James Cameron's Avatar: The Game review

When it was announced Ubisoft had secured a deal to develop the Avatar game hopes were high given their previous work on King Kong. Surely this would turn out to be better than James Cameron's Dark Angel? Sadly the final product while a faithful recreation of Pandora contains little story and relies heavily on fetch and carry tasks. These soon become tiresome, partially assisted by the various locations across Pandora each looking exactly the same. The story starts off promisingly but never really develops, whether this is down to the developer or license limitations isnt clear however the end result certainly is. You have been sent to the planet of Pandora to assist the RDA Corporation who is experiencing difficulties with the indigenous population, known as the Navi. Conflict has erupted due to the actions of the corporation who are only interested in profit, which comes from obtaining valuable resources. In comparison the Navi are in harmony with nature and what they lack in technology is more than compensated by their knowledge of magic and fighting ability. They see the RDA as upsetting the ancient balance of the planet and cannot permit the suffering of their people, the animals and landscape to continue. Simply put, think Oddworld without the originality.The introduction is soon cut short as you are sent off to assist an RDA camp and thus begins your trek across the planet. Soon after you are faced with a choice of continuing to support the RDA and its aims or running with the Navi and trying to turn the tide. Very little plot development is achieved from here on in as you are sent on a series of missions and when completed you can expect another taskmaster to send you on a new batch. The blunt nature of these cut scenes and overall poor direction really cries out for the intervention from James Cameron. If you take the Navi support option then you can also look forward to some terrible dialogue as your character refuses to change his limited North American vocabulary.Visually Avatar is very impressive and this is where most of the effort has been focused, as the environments are rich with wildlife and detail. Having also seen the Nintendo Wii version of this title the difference is so obvious that it is like night and day. If you must experience Avatar the game then only the PS3 or Xbox 360 versions will do the source justice.The level design is linear but within certain areas it is possible to fight on the ground or use the plant life to attack from great heights, or even take to the skies. More of this would have been beneficial to break up the general slog of running from point A to point B on the map. A major issue is the combat that is very generic as your opponents often wait to be killed or show any lack of intelligence when under fire. The only difficulty is the sheer number of enemies you will face and your limited ammunition. Dying can be a regular feature but the use of regular checkpoints and ability to revive helps matters somewhat, as does the ability to upgrade weapons, skills and armour through experience.Outside of the main storyline you have the option to jump online and engage others across a variety of game types. Immediately the combat improves as the Navi prove to be exceptional in close combat. The RDA troops in comparison often have to rely on heavily armoured Mech suits to meet the challenge and can call upon light vehicles to quickly mobilise across a map. The range of modes includes generic offerings such as king of the hill; capture the flag and death match. Gamestyle enjoyed the online experience and did not struggle for combatants, with the final battle mode (where you have to defend missiles within a base) proving very satisfying.Avatar also boasts a 3D option that will be out of reach for most UK gamers, as we tend to lag behind when it comes to current technology trends. Its inclusion here feels like a gimmick much like