Advent Rising

 Xbox
User Score
7.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 71 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 49 out of 71
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 71
  3. Negative: 13 out of 71
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  1. JoseQ.
    Jun 7, 2005
    7
    I have been waiting for this game a long time, and as everyone else, expected greatness, but found an average game. The good: It's great to have a multidimensional main character who can kill an enemy bare handed, or shot him, or use an array of psychic powers to handle the job. It let's you have the power to chose, do I want to kill the mob of enemies with granades, go in I have been waiting for this game a long time, and as everyone else, expected greatness, but found an average game. The good: It's great to have a multidimensional main character who can kill an enemy bare handed, or shot him, or use an array of psychic powers to handle the job. It let's you have the power to chose, do I want to kill the mob of enemies with granades, go in commando with two guns blazing, use the surge power to push them to the ground, or a combination of shooting and psychic abilities. A very fresh welcome to the action/adventure genre. The bad: Frame rate and graphics definitely should have been polished before releasing the game, at least on xbox. When your are facing one or two enemies, the game is awesome, but when facing a multitude, which happens often, the frame rate drop makes it a little confusing and chaotic. Also, the flickering system everyone is talking about does take time to get used to, but I personally found it helpfull as I kept playing the game. My final comment is that sci-fi fans and action/adventure fans should give this game a chance, at least rent it to see if you can enjoy it as I did if you work through it's shortcomings and stick with it, because once you get all the powers, its pretty entertaining.… Expand
  2. MichaelB.
    Jun 20, 2005
    6
    Here is one game that truly doesn't live up to the hype. I'll start with the pros... The graphics are definitely on point. Environments are huge and detailed, water effects are some of the most gorgeous on the XBox, etc. The musical score, while not exceptional, is solid. And the storyline is the key ingredient. It's what will keep most people playing through this one. Here is one game that truly doesn't live up to the hype. I'll start with the pros... The graphics are definitely on point. Environments are huge and detailed, water effects are some of the most gorgeous on the XBox, etc. The musical score, while not exceptional, is solid. And the storyline is the key ingredient. It's what will keep most people playing through this one. Unfortunately, the cons weigh so heavily against Advent Rising, that none of those positive aspects really seem to matter after awhile. For one, the framerate is TERRIBLE. It's not too bad in the small corridor-style levels, but is almost unplayable in those gorgeous outdoor environments I mentioned. Next is the controls. Most of the cool powers and acrobatic moves can't be pulled off in first-person, so you're pretty much forced to play in third person. The 'flick-targeting' system is a miserable failure. Again, you're forced to get used to it if you want to play the game. The controls, in general, just aren't as tight as they should be. The biggest downfall is the lack of interesting gameplay. The combat requires very little (if any) strategy. It's pretty much as follows: Pick any combination of guns and powers, run around, blast the heck out of dozens of enemies that look the same while trying not to die. This pales in comparison to games like Halo, where which weapons you use against which enemies is a crucial aspect. Overall, I was pretty disappointed. This game has been talked about for several years, and showed a lot of promise. If GlyphX had done everything they wanted to, and done it right, it would have been a 9 easily. Unfortunately, the final product is overflowing with bugs and glitches. I don't care how good an idea is; if it isn't implemented properly, it's not worth my time. I sure don't recommend spending $50 on this one. Make this one a renter, or wait until the price drops.… Expand
  3. FPSMaster
    Jun 3, 2005
    6
    I was really heartbroken to see this game getting such bad reviews before it was released. I have waited and waited on a game that may finally fill that void that Halo 2 just could not do, and this looked to be it. So, seeing as I've been looking forward to this game forever, I went ahead and got it despite what the reviews said. Knowing the framerates would be ass, I expected them I was really heartbroken to see this game getting such bad reviews before it was released. I have waited and waited on a game that may finally fill that void that Halo 2 just could not do, and this looked to be it. So, seeing as I've been looking forward to this game forever, I went ahead and got it despite what the reviews said. Knowing the framerates would be ass, I expected them to be no worse than Deus Ex Invisible War, which had the worst framerates of any Xbox game up until AR was released, but is still considered a gem nonetheless. To make a long story short, the framerates didn't bother me at first since the art direction is so astounding in this game, as is the musical score and narration. But a couple of hours into the game, when you actually have to start fighting many enemies at once, the framerates and choppiness makes it becomes almost unplayable. This makes even Deus Ex's framerates seem as fast as a Timesplitters game. The graphics look good, but the framerates make it hard to enjoy the beautiful art direction. Not to mention the flick targeting just locks on to anything, even when you're just trying to walk from point A to point B. Since the right thumbstick only recenters the camera, which is all but useless in any