Æon Flux (video game)

Æon Flux is the video game adaptation of the 2005 science fiction film of the same name, with elements of the Æon Flux animated series. The game was released in November 2005 in North America for PlayStation 2 and Xbox.

This article is about the video game. For other uses, see Æon Flux (disambiguation).
Æon Flux
Cover art
Developer(s)Terminal Reality
Publisher(s)Majesco Entertainment
Director(s)Drew Haworth
Producer(s)Raymond Holmes
Programmer(s)
  • Ken Rogoway
  • Fletcher Dunn
Writer(s)Drew Haworth
Composer(s)Kyle Richards
EngineInfernal Engine
Platform(s)PlayStation 2, Xbox
Release
  • NA: November 15, 2005 (PS2) (Xbox)
  • NA: November 17, 2005 (Xbox)
  • AU: March 30, 2006
  • EU: March 31, 2006
Genre(s)Action-adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

Plot

The game is set in the year 2415, after a biological disease has wiped out Earth's population except for its one walled, protected city-state, Bregna. The city is ruled by the congress of scientists who discovered the vaccine for the disease. Æon Flux, the protagonist and top operative in the underground "Monican" rebellion, is sent on a mission to kill one of Bregna's most influential government leaders, Trevor Goodchild. Following a series of self-discoveries and revelations, Æon uncovers a world of secrets which makes her doubt her mission and question everything she thought she knew.

The game's storyline attempts to bridge the gap between the TV series and the film and explain various discrepancies, such as the appearance of the jungle outside Bregna and the differences between the movie and TV series versions of Trevor Goodchild. However, much of the game's visuals and tone skew far more dramatically toward that of the film, supplemented by the fact that the look of Æon in the game is based almost entirely on Charlize Theron's film version, and the character is also voiced by her.

History

Unfinished 1996 game

A game based on the original animated series was announced on April 9, 1996 for the PlayStation. The game, which was loosely based on "The Demiurge" episode, was being developed by Cryo Interactive and published by Viacom New Media. The game first made an appearance at E3 that same year, with Æon Flux creator Peter Chung on hand to promote it,[1] and commercial advertising was even included in the 1996 VHS release of the animated series.

Viacom New Media would merge with Virgin Interactive midway through the game's development. The merger would ultimately lead to the cancellation of Viacom's in-development games and subsequently leave Cryo without the rights to use the Æon Flux property. In mid-1997, the Æon Flux video game rights were acquired by GT Interactive.[2] The game's assets were not lost however, but were reworked into the 1997 title Pax Corpus, having been stripped of all copyrighted association with Æon Flux. Pax Corpus does retain many obvious similarities to the original animated series. Specifically, parts of the plot are similar to "The Demiurge", and many design details bear a striking resemblance to examples found in the show, e.g. the female protagonist wears a purple and black outfit not unlike Æon's.

Unfinished 2000 game

Another failed attempt would be made by The Collective, sometime around the year 2000, and was to be published by GT Interactive. It was using a then-current version of the Unreal Engine, and appeared to be a 3D third-person action title similar to The Collective's previous title, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: The Fallen. Again however, at some point during development, the game was cancelled and the project vanished.

Completed 2005 game

In order to coincide with the release of the upcoming film, developer Terminal Reality was tasked with creating a game to tie-in with the film. The team was only given ten months to finish the game, a relatively short time for a non-sequel console game (especially in 2005), as it had to be out in time for the movie's theatrical premier. Still, Terminal Reality rose to the task and managed to create a complete Æon Flux game in less than a year, due in part to the fact that the developer created much of the game using an engine they had already built for their previous title, BloodRayne 2, which cut down on development time dramatically. Nine years after the first ill-fated attempt and five years after the second, an Æon Flux game was finally completed and released to the market in November 2005.

Release

To help add to the box office gross of the film and to sell more games, specially marked copies sold in the US came with a pass to see the Æon Flux film and an attached thank you note from Majesco Entertainment. The movie was in theaters nationwide by December 2 and these tickets expired on December 31, 2005.

Reception

The game received "average" reviews on both platforms according to video game review aggregator Metacritic.[3][4]

References
  1. "From Marvel to MTV". GamePro. No. 94. IDG. July 1996. p. 38.
  2. "GT Interactive Buys Singletrac, Makes Agreements with BMG and Warner Bros. Interactive". GamePro. No. 108. IDG. September 1997. p. 20.
  3. "Aeon Flux for PlayStation 2 Reviews". Metacritic.
  4. "Aeon Flux for Xbox Reviews". Metacritic.
  5. Matsuzaki, Kimi (December 14, 2005). "Aeon Flux (PS2)". 1UP.com. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
  6. Martin, Matt (February 28, 2006). "Aeon Flux (Xbox)". Eurogamer. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
  7. Zoss, Jeremy (January 2006). "Aeon Flux". Game Informer (153): 138. Archived from the original on December 1, 2008. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
  8. Rice Burner (February 2006). "Review: Aeon Flux". GamePro. Archived from the original on August 31, 2006. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
  9. Navarro, Alex (November 28, 2005). "Aeon Flux Review". GameSpot. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
  10. Onyett, Charles (November 14, 2005). "Aeon Flux". IGN. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
  11. "Aeon Flux". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine. February 2006. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
  12. "Aeon Flux". Official Xbox Magazine: 81. February 2006.
  13. Van Leuveren, Luke (April 28, 2006). "Aeon Flux Review - Xbox Review". PALGN. Archived from the original on August 4, 2008. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
  14. Nardozzi, Dale (November 14, 2005). "Aeon Flux Review (Xbox)". TeamXbox. Archived from the original on March 11, 2012. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
  15. Herold, Charles (December 10, 2005). "Chasing a Girl on Kong's Island, and Other Pursuits". The New York Times. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
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