Advent Rising [Xbox]

Advent Rising can be likened to a highly touted rookie, talked up before he ever laces up his shoes in the pros. Not only is it a new property for Majesco, but it's the first game from developer Glyphx Games. While it ends up making quite a few beginner mistakes, you'll definitely want to give it some playing time.

Acclaimed author Orson Scott Card plays a major role in Advent's story -- which is best described as a more interesting version of the Halo mythos. Weird looking aliens called Seekers attack humanity, bent on the destruction of every man, woman, and child. As Giddeon Wyeth, who's a little more of an underdog than Master Chief, you have become the last home for mankind -- quite literally, as you come to find out.

Advent Rising's story is a good one, as it takes you to exotic locales and gets you into countless sticky situations. It also has some leeway for you to make important choices -- like whether to help your war-hero brother or your fiancee into the escape pod of a sinking ship. It may not be up to Mr. Card's pedigree, but it's quite a step up from most action/adventure video games.

The action plays out in typical run-and-gun fashion at first, with some rudimentary melee tossed in. Thankfully, there are a load of guns to choose from -- dual wielded to boot -- as well as grenades. Not too far into the quest, you unlock some Jedi-like powers that start to make things more interesting. Lift and hurl enemies and objects, create your own shield, and warp forward in nanoseconds to attack foes. Like guns, these can be assigned to your left or right hand.

You're also given some turret and vehicle sequences, as well as a few special situations. For example, you'll have to escape the crumbling remains of an enemy vessel after the commander goes suicidal. There's nary a dull moment in Advent Rising, and new abilities pop up before you can get into a rut. Everything from jumping to psychic shock bursts to your grenade launcher can be leveled up, adding a clever dose of RPG elements to the game.

Weighing down the action, however, is some disappointing control. Flick targeting is this game's way to let you easily switch from foe to foe by pointing with the right analog -- it's a lot like Mark of Kri for the PS2. Its detriment is that you also want to use that stick for camera control. This brings up some frustration moments, because targeting causes camera lock-on, which is often the last thing you want when you're trying to maneuver the camera. This isn't the only instance of 2-for-1 button assignments: X executes evade moves, picks up weapons, and uses terminals and health stations -- usually at random.

Often, Giddeon's path isn't the clearest, but that opens things up for exploration, and you always end up in the right place eventually. The worlds alternate between large spaceships and lush surface areas. Of course, exploration is also key for the million-dollar contest Majesco is doing: Starting June 9th, a hidden icon will be downloaded into the game every week, which are worth cash prizes if found.

Graphically, Advent Rising is a yo-yo -- it's got its ups and downs. The color scheme is really vibrant and oozes a futuristic flair. Many of the character models -- especially on the friendly alien beings -- are highly detailed. The downside is that humans don't show a lot of facial emotion. Discerning eyes will be able to spot some 2D textures that belong on the Nintendo 64, not Xbox. Framerate problems show up a little too often, and even plague some of the otherwise beautiful cutscenes.

Audio was given a lot of attention and it shows. The orchestrated score is one of the best you'll hear in a game, and the dialogue is decently acted. Advent does an interesting thing with directional audio -- you must face a character to hear them clearly. Sometimes this can cause you to miss key lines, though. A subtitle feature would've solved that minor problem, but isn't offered.

Does Advent Rising live up to its hype? Not quite, though it's still an entertaining action/adventure title that most gamers will get their money's worth out of. Glyphyx bit off a little more than it could chew, as the bugs and hiccups show. Still, the developer dishes out a thrilling tale with varied gameplay that will keep you immersed through the end. It deserves a little slack for not being as polished as well-known franchises, and will no doubt improve if it fulfills its goal of becoming a trilogy.