In Advent Rising, you play as hero Gideon Wyeth, a remnant of the last human outpost, on the brink of discovering the incredible powers that lay dormant within him. One race, the Seekers, know Humans actually exist and are threatened by their potential power. Under the guise of benevolent explorers, the Seekers travel throughout the galaxy in desperate attempt to eradicate any Human society they unearth. It is the powers that Gideon possesses that the Seekers are so desperate to suppress.

Visually, Advent Rising is not much of a looker, and does not nearly take advantage of what the Xbox is obviously capable of. What you get are bland, flat, lifeless textures, weak and been there done that character designs, and levels that make you go hmmm…more than a C & C Music Factory video. There are some innovations here, but to be honest with you, there were more ideas that seemed to be taken, borrowed, or imagined by some other developer…cough…Halo…cough. I mean, I guess if your alien designs and level ideas are going to be unoriginal, at least you are taking them from a game that sells by the millions. I’d hate to say that the design experts at GlyphX didn’t get inspiration from Bungie’s behemoth, but if they thought of some of this stuff on their own, maybe they too need to take a break from the newly released multi player Halo 2 maps. There are hints of goodness when it comes to some of the cityscapes and lighting, but the rest of the game’s flat visuals mar most of their beauty. The game’s presentation does provide an epic experience, and the cut scenes help to tell a very good story, but the uninspired visuals, along with some crazy framerate issues plague Advent Rising.

Advent Rising’s audio package is a bit more appealing. Utilizing 5.1, Dolby Surround Sound for effects, music, voices, and more, you can expect to become immersed into the game’s atmosphere. What really stands out is the excellent score. Over 70 award winning orchestra members, including some from the legendary Tabernacle Choir, recorded the soundtrack. Upbeat and somber orchestrated themes really set tempo and mood throughout the adventure. This music could easily be added to any summer blockbuster film, which really gives Advent Rising great depth when it comes to setting the tone. Voice acting is not half bad either, granted you won’t be shedding any tears or feeling dread or happiness with the character’s performances, but they do a standard job telling the story. Overall, if the visual package was as stable as the audio, this may be a winner instead of a cult classic.

Controls in Advent Rising vary from really solid to extremely frustrating. The solid parts easily out-weigh the frustrating, but nonetheless, in the heated and more A.I. intense moments, you quickly forget that the game for the most part plays pretty well. This frustration lies on the targeting system. You target your enemies by flicking your right analog stick. This works well when you are dealing with one or two enemies. When you are faced with a multitude of relentless killing machines, the game targets whomever it wants, and will even stray away at times from a target you are currently pursuing to an enemy who just came in to closer range. This can lead to some cheap hits and many, many deaths along the way. It also doesn’t hurt to mention that this game takes a good while to develop into something interesting. You start off with some basic opening training levels, you then move on to an escort mission, and so forth. It’s not until you are a couple hours into the story where the game actually becomes quite good, and the powers and goodies start to show themselves. The real fun begins when you are equipped with a vast arsenal and some really cool special powers like levitation, energy blasts, and energy shields. You do have the option to switch from 1st to 3rd person, but honestly, the camera isn’t bad enough to really merit such a move, but I still appreciate the option.

Advent Rising also suffers from its really short lifespan. Gamers can quickly move through this one in an afternoon, and the open ending keeps you wanting more, but who knows how long that will be. If the developers intend to release this trilogy in a timely manner like the Dot Hack series, then this is very doable, but waiting another year or two for a five hour or so game isn’t what I call a selling point. I guess we will have to play the wait and see game. There are some cool downloadable quests, including ones that allow you to try for cash prizes including a million dollars. Heck, even I would play Superman 64 again if it meant going for a million bucks!

In the end, Advent Rising is not a bad game by any means, it has some real bright spots in the story and music, but the bland visuals and uninspired designs keep this game from the “must have” list and more like the “should play” list. I just hope the PC version which hits stores soon fixes some of the Xbox’s issues, if so, the series may see greener pastures. As for a sequel, who knows when that will happen, but I am sure we will be here to tell you when it is announced.