Advent Rising

Lore & Background

The game follows Gideon Wyeth, who escorts human ambassadors to meet the alien Aurelians. The Aurelians view humans as gods and warn of the Seekers, a race intent on destroying humanity. After an attack on the space station, Gideon escapes to the planet Edumea, aids Marines, and later trains with the Aurelians to unlock mystical human powers. The story culminates in a confrontation with a being called a Koroem, which claims responsibility for the genocide and is killed when Gideon uses a previously unknown ability, opening a portal that drags him to an ice planet where a horned creature known as 'The Stranger' beckons him to follow.

Development was led by Donald and Geremy Mustard, with dialogue and screenplay by Orson Scott Card and Cameron Dayton. Card's influences appear in terminology such as 'vids', 'Buggers', and 'ansible' (the latter coined by Ursula K. Le Guin and added by Donald Mustard). The game's visual design featured elongated characters, a deliberate stylistic choice noted by reviewers. A contest offering one million dollars via Xbox Live for finding hidden symbols was cancelled in August 2005 due to concerns about fairness and security; players were offered compensation of two free games and an apology.

Reader's Guide

Advent Rising received 'average' reviews on Xbox according to Metacritic, with common complaints about bugs, freezing, and a difficult targeting system. The PC version, released months later, garnered slightly better reviews, as many glitches were fixed and framerate improved. The game's 'flick targeting' system—locking onto enemies by flicking the right control stick—was noted as both innovative and requiring adjustment. A five-issue spin-off comic series, Advent Rising: Rock the Planet, ran from October 2005 to November 2006, set ten years before the game. A planned PSP side story, Advent Shadow, was cancelled in January 2006 due to Majesco's financial difficulties and the poor sales of Advent Rising. In 2008, Novint announced support for the Novint Falcon, selling the game as Ascension Reborn. Xbox Live for original Xbox games was terminated in 2010, but Advent Rising is now supported on Insignia, a revival service restoring online functionality. Donald Mustard stated in 2006 he would be happy to finish the series if the opportunity arose but confirmed he did not hold the rights.

Did You Know?

• A one-million-dollar contest to find hidden symbols in the game was cancelled due to fairness concerns.
• A free copy of the PC version was included on the DVD release of the 2007 Uwe Boll film Seed.
• The game is now playable online via Insignia, a revival service for the original Xbox.