The ingredients for the PlayStation 3 adventure Starhawk look promising on paper: third-person shooting, dog fights in outer space and a build-and-battle system borrowing loosely from real-time strategy games.

But when you blend them all together as LightBox Interactive does, video game players end up with mixed results.

Starhawk's story takes place in an universe hosting a futuristic "gold rush" for Rift energy. Miners have set up shop on planets throughout the galaxy hunting down this rich resource while Outcasts -- mutated humans exposed to the energy -- try to thwart their efforts.

Stuck in the middle of this intergalactic Wild West is Emmett Graves, a former miner working as a Rift salvager, preserving resources from Outcast attacks.

Starhawk breaks down into three gameplay components, starting with traditional third-person shooting. Players get a standard selection of weapons from assault rifles to rocket launchers, picking up Rift energy left by slain enemies.

The second part involves the Hawks, mechanized assault vehicles that can stomp on foes while grounded, then morph into flying vessels speeding through space. Think of them as Starhawk's answer to the Transformer.

The third is the build-and-battle system. The Rift energy players collect is used toward building installations such as walls, watchtowers, launch pads and auto turrets. An energy meter at the top right corner of the screen is displayed as a series of small bars, which tick down depending on the cost of the structure (an auto turret costs 3 bars, for example).

At times, Starhawk's mix of gameplay mechanics is harmonious, particularly in situations where players must defend key targets. Players are alerted to where enemies will start appearing to let them decide where to place turrets, walls or other installations.

Players may have moments where they'll need to build a wall to halt an oncoming tank, then create a powerful Beam Turret to wipe out enemy jeeps, or create an outpost for reinforcements and a launch pad for Hawks. They can fight on foot, inside a Hawk on the ground or picking off enemies in the skies.

But Starhawk only seems to work when all three of these elements work in unison during combat. The action seems to suffer when players reach sections emphasizing only one or two of these components.

The third-person shooting isn't particularly memorable on its own. Enemies don't react well, often preferring to run past you to take cover instead of firing back, or failing to notice a player flanking them on their side.

Build-and-battle is interesting, but players don't get enough freedom to experiment until much later in the game. In several portions of the campaign, players are simply instructed what to build and where.

Flying through space in Hawks is the most entertaining, but even these campaign dogfights can get repetitive. The Hawks are easy to navigate and feature a great selection of guided missiles and other weapons, but players are usually involved in the same types of fights against the same opponents.

Multiplayer seems to salvage the experience somewhat, with matches hosting up to 32 players in huge environments. There are only four match types to choose from, two of which are deathmatch. It's unfortunate Starhawk doesn't feature even more tactical match types similar to Capture the Flag to help leverage all three gameplay components simultaneously.

Starhawk has moments where it really shines. Players are quickly building walls or turrets while fighting on ground or quickly suiting up in a Hawk to go airborne. It just doesn't seem to happen consistently enough.

Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment

Developer: LightBox Interactive

Platform(s): PlayStation 3

Price: $59.99

Rating: T for Teen

Release Date: May 8

Score: 2.5 stars (out of 4)