game, why wasn't it just used to turn the flick targeting on and off so you can walk or run without automatically locking on to enemies when you're trying to get to a health station? Don't even get me started on the first person view, which you have to turn on and off to fix the auto-targeting problem, but since your guns in FPV look like 3rd person weapons just zoomed in up close..ie..no detail whatsoever. And you can't even use FPV when using your pshychic powers. The hand to hand combat has worse animations than the GTA series, the animations are jerky and anywhere you step has bad collision issues(floating through things, standing on nothing) , and the game crashing, pop-up and overall glitchiness round out the package. The only good thing about this is the music, the leveling up and the opening demo, but the music just cuts out half the time when you're fighting and turns back on when you're just looking for something to shoot. The demo before the main menu is very misleading, as it looks to be the PC version since the framerates never drop in the demo, which is something this game could only dream of on Xbox. The leveling up eventually makes weapons pointless, as then the game gets too easy once the powers are revealed and that's all you need to use to breeze to the end. The vehicles handle like Pariah's, which is too say they look like Halo's but handle like remote control cars. Avoid, unless you want another game that seems cool at first, but lets you down bigtime 2 days later. God only knows how fast they'll put out the sequel, but if Glyph X knows what's good for them, they'll just cancel this trilogy before it becomes as big of a joke as the Halo name has become. If you're gonna make a game for PC first, you have to make sure it's optimized to run on the lesser hardware of the Xbox. This didn't happen here. This is about the same as just porting The Chronicles of Riddick or Doom 3 to PS2 and not optimizing it. Yes, it runs just that bad. Add this to the Xbox's could have been/should have been list with Halo 2, Fable, Oddworld Strangers Wrath and Brute Force. But much more unplayable and unenjoyable. Yeah, it's that disappointing.… Expand
  4. KevinC.
    Mar 24, 2007
    7
    Advent rising would have been a better game if they had fixed the targeting system and there are more videos in the game then game play.
  5. AlexD
    Jul 25, 2009
    7
    Starts out wonderfully - the opening scenes are as big and beautifuly as 2001 A Space Oddity. But the extensive tedious combat is simply button mashing devoid of tactics. Driving the Scythe vehicle (think: Halo Warthog) is unsatifying and frustrating. I think they may have been a resonable story in there somewhere but it's obscured by lousy gameplay mechanics. IMO, Fire Warrior on Starts out wonderfully - the opening scenes are as big and beautifuly as 2001 A Space Oddity. But the extensive tedious combat is simply button mashing devoid of tactics. Driving the Scythe vehicle (think: Halo Warthog) is unsatifying and frustrating. I think they may have been a resonable story in there somewhere but it's obscured by lousy gameplay mechanics. IMO, Fire Warrior on the PS2 is a much better game. I'll rate AR a lucky 7 'cos I believe the developers tried hard but were hampered by some bad design decisions.… Expand
  6. LordKinoda
    Jan 24, 2011
    6
    Potential. That's definently the best word to describe this game. Unfortunately it doesn't reach it's fullest. The story is definently awesome, and might just be enough to hold you over for dealing with the games annoying flaws. The framerate gets to be seriously annoying at some points in the game, and the action could of been handled better, mostly the targeting system. It was a good tryPotential. That's definently the best word to describe this game. Unfortunately it doesn't reach it's fullest. The story is definently awesome, and might just be enough to hold you over for dealing with the games annoying flaws. The framerate gets to be seriously annoying at some points in the game, and the action could of been handled better, mostly the targeting system. It was a good try at something new, but ultimately didn't have enough polish. It feels as though the developers were super rushed or something and put out an unfinished game. Alot of the mechanics are just too buggy. I think if they had given the game another six months or so for fine tuning, it could of been in the top 20 games of all time for sure. As I said, the story and what grahics you are allowed to perceive without framerate issues are the best things about the game. If you're a sci-fi junkie like myself, you might be able to muddle through the game just to enjoy the story. The game definently sets it up like this is going to be the first chapter in a trilogy, or maybe a big series of games. I know I would of been chomping at the bit for them to come out with a sequel with more spit and polish. Who knows, maybe they wil some day. As it stands, all I'll say is the one word I stared my review with. Potential.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

10
#10 Most Discussed Xbox Game of 2005
34
#34 Most Shared Xbox Game of 2005

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
68

Mixed or average reviews - based on 50 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 24 out of 50
  2. Mixed: 22 out of 50
  3. Negative: 4 out of 50
  1. Yahoo!
    80
    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.
    Read full review
  2. Games Radar
    80
    If technical difficulties like a choppy framerate and a maddening enemy targeting system didn't get in the way, this would be one of the year's best games. As it stands, however, it's a darn good one.
    Read full review
  3. AceGamez
    80
    An impressive title and the involving storyline means that before too long you're playing it well into the night and forgetting to eat, work, or even make it to the bathroom.
See all critic reviews »