Aeon Flux - Review
Added December 19th, 2005 by Barnolde
Introduction:
Ah, movie tie-in games. If there’s anything certain in life, other than death and taxes, it’s that for every big movie, there’s a game to go along with it. Based on an MTV mini-series, which formed into a 1995 cartoon is the new hit movie, Aeon Flux, and subsequently, the new game, Aeon Flux. It seems to be a perfect fit that the developers of BloodRayne are at the helm of Aeon Flux, because of their shared acrobatic techniques.
This is the part where I usually discuss the game’s story, unfortunately this game doesn’t really tell you too much. All I was really able to deduce is that you are Aeon Flux and you’re in this futuristic world, where you do some secret agent type work. Regardless of that, the story isn’t detrimental to the game at all, so aside from a lack of immersion, you’ll be fine.
Gameplay:
Aeon Flux controls similarly to BloodRayne, as it should, only in Aeon Flux, there is more emphasis on acrobatics than combat. The game involves both hand-to-hand and gun combat, offering four types of guns for your use. The action in the game isn’t something that I’d really call well done. The gun-based combat just gives me a detached feeling; it’s just not very immersive. Aeon’s melee combat also feels distant from the game; your attacks don’t feel as if they connect and it doesn’t help that the enemies only sometimes react to your punches. With a large emphasis on combat, it’s really disappointing that it’s not immersive at all, and all it really does is take you out of the experience.
Ah, movie tie-in games. If there’s anything certain in life, other than death and taxes, it’s that for every big movie, there’s a game to go along with it. Based on an MTV mini-series, which formed into a 1995 cartoon is the new hit movie, Aeon Flux, and subsequently, the new game, Aeon Flux. It seems to be a perfect fit that the developers of BloodRayne are at the helm of Aeon Flux, because of their shared acrobatic techniques.
This is the part where I usually discuss the game’s story, unfortunately this game doesn’t really tell you too much. All I was really able to deduce is that you are Aeon Flux and you’re in this futuristic world, where you do some secret agent type work. Regardless of that, the story isn’t detrimental to the game at all, so aside from a lack of immersion, you’ll be fine.
Gameplay:
Aeon Flux controls similarly to BloodRayne, as it should, only in Aeon Flux, there is more emphasis on acrobatics than combat. The game involves both hand-to-hand and gun combat, offering four types of guns for your use. The action in the game isn’t something that I’d really call well done. The gun-based combat just gives me a detached feeling; it’s just not very immersive. Aeon’s melee combat also feels distant from the game; your attacks don’t feel as if they connect and it doesn’t help that the enemies only sometimes react to your punches. With a large emphasis on combat, it’s really disappointing that it’s not immersive at all, and all it really does is take you out of the experience.
While BloodRayne was more action than acrobatics, Aeon Flux is the opposite, the emphasis here is on the acrobatics, and it’s a good thing that they’re pretty good. Aeon herself is quite nimble; allowing you to pull off flips and jumps with ease. In addition to the usual flips and jumps, you can also run along walls temporarily and rappel down or grapple up to a higher level. For a good chunk of the game, you will be holding onto the lip of a platform, running across that platform and jumping across gaps and leaping from pole to pole. The acrobatics are good and I was glad to see a good emphasis placed on them, as I found it much more enjoyable as opposed to the combat in the game. One of the most satisfying moments in the game is to be hanging off an edge and then grab an enemy with your legs and toss him and then watch the rag doll physics kick in as he flies through the air.
There are things that were implemented to add a little variation to the gameplay. In addition to grappling, you can also step into balls and roll around, for a Super Monkey Ball-esque experience. Aeon gets into a ball and can roll along a fairly linear path and smush any enemies who get into her way, which is pretty fun and handled quite well. The other way that you can use a ball is to have Aeon drop her remotely controlled one and you can use that to usually override the security of something. I think that these mechanics are pretty well done and in addition to being pretty fun, they add a good bit of variation to the game.
While the acrobatics and combat are hit and miss, respectively, the actual objective part of the game is fairly subpar. The story is told through text and some in-game clips, taking you out of the experience. The production values just don’t feel that high in this game. There is an arrow indicting where your next action is required, but everything feels too similar. You’ll have to go to x spot and blow something up or use a guided little rolling ball to access places you can’t quite reach. It all feels pretty generic. It tries to spice things up by requiring you to use your different techniques to accomplish things, but it also gives off a big “been here, done that” type of feeling.
Graphics:
Like the gameplay, there’s really nothing spectacular to be found here. Aeon looks good herself, but the character models of the enemies are fairly boring. The environments are decent looking, but do give off a bland feeling at points. Although the game changes environments, they all seem pretty dreary, dull and boring. Explosions and other effects look pretty good, but there isn’t anything that really stands out here.
