Based around an intriguing-enough science fiction franchise (if a well used one), Exodus From The Earth is one of those occasional reminders of just how far PC gaming has come. That, sadly, is not a good thing in this case.

Ostensibly a first person shooter with some puzzles thrown in for good measure, you join the game via a robotic and graphically basic cut-scene, as the outline of things is explained. Namely that the world has around 20 years left at best, but a mysterious Corporation has an equally mysterious mineral hidden away that could save everybody. Thus, you have to step into the shoes of Francis Rixon in a game spread over two planets, as you try to save the day. Simple.

And, to be honest, simple is for long periods exactly what it is. Appreciating that a version of this game saw a release elsewhere in the world a year or two back, there are still features of Exodus From the Earth that date it even further. For instance, in the very opening scene of the game you need to sneak past security guards to meet up with the character you're supposed to see. Yet at every door you're met by a guard protected by a barrier of collision detection, who bats you away. The answer? To phone from the reception desk for a secretary, who opens said door, leaving you free to, er, walk past the security guard anyway.

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The problem is that Exodus From The Earth is full of things like that. Levels are horribly linear, the action is often staid, and too often you walk into seemingly busy environments that are utterly bereft of people. It's only when another security alert crops up that you have enemies to really contend with.

All that's even before you've battled with some genuinely terrible translation work from the Russian original that's both funny and head-slappingly bad. Finally, add a slavish devotion to gaming conventions and Exodus From the Earth is soon trampled into a mulch of gaming blah.

But just when you're ready to give up on it, it does throw out a cry or two for help. The game - if you're happy with long loading times - gradually ramps up its challenge, and while it's never much more than a dumb shooter at heart, it does gradually turn into a passable one. In fact, it even becomes slightly interesting, with the challenge moving away from a construction kit feel to something temporarily worthwhile.

That's not to say it comes close to competing with what the genre has to offer at its best, though, since for every good factor in Exodus From The Earth, there's a negative never far away to bring you back down to, er, Earth. And ultimately, it's the conundrum of flaws that makes Exodus From The Earth the kind of game that's completely ignored by most.

Does it deserve such a fate? Not entirely. But neither does it work hard enough to justify spending too much money or time on it. It's not without some merits, but it's never going to warrant much in the way of demand for a sequel.

A badly localised first person shooter, whose ideas are buried under a mountain of gaming clichés.