What kind of turnaround has Majesco seen? The company originally known for only possessing a few licenses like Bloodrayne and the Game Boy Video line-up is becoming one of the top publishers of 2005. Look what they have under their belt so far. The brilliant Psychonauts, the enjoyable budget title Raze's Hell, the overlooked but much cherished Phantom Dust, and that's not even counting the guilty pleasure we're going to take out of such games as Jaws Unleashed and Infected, along with the classic shooting goodness of Nanostray.

Then there is the very ambitious title, Advent Rising. Shown last year at E3 2004, the game was shaping up to be one for the ages, yet at this year's event it seemed overlooked as it sat in the middle of the booth among the likes of the above mentioned games and an early build of Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver. What happened to the push and the drive to get it out there? Was Majesco concerned about its future line-up and not what could be their biggest title for a reason? One would have to wonder why big banners weren't put up in more places than they were.

Now I know. I mean, Majesco still put some push behind the game with a million dollar contest and some convincing advertising, but I guess I can see why the company didn't tout it like it was the next evolution in gaming, the reason being that it simply isn't. That's not to say that Advent Rising isn't a good game, because, deep down, it has a lot to offer, but there's signs of what might have been with a little clean-up, another year in cherished development to make it an achievement for the company, but it didn't happen, and, as a result, it feels rushed.

You might know a bit about the story at this point. It was concocted by famed science fiction writer Orson Scott Card as part of a trilogy, with part two coming in the form of Advent Shadow for the PSP later this year. It basically talks about how the direction of the universe has shifted, and how humans aren't as valuable as they once were. Still, they yearn for hope and peace in the universe, and you control one of the key figures who could very well put this peace into play. However, a vicious group of aliens known as the Seekers doesn't want this peace to happen, and the game unfolds in this battle for the rebirth of mankind.

The game is played from a third person perspective but you can switch to first person if it's to your liking. As you progress, your hero can get new weapons and powers, thanks to a smart dual-wielding system that becomes second nature in no time. Some of the weapon effects are about the same, but they're still conveyed with a kind of sci-fi charm, and with precision targeting and movement. Some of it can get kind of staggering in the middle of a frantic fight (again leading to those shortcomings), but for the most part the controls feel nice.

I like the fact that it isn't just about the gunplay in the game, but that your character kind of takes a spiritual turn, gaining superhuman powers all his own that can really devastate a room in more ways than one. Once acquired, this guy can draw up shields and let loose with some incredible, force-like energy blasts that can leave a room devastated in his wake. The use of acrobatic skills is also a nice touch, if a bit Matrix-like in terms of "how the hell can he do a side flip?!" But, again, shortcomings... once they come into play, they affect everything.

The game's sound is right on target, at least in a couple of areas. The music, composed with the help of an orchestra and Tommy Tallarico, is quite beautiful, and it is a good companion piece to the action and keeps things moving. The sound effects are also convincing, but it's the dialogue that's a mess. The voice actors try their best but it comes off sounding a bit cheesy.

Graphically, Advent Rising is above average. There's some spellbinding level design, but somewhere along the way some of the execution gets lost. That's because the game looks unpolished, almost as if this was a first-gen effort in an obvious third-gen run, especially with the likes of Halo 2 and Grand Theft Auto San Andreas on store shelves. The frame rate constantly jumps around, even to the point that the game threatens to grind to a halt because it can barely handle all the particle effects.

Furthermore, the animation suffers at times because of this lack of detail, and some of the weapon effects aren't as impressive as they could've been. The game doesn't bug out completely, but you can tell when things are going wrong and it's spreading itself too thin. If any game needed to be placed onto the Xbox 360, it's Advent Rising.

The game also lacks a robust online component. It does contain Xbox Live support in terms of downloads, but no online play, which I find a bit of a bummer. A game like this would've really been cool if it included the ability to take part some online battles between Seekers and Humans, letting the supernatural powers come into play along with some of the weaponry. Without it, it feels even more limited than it should be. I mean, after all, if the single player is struggling so much, would the multiplayer modes have run into even worse lag times? It's simply a wasted opportunity.

It's games like Advent Rising that really put me on the fence. I appreciate the fact that the developers pushed for something different, something more than typical licensed fare, but then part of me wonders just where the attention of the development really went in terms of the game's scrappy graphics and lacking script. In the end, I still liked it for its potential, its ideas, and some of the scenarios that really drove me to push forward, but I can't give it a great recommendation. Instead, I'll opt to say that it's worth at least a rental, if only to see where the future lies ahead in the trilogy. If we could see some kind of wrap-up on next-gen hardware I'm all for it, but if this same kind of attention will be paid to the other games in this series, I may adopt a wait and see approach.