There are things that were implemented to add a little variation to the gameplay. In addition to grappling, you can also step into balls and roll around, for a Super Monkey Ball-esque experience. Aeon gets into a ball and can roll along a fairly linear path and smush any enemies who get into her way, which is pretty fun and handled quite well. The other way that you can use a ball is to have Aeon drop her remotely controlled one and you can use that to usually override the security of something. I think that these mechanics are pretty well done and in addition to being pretty fun, they add a good bit of variation to the game.
While the acrobatics and combat are hit and miss, respectively, the actual objective part of the game is fairly subpar. The story is told through text and some in-game clips, taking you out of the experience. The production values just don’t feel that high in this game. There is an arrow indicting where your next action is required, but everything feels too similar. You’ll have to go to x spot and blow something up or use a guided little rolling ball to access places you can’t quite reach. It all feels pretty generic. It tries to spice things up by requiring you to use your different techniques to accomplish things, but it also gives off a big “been here, done that” type of feeling.
Graphics:
Like the gameplay, there’s really nothing spectacular to be found here. Aeon looks good herself, but the character models of the enemies are fairly boring. The environments are decent looking, but do give off a bland feeling at points. Although the game changes environments, they all seem pretty dreary, dull and boring. Explosions and other effects look pretty good, but there isn’t anything that really stands out here.
Audio:
The audio in Aeon Flux fares about the same as the average graphics. Charlize Theron is here to voice her character and she does a good job of that. Some of the other voices in the game are pretty boring and overacted. Sound effects are well done, with proper attention paid to all the blows, shots, smashes and explosions that are in this type of game. Aeon Flux’s music is your average set of rock-styled tunes, with nothing really memorable to be found here.
Controls:
I found the controls in Aeon to be very easy to pick and play to. If you’ve played BloodRayne 2, Aeon Flux is very similar in controls and movement, although learning the controls here shouldn’t be too tough. For many objectives, you will have to rappel down, which is completed easily, with just a push of the black button and the A button to pull yourself back up. One complaint I do have is with the wall running, as I found that the game was pretty strict with what angle you’re allowed to approach the wall for a successful wall run. It seemed that there was little margin for error when trying to run on a wall, which just made things very frustrating.
Replay:
This is a one player only game and its average length is around 12 hours to complete. As you progress, you can unlock new things, such as artwork and costumes for Aeon. Aside from some unlockables or replaying a certain area that you liked, there isn’t much to keep you coming back for more. Playing through it once is probably all you’ll need to do, but it’s nice to know that at least you can earn items for your labors.
The audio in Aeon Flux fares about the same as the average graphics. Charlize Theron is here to voice her character and she does a good job of that. Some of the other voices in the game are pretty boring and overacted. Sound effects are well done, with proper attention paid to all the blows, shots, smashes and explosions that are in this type of game. Aeon Flux’s music is your average set of rock-styled tunes, with nothing really memorable to be found here.
Controls:
I found the controls in Aeon to be very easy to pick and play to. If you’ve played BloodRayne 2, Aeon Flux is very similar in controls and movement, although learning the controls here shouldn’t be too tough. For many objectives, you will have to rappel down, which is completed easily, with just a push of the black button and the A button to pull yourself back up. One complaint I do have is with the wall running, as I found that the game was pretty strict with what angle you’re allowed to approach the wall for a successful wall run. It seemed that there was little margin for error when trying to run on a wall, which just made things very frustrating.
Replay:
This is a one player only game and its average length is around 12 hours to complete. As you progress, you can unlock new things, such as artwork and costumes for Aeon. Aside from some unlockables or replaying a certain area that you liked, there isn’t much to keep you coming back for more. Playing through it once is probably all you’ll need to do, but it’s nice to know that at least you can earn items for your labors.
Summary:
If you’re into the animated series, chances are you’re going to see movie as well and play the game. It doesn’t hurt that the game is a good romp, easily a step above the usual licensed junk that saturates the market around the holiday season. There just really isn’t anything bad or good about Aeon Flux; it’s a slightly above average game that doesn’t really bring anything new to the table. The acrobatics are well done, but unfortunately, the combat is pretty lacking as a whole. Graphics and audio fair about the same, average, and while the game controls pretty well, wall running can be a pain at times. While this Aeon Flux game is probably the only one you’re going to see off this franchise, if you strip away the license, all you’re left with is a slightly above average and mostly forgettable action game.
If you’re into the animated series, chances are you’re going to see movie as well and play the game. It doesn’t hurt that the game is a good romp, easily a step above the usual licensed junk that saturates the market around the holiday season. There just really isn’t anything bad or good about Aeon Flux; it’s a slightly above average game that doesn’t really bring anything new to the table. The acrobatics are well done, but unfortunately, the combat is pretty lacking as a whole. Graphics and audio fair about the same, average, and while the game controls pretty well, wall running can be a pain at times. While this Aeon Flux game is probably the only one you’re going to see off this franchise, if you strip away the license, all you’re left with is a slightly above average and mostly forgettable action game.
