The Down and Dirty

Charlize Theron jumps around in a skintight black leather jumpsuit. What more is there to know?

The Goods

When it first hit the public's eye on MTV's Liquid Television, the cartoon Aeon Flux created quite a stir. Set in a world both futuristic and familiar, its slick style and mysterious leading lady quickly garnered it a fervent following and gained it cult status. The plot was a bit hard to follow, but the character of Aeon, with her skimpy costumes and acrobatic skills, attracted enough of a fan following for Hollywood to take notice, and a live-action feature film starring Charlize Theron is due out shortly. The game of the same name isn't the usual movie tie-in, however, but instead acts as a bridge between the cartoon and the film, filling in some plot gaps and easing folks new to the series into the Aeon Flux universe.

Terminal Reality are the folks behind the Bloodrayne games, which explains the immense feeling of déjà vu I felt while playing the Aeon Flux demo. Aeon, for all intents and purposes, is just Rayne with black hair and a slightly more modest wardrobe. The acrobatic moves are virtually identical to those from Bloodrayne 2, with a few more added in for good measure. Aeon can leap, tumble, and shimmy along ledges as well as any red-headed vampire, and can also pull off some impressive neck-snapping and spine busting combos. Aeon also has some nifty gadgets at her disposal, as well as eight different kinds of ammo. The shockwave ammo, which knocks enemies back (and often straight off of ledges) is way more fun than it should be.

The game is broken into seven different levels that can be played in any order. The gameplay is mission-based, with each level having five to ten different objectives to complete. A sort of hybrid between stealth and straight action, the core concept of Aeon Flux is "speed stealth," which encourages players to take out enemies as swiftly and quietly as possible, so as to avoid raising the alarm.

The Verdict

Having Bloodrayne to use as a blueprint, Aeon Flux looks and controls fluidly and easily. Fans of the series, those looking forward to the movie, or even just gamers looking for a satisfying action title will want to give this a look when it hits stores in October.