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Impressive despite its flaws

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 31 / 32
Date: July 08, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This is the most ambitious game I've ever seen Majesco put together. Story, Game play, Design; all these things have come together to make a great game that is not only fun to play, but has good enough dialog to make you give a crap about the characters. That's saying something when it comes to action games.

This Game does have its flaws, namely some unique technical glitches such as cinematic's being choppy and some minor clipping, neither of which takes away from the over all experience.

The cinematic's being slowed stems from (on XboX) the game trying to load up the next area in the back ground. Pausing the cut scene and waiting for ti to load (the skip cut seen chouse will appear) then running the cinematic will almost always help.

Over all a great game, I would have made it a 5 star if not for the glitches. Also, I fear that most will be shy away from this example of great gaming because of its deep story and technical problems. Don't' hesitate to try/buy this game!

This Game simply sucks

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 3 / 40
Date: July 26, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Never have I ever seen anything with this many glitches, it's almost impossible to even play. Besides that, there are also MANY other flaws, the names are inconsistent, for example, you have Gideon and Maryn, both fantasy names, and you have Ethan and Olivia, both modern names. The character models are EXTREMELY simple, and so is the dull storyline. The dialogue is also very strange, the characters are always making jokes with each other, despite their planet blowing up and all their loved ones dying. The framerate makes the whole game look like a slideshow. Bottom line, DO NOT BUY THIS GAME, DO NOT RENT THIS GAME, DO NOT WANT IT AS A PRESENT, SIMPLY IGNORE IT. I can't wait for majesto to totally bomb when the try to sell TWO sequels! HAAHAHA, like that's ever gonna happen...

Incredible! This is what games should be like.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 9
Date: August 15, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I have been waiting for a long long time to finally get this game for my PC. After so many postponed release dates, I finally broke down and rented it for my xbox. I have to agree that it's "only" a good game on the xbox (I think the other 2 reviews on here currently must be for the xbox version, since they've been up for weeks or months, and the game just actually came out this last Thursday). On the PC however, the game really seems to wake up and come to life. Wow! What a difference. The only lags now are when I do one of the slow-mo dodges, and the response is very snappy and precise.

The game does start off a little slow, but only in comparison to the rest of the game. There's definitely a learning curve, both for the player AND the character, Gideon. As you use different weapons and abilities, you gain experience with them and "level up" with that particular weapon/skill. Machine guns gain grenade launcher ability, sniper rifles get increased zoom and power, etc etc. Some of the alien weapons get some *very* interesting alternate fire modes. Even skills such as dodging and melee attacks level up the more you use them, and before long you're doing sideways slow-mo cartwheels while targeting and blasting enemies. The superpower abilities you learn halfway through the game also level up and unlock new abilities such as weapon grabs, freeze, and time dilation effects. If you think about it, both the character and the game itself get customized to you and your style of play (whatever you use most gets more powerful). I really like this aspect of the game. I also like the fact that you can customize what weapon or power each hand is using, on-the-fly. You just have to remember that if you're using a rocket launcher in your left hand and are standing in a close space, that you should only fire with your right hand (right mouse button).

Watching Gideon at the bottom of the screen is sometimes half the fun, as he fires weapons with each hand, sometimes targeting two enemies at once, and sometimes firing behind his back. Then, when you empty the clips, he does a really cool flippy-spinny reload trick with each hand, and you're good to go again. It's like watching a Master at work...

Visually, I'd say the game is very beautiful and stylized. There are definitely anime influences in the character's elongated bodies - I kept thinking of the old "Starblazers" cartoons I used to watch as a kid. I really like the simplified style and feel of the game. There's a school of thought out there that to be considered "good", things have to be very complex and ornate. I don't subscribe to that at all, and prefer elegance and style. This game delivers both.

I read a review on another site that said the game was boring - "I only played for an hour". That's the problem right there. The reviewer never gave the game time to develop the plot, or to unlock the nifty power-ups (which *really* change the gameplay). The character interaction is actually compelling for once, the music is gorgeous and *always* fits, and the story is an intriguing one. Even some details from Orson Scott Card's "Ender" series popped up at one point...

