutscenes in Advent Rising are well rendered in fine detail. The rest of the game has some wonderful texture, detail, and color but still feels a little blocky in places. Advent Rising might not have excessive eye-candy, but it is still a solid game graphically.

Sound: 7.0
The music and voice-overs are well done. The individual voice actors help convey the tone of the story very well. The combat noises are also entertaining to hear at first. They have a tendency to blur together, making it difficult to pick out a single sound at times.

Difficulty: Medium/High
The tricky targeting system can be very trying to use. Fortunately players can forego the system and “shoot from the hip” without it. Each new power also has a learning curve, and you are required to figure it out fairly soon if you want to advance to the next level.

Concept: 8.0
A great story and innovative ideas for game interface and design meet cool weapons and superhuman powers. Advent Rising brings a number of good ideas to the table.

Overall: 7.3
Advent Rising is a solid game with some excellent features. Average graphics for most of the game, indistinct sounds during combat, and a difficult targeting system are its only flaws. The average sounds and graphics are not drawbacks, but the targeting system can lead to some frustration from time to time.