Review: Avatar

As a rule, video games based on movie franchises usually don’t work. The games are often rushed, developed on a shoe string budget and end up looking and feeling like shovelware. Everything hinges on timing. If developers don’t get the games out while the movie is in theatres there is a fear they won’t sell. The problem is they do sell, and that’s why poor movie based games continue to flood the market.

Avatar was supposed to change that. James Cameron gave Ubisoft Montreal free reign to produce a game based on the Avatar franchise. The movie has been delayed time and time again and took years to develop. Would all that extra time taken to produce the movie result in a video game translation far more superior than other attempts. While Avatar does have its moments, it’s clear when it comes to movie based video games, some things never change.

The Story

Don’t know a lot about the Avatar storyline? You’re not alone. Most of the story was kept under a veil until this past summer when the first trailer was revealed. Even after it was released we still didn’t know a lot about the story. The game follows the same strategy.

You begin the game knowing very little. You are an RDA (military for hire) recruit named Abel Ryder on your way to the moon Pandora. Only after playing through do you piece together the story of Pandora and its residents. Pandora happens to be full of a precious mineral known as Unobtanium. The RDA wants it, only problem is Pandora has a very hostile environment. The atmosphere cannot be breathed without special masks, the wild flora can easily swallow a human whole, and hostile creatures known an Na’vi call this moon home. So how do you extract the Unobtanium? You learn to blend in by becoming a Na’vi.

The RDA have found a way to let its soldiers leave their body and become a Na’vi. This DNA hybrid creation is known as an Avatar. But you don’t have to play as an Avatar if you don’t want to. Early on in the game you will decide which side you want to fight for. Do you want to be a greedy RDA soldier and plunder Pandora to get your hands on Unobtanium? Or do you want to join the Na’vi and fight for their planet? Your choice will change the story of the game.

You choose to play as a RDA soldier or Na'vi. Soldiers rely on guns, Na'vi rely on spears and clubs.

Avatar doesn’t really follow the movie plot, rather it’s considered a prequel. It’s meant to be a standalone title that will simply expand the Avatar universe and familiarize people with the concept behind the upcoming movie.

The Gameplay

While you start out as a member of the RDA you quickly must choose what side you want to take. Each story will take you about 5-6 hours to complete and both provide their own style of gameplay. If you decide to stay with the RDA, the game becomes a third person shooter, relying heavily on guns and high powered rifles. You will also have the ability to control vehicles and gun turrets. As you play through as a RDA soldier you will notice the environment will be very hostile, with plants and animals both having a tendency of attacking you.

The Na’vi story is quite different. Your weapons consist mostly of ancient spears and clubs. You can use a bow and arrow, and have one machine gun, but it runs out of ammo quickly and frequently. Since Pandora is your home, you’re used to the flora so plants will not harm you. Animals on the other hand can attack you. Playing as a Na’vi also brings in a platforming element. Since you are up against enemies with high powered weapons you will be torn to shreds in seconds unless you think fast and continue to move. You will need to play it cool, jumping up into the trees and dodging a lot of bullets and firepower.

The game basically plays out in short quests. You always have someone directing you where to go and telling you what tasks you need to perform. Most of the quests are short in length and don’t really make it feel like you’re getting a rich deep story experience.

The Controls

No matter who you play as the game basically feels like a third person shooter. Controls are quite basic. The d-pad is your weapon selector. Pressing the pad in different directions will change up your weapons. The X, Y, A, and B (or equivalents on other consoles) face buttons act as your special skills, enabling you to heal or increase your endurance for short periods of time.

While the controls work for the most part, there are some glaring problems. To begin with, let’s talk character placement. For some strange reason your character is placed far off to the left side of the screen. It’s not only distracting, but feels awkward and makes navigating the world quite tricky.

Then there’s the lack of a cover cover system. While playing as a Na’vi you will quickly get mowed down by bullets if you don’t run and hide in the trees or behind a large rock. Problem is the only way to do that is to run, then try to place yourself in a safe position, figuring out which angle the bullets are coming from. Having no cover system built-in to the game means a lot of guess work to make sure you don’t die over and over again.

The Graphics

If there is one shining feature in Avatar it is the graphics. Not necessarily the main characters or the enemies, rather the environments you explore. The backdrops are lush and teaming with life. Animals run through the levels, many so exotic you can help but creep up for a closer look. The plant life is just as stunning. It’s clear the development team spent many hours creating these levels which are quite vast. There is always something new to explore. If only more games featured environments that looked and felt this good!

Cinematics are few and far between, which is too bad since they look great.

The cinematic cutscenes are also very eye pleasing. Shots of the Dragon airships flying over the jungle canopy feel very James Cameronesque and indicate this could very well be an epic game. Yet these cutscenes are few and far between. Most in game cinematics are brief, replaced with closeups of characters talking on screen.

The characters themselves are decent but don’t stand out as much as the environments you explore by any means.

The Downsides

Avatar suffers from two main problems: controls and actual story. Character position on the screen is just bizarre. Why on earth is your character situated so far left on the screen? For a third person shooter this is truly strange positioning. The lack of a cover system is also evident as try to run for cover only to go down in a hail of bullets time and time again because you couldn’t run around a boulder in time.

The story itself seems shallow. The quests are short and feel more like fetch missions rather than actual missions. Most quests can be finished in five minutes, then it’s on to the next. Stringing together 20 quick fetch quests does not make for an epic story.

The Bottom Line

Avatar just feels like it was rushed. Finally we have potential for a game with a unique story with some truly strange characters, yet it just doesn’t feel polished. Yes, the environments are amazing and levels feel like they are alive, but the quests you are given fail to draw you deep into the Avatar story.

Don’t get me wrong, Avatar isn’t a complete waste of time. It’s worth playing through just to see what real level design feels like, but the shallow gameplay will surely disappoint many. Let’s hope the movie does better.

The Good

Amazing level design
Intense detail given to environments
Can play through as Human or Na’vi
Can play in 3D if you have the right equipment

The Bad

Shallow gameplay
Missions feel like more like fetch quests
Strange character positioning on screen
No cover system