Straying from typical science fiction fantasy, developer GlyphX, in association with award winning sci-fi author Orson Scott Card, has developed a story in which the rest of the universe waits for contact with humans, who are known as mythological gods whom will bring peace and unite the universe. The Seekers, however, know that humans actually do exist, but instead of praising them, they believe humans must be exterminated. You'll play the game as Gideon Wyeth, a human who does not know of the mythos of the aliens or the powers hidden within him.  The story in Advent Rising is the first part of a trilogy of games, and early impressions show that Advent Rising contains similar story-telling as Half-Life; rarely taking players out of the gameplay experience for extended periods of time in order to advance the story through cutscenes, but rather inject it directly into the action while inserting short cinematics in some key sequences.

 

The action in Advent Rising relies heavily on acrobatics and, later in the game, the special powers Gideon attains. While primarily a third-person perspective affair, GlyphX has recently built in a fully functional first-person view. The game not only gives gamers easy access to play the game from whichever perspective they prefer, but it also makes use of a powerful, but simple, alteration of Zelda's z-targeting system, called Flick targeting. Tapping the analog stick will quickly flip through the available targets without wildly affecting the camera. The smoothness of the targeting transitions is readily apparent, and allows the development team to make the enemy AI aggressive without overwhelming players as a result of a weak targeting system or wild camera. Constant action is the theme of Advent Rising, giving you the ability to never compromise your athleticism in order to attack. Gideon can perform back flips and Matrix-style dives, all while shooting, switching weapons, and even using powers in mid-air.

 

There are 12 weapons and 10 evolutionary powers, all of which are upgradeable during the course of the game. The upgrades you can make to both your weapons and powers is a result of how often you use them. The game does include a healthy assortment of weaponry, with everything from handguns to machine guns, but the meat of the combat is in the super-human abilities Gideon discovers within himself. Of the powers revealed thus far, energy balls, the ability to create energy shields and build a large barrier around you, and massive ground stomps which hit everything within its radius, are just some of the useful abilities you can take advantage as you progress through the game.

 

Advent Rising also features a wide assortment of vehicles. The Scythe is an all-terrain vehicle with three extra seats and a mounted high-caliber chaingun, somewhat like the Warthog from Halo. The Eyering 7-InSpher Shuttle, a space vehicle; the Gildstar Monson Diplomatic Coach, a transport vehicle; and the Baa'El Tusk, a heavily armored vehicle featuring multiple plasma cannons make up the majority of the remaining vehicles. The real beast of the group is the Hurricane, a massive, heavily armored military vehicle with room to transport two entire squads of marines, a tactical team, and features two A7P Horizon cannons that can put any air or land-based enemies out of commission.