Aeon Flux Review

Aeon Flux is a movie-to-game tie-in that was crafted with an actual love and respect for the source material rather than just as a quick cash in like we see with many movie games. There are some gameplay and story issues that sour the overall experience, but fans of Aeon Flux will find a lot to like here.

Storytelling Style

This game follows the storytelling style of the animated series rather than what you’ll see in the movie. What this means is that the storyline is broken up into bite sized episodes rather than one long narrative. Interestingly, as you move from chapter to chapter you don’t always play the same role in the story and you aren’t always even fighting for the same side. You are sexy assassin Aeon Flux throughout, but you jump back and forth between working for a rebel group and then later on playing as the love interest of the leader of the organization you were just rebelling against. It is all a mess of different timelines and you have different allies every time and the game never comes together into a truly cohesive story. It is cool because it is similar to the TV show and it also makes you see the story and the characters from a number of different angles, but it is a pretty disappointing story overall and you also never feel any sentiment towards Aeon because you never get an insight into what she is really like.

Gameplay

The gameplay in Aeon Flux is pretty fun, but it starts to feel a little repetitive after a while. It combines the best bits of BloodRayne and the Prince of Persia series and injects a whole lot of style into everything, but it isn’t all that satisfying. You’ll run up walls, jump back and forth between horizontal and vertical poles, and do other little platforming bits with the greatest of ease and there are also some contextual things like rapelling from a high area or shimmying along a narrow ledge. It is all pretty simple, really. The combat is a mix of shooting and hand-to-hand combat, but it is a button masher at heart. You just string combos together until the enemies are all gone. One complaint is that there isn’t any sort of a lock on system or even an onscreen indicator telling you who you are actually attacking which makes fighting multiple enemies somewhat frustrating. The game also throws some simple puzzles at you including sections where you get into a ball and roll around into previously unreachable areas which breaks up the combat and platforming nicely. The gameplay is somewhat repetitive but it is pretty solid as a whole. It is also very stylishly presented which makes things more interesting.

Graphics and Sound

Graphically, Aeon Flux is a nice looking game that impresses in some areas more than others. The environments you explore are fairly simple but look good overall and I do like the use of brighter colors here and there that highlight the oftentimes dreary levels. The star of the graphical show is definitely Aeon herself, though. She looks very close to Charlize Theron (which is of course a good thing) and is incredibly well animated so the wealth of moves she can pull off all look great. The enemies and other characters don’t look nearly as nice, however.

The sound is also pretty good for the most part. Theron is the only actor from the movie to appear in the game, but she does a good job and the rest of the cast fill their roles well. The sound effects and music are also pretty solid but don’t really stand out too much.

Bottom Line

Aeon Flux is a solid movie game that is quite a bit better than most of the quick cash ins we see, but it is far from perfect. The storytelling style doesn’t really translate well to a videogame (why would you want to spend 15 hours on a game with a so-so storyline and a lead character you never get attached to?) and the gameplay is somewhat repetitive, but the overall package comes together into something that is worth checking out. Fans of the Aeon Flux movie and TV series will probably really enjoy it and the bonus features and intro sequence (where it seamlessly transitions from the cartoon Aeon, to the movie, to the game) are pretty darn cool. Overall, Aeon Flux isn’t spectacular, but it is a worthy addition to the Aeon Flux universe and fans will like it. Give it a rental before you decide to buy.