Fun, not great - Advent Rising uses a lot of cut-scenes to tell a moderately interesting sci-fi yarn (beware some annoying characters and voices though, especially the arrogant lead). The game feels propelled forwards and mixes cut-scenes with action nicely. Unfortunately, this very ambitious epic seems a little rough around the edges. The core gameplay is OK - imagine a faster but ultimately less exciting version of Halo, in third-person. In addition to the standard weapons, there are also psy powers. These break the game to an extent by being far too powerful - when you get the time shift ability, for example, you can simply run through the last few levels because it zooms you forward at near-instantaneous speed. It's just not very compelling in gameplay terms and fast becomes a victory march - don't play on normal difficulty, it's much too easy. Also, the graphics are simply terrible. Being "old" is no excuse - this game WAS released in 2005. But so were Resident Evil 4, FEAR, Shadow of The Colossus - the point is, this game is just ugly at times, and lacks polish. The fact that it sets up for a sequel doesn't really matter too much, though, the story stands alone fine. A fun little ride, but nothing more.

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