Review: Majesco Advent Rising

From its Half-Life-style logo to its overblown movie-like opening sequence (in which the scriptwriters get first credit) and widescreen presentation, you know that Advent Rising is intended to be a plot-driven sci-fi epic of cinematic proportions.

In fact, the eagerly-anticipated PC and Xbox third-person shooter never really lives up to the hype.

Story-wise, Advent Rising is a disappointing hodgepodge of everything from Star Wars to Halo.

You find yourself in the flight boots of ace pilot Gideon Wyeth as he and his brother (a sort of Han Solo to your Luke Skywalker) investigate the arrival of a mysterious alien ship.

The visitors turn out to be friendly but, before long, a new race of evil aliens bent on eliminating the human race has joined the party and all hell brakes loose.
As Gideon, you must run around shooting things in an effort to save your species from extermination.

To start with the action is pretty formulaic. The only thing to distinguish the game from legions of other sci-fi shooters during the early portion is its unusual targeting system that utilises the mouse wheel to scroll through and select your enemies.

At a certain moment during the game your character will develop a range of cod-Jedi special powers. In fact, the game livens up considerably at this point and implementing your newfound talents can be pretty fun.

The main trouble with Advent Rising is that it’s a bit bland. It wears its influences on its sleeve but never even comes close to achieving the same greatness as the games and movies it apes.

Characters are two-dimensional, environments are featureless and samey, while the frequent scripted cut scenes are clumsy and, frankly, a bit embarrassing.

Combined with repetitive gameplay and little innovation, it’s hard to care whether you reach the end of the game or not.

System requirements:
2GHz processor
256MB of Ram
5GB hard disk
DVD-ROM drive
Windows 2000/XP