So when's the next one coming out? And the next? Hurry up, I'm waiting!!!

So much fun

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 9 / 9
Date: August 18, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Being a fan of video games and Orson Scott Card, this seemed like a no-brainer. Not owning an Xbox, I had to wait for the PC version, which was delayed a few times. And now that it's here, what else can I say than - it was totally worth the wait.

First, the not so great - the targeting system took a little getting used to, it crashed to desktop twice (but immediately rebooted and ran fine), and I died... a lot. Also, one of the branching plotlines seems broken. (a character I thought dead showed up in the middle of a subsequent level)

But all of that aside, the game is so much fun. It looks and plays great on my PC. I loved the game's "practice effect" where the more you use skills and weapons, the more proficient you become with them. I'm playing back through, trying to build certain skills earlier in the game that I found came in handy later on (Which is how I realized the plot discrepancy). The ending was great (don't leave or quit when the credits start rolling - wait for them to end, and keep watching).

I would highly recommend this game for sci-fi or action gaming fans. If you like RTS or more slow-paced games, this probably isn't your game, but for those who like fast paced, cinematic action, you could do a lot worse for more money than picking up Advent Rising for the PC.

WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY TOO SHORT!!!

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 5 / 9
Date: August 23, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This game was a blast to play. The models and graphics were a little simplistic, but overall, the gameplay was easy enough to pick up. The story was top notch, thanks to Orson Scott Card. And the varied environments were fresh and fun. And kudos to Tommy Tallarico for the soundtrack.

But I beat the game in 24 hours. I NEVER beat a game in 24 hours. I am not that dedicated a gamer. This is terribly upsetting. This is part 1 of a trilogy of games. They should have waited to finish the other 2 games and released them as one.

WAY
TOO
SHORT!

Really Great Game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 9
Date: August 27, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This game is excellent and i would recommend it to anybody who would like to try something novel and new or basically plays games for good storylines.
The storyline while a little short is extremely emotional, heartwarming and basically just phenomenol.
The learning curve is also quite lenient on people, with the stroyline being inbuilt with a tutorial at the game to give you some time to familiarize yourself with the controls which are extremely easy to get the hang of.
Don't quit the game when the credits roll though, there is a extremely nice boss fight to get into after the credits not to mention some insight onto what might be in the sequels.

While guns are certainly fun to use, they can get dreadfully boring after firing the same one over and over again. Fortunately, the game has a experience system that unlocks a gun's secondary firing mode that is much more devastating than your primary fire.
My personal favorites are the HAZE pistol and the Seeker Sniper gun.
While guns are only one aspect of gameplay that you can dig into, the other is the special powers that your character Gideon gets slightly after the beginning. The powers while certainly capable of replacing weapons can actually be used to really good effect with certain weapon/power combos.
For example the lift power can be used quite efficiently with a rocket launcher or just about any other gun.

The targeting system in the game not only makes aiming a breeze during normal gameplay but also allows you to coordinate multiple attacks especially during Slow-motion mode which is where the flick-targeting system really shines, allowing you to gun down enemies faster than they can scream "OUCH!".
However, the targeting system will take some getting used to as it is completely off track from todays known FPS games.
For those who still prefer gunning in 1st person view, the mode is still available although i seriously recommend flick targeting.

The ability of switching weapons or powers in slo-mo mode while efficient and keeps the gameplay moving, would probably end up killing you in intense firefights. Therefore, i would still recommend taking cover before doing any weapon changes

Visually speaking, the graphics are very beautiful, even the littlest of animations such as watching gideon reload, jump and shoot off his guns are done expertly. The graphics have their own unique style, with the enemies the seekers being big and bulky while humans as thin and slighly elongated.
However, i am not sure whether this is graphically related or due to my graphic card, but some scenes can have the graphics blurring a little.

The audio is just amazing, if you buy this game, and don't like it, well thats your opinion but i would say that the music is something that you should get even if you don't like the game, it is superbly done and fits in with the game.
It is extremely moving and emotional at times

While some people have been complaining that the game is buggy, i would recommend them cleaning up their system with something like Norton systemworks. Before i did a clean up of registry entries and such, the game kept on crashing on me. However after doing the cleanup, the game ran the entire way withouht sa single hitch, which meant that something probably hicked on the installation process.

That ends my review, i probably missed some parts of the game in here but anyway, i would like to emphasize my recommendations to people to get this game and try it for themselves. Please note that this review is of my own opinion and the game may or may not suit your tastes.

Like a lot of people on the Advent Trilogy boards, i too am waiting for a sequel. :)
[...]

Great Game. Hours of fun

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 7 / 8
Date: September 01, 2005
Author: Amazon User

My friend gave me this game for my 17th birthday. (Yes, I know I'm using the kid's review). At first I was a little skeptical. It looked good, but I had heard that there were many glitches. I installed it and then started the game. The graphics were very well done. Great fluid gameplay. At first the combat confused me. But you eventually get used to it. The more you fight the more that the flick-targeting makes sense. The game starts out a little slow, but in no time it picks up. As soon as Gideon unlocks his powers the game simply flourishes. The storyline is truly great, characters really come alive and the enemies are not dumb.

Pros:
Great Graphics
Awesome acrobatic moves
Awesome Powers and Awesome weapons (a lot of weapons)
Great characters
Nice variety of enemies.
Incredible story
You feel like your actually in the game.
Fairly good replayability
Gorgeous music

Cons:
Takes 5,000 bytes on your computer
A bit short
A few annoying glitches
(I would have given it 4 1/2 stars)

A masterpeice, that reviewers bashed for no reason at all

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 36 / 37
Date: September 14, 2005
Author: Amazon User

First off, before I even talk about my review, lets look back on what so called "Pro" reviewers did to this game. Due to the fact that it did not exactly live up to the massive hype surrounding it, reviewers did their best to destroy it, and anyone who might think of checking it out.

I'm here to dispell the myth reviewers created, that this game isn't worth a 5 out of 10, and that it's buggy to no end. Now, lets talk about the good features-

- The absolute best soundtrack composed and produced for a video game in years. This is the sort of music you'll be hunting down MP3's for after you play the game.
- Action scenes that rival those seen in just about any video game to date, including the awsome Max Payne series. Consider this, you target the enemie, do a flying, spinning leap forward, waste him, then target his buddy, flip midair, land, fly backwards, fire, and then you not only kill the other bad guy, but you blow up scenery, and all heck litterally breaks loose. Thats an example of ANY of the gameplay to be found here. Not even mentioning the Vechicle scenes, and their "Hollywood" style flip a million times and drive fine. Do a 360 while being barraged by missile, and then hit the cliffside doing 80mph, flip 4 times, and drive right at the enemy ship, firing at it, and it explodes the MOMENT you go flying through it. Yep, doesn't get much better then this.
- Cinematics that really set the stage, and make you feel like your not playing a game, rather, you are watching a movie that you control. You will actually grasp what is happening, why it's happening, and what to do next. You will also be quite entertained, as like the rest of the game, the cutscenes are hollywood quality.
- Top notch voice acting, backing up the characters and storyline, easily on par with KOTOR's or Half Life 2, or even The Longest Journey(10 points if you actually know this game)

Ok, so now that I got that out of the way, lets talk about the bad features.

- Somtimes easy to get lost, due to a lack of a map. Can't say I have any idea how people get lost. The game basically idicates where to go, based on smart design choices in the levels, that while not being absolute linear in nature, keep you on track.
- Sound somtimes will cut out for a second or two..but really, this is easily ignored, and only happens a few times.
- very rare, but occasionally, when fighting many enemies at once, you could "fall" through the level. This got me once or twice, but again, I "died", and then reloaded the checkpoint. In under a minute I was back in action, no "falling" this time.
- This game is somewhat short..yeah, about 10 hours tops. I beat it in 6. Still, it plays alot like a Million dollar motion picture, so it flows fast...basically, it works for once, a game having short gameplay time. Not to mention, you can go back and play again, the game does have some replay to it.

Thats it. So for all the good versus the bad points, how in the hell did reviewers and people online claim this game wasn't worth 5 dollars? I'll tell you how.

If you have the PC version, and your complaining about visuals, your nuts. Yesm the textures aren't on the "Half Life 2/FEAR" level, but did you notice that, they work? Let alone, the game doesn't take 30 years to load due to insanely high texture maping. People also complained about floaty game mechanics and animations. I just have to shake my head, and point to Halo on the PC. It doesn't get more shakey then that port.

Next, we have the debat over the graphics in general. I would like to know what crack reviewers were smoking when they said the effects and character models looked like they were from a 1999 PC game. The character models are top of the line, and carry a sort of Anime/Comic book stylization to them, but again, it works well...considering how much jumping/flipping/dodging you will do in the game.

Finally, we have the "flic" targeting system, which on the PC works by having you use the mouse wheel to target. Takes 10 minutes to get used to, and then you'll grasp why you shouldn't just FPS the entire game out. When you target after a certain point in the game, time will slow down. There is no bar, or meter that says how many times you can do it, so insane slowmo gunfighting is always there. Of course once you see your character flying through the air, laying waste to everything in his path...you will no doubt have your jaw on the floor. Mind you , this is BEFORE you even get your powers.

So what is the sum total here? A game that will be considered a classic by few, and crap by many. I say thats ok. They can go play whatever they want, and I'll play this. Advent Rising isn't the BEST game of all time, nor does it claim to be just that. What it is, is the most cinematic driven game to date. The music, sound, and gameplay, match the style and presentation, and feel of the entire package perfectly.

So after all this, if your still considering buying this one, do yourself a favor, and buy it. A year from now or so, this game will be highly saught after anyway, and I have no doubt, wind up on "Home of the Underdogs", just like "Arx Fatalis" and many other great games, that average gamers or reviewers had a bug up their a** when reviewing.

THE best game I have EVER played!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: February 12, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This game is a great game for almost any skill level it is exiciting and challenging all without going over the top. It has a beautiful storyboard, written in part by the one and only Orson Scott Card. It is a great game,and even when tou are having trouble you all ways keep going. I would like to warn you though, there are a few glitches, but nothing I found serious though. The only reason I am writing this is because I became totally addicted and the game is a trilogy, but since the game didn't sell well, I have heard rumors that they won't put out the next games. THIS CONNOT HAPPEN! This is a FABULOUS game that deserves recognition. Buyer Beware, this game is addictive. Plese consider it. It is trully the best game I have ever played.

Story driven game...a great interactive sci-fi...some spoilers

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: February 13, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This game is a blast! Here is why:

1.)Constant action. Gameplay somewhat reminiscent of Jet Force Gemini...maybe it is that they are both sci 3rd person. Combat was always exciting...weapons and powers constantly upgrading to give you a feeling of growth. Never repetitive--like library in Halo...ugh. Lots of environmental props exploding. Locations always changing, immersive scripted events (large chunks of ship breaking off and flying into space...people getting sucked out of airlocks, etc)--I found myself running for my life and seeing a huge building crumbling or something on that order and whispering "...awesome...", but the game doesn't stop for these moments...nice choice. Running and shooting the entire time. Fun.

2.) Fun sci-fi story. I love story driven games: Fable, Zelda, Resident Evil, RPGs (if they are not just dungeon crawlers), anything to give me some emotional impact, character development, anything...I want to play games to feel emotions, to be awed or surprised. This game delivers...sure it is a little hoaky--but this is Orson Scott Card, not Stanislaw Lem...I'm not expecting to think too hard, but I do want to see character conflict and I have no problem with planets getting blown up. Borrows somewhat from David Brin and of course, the Ender Wiggin series...Heinleinian with a liberal helping of George Lucas.

Want to blow stuff up? Be a jedi? Relive some of the best parts of Halo? How about have a drink in a cool space station? How about hand to hand fighting on the OUTSIDE of a space ship? How about driving like mad as a city is destroyed meters behind you from orbit. Do yourself a favor and get this game, so they can make another one!

p.s. Make sure to watch the final credits all the way through! There are a couple more chapters to play! Prologue to the next one. Cross your fingers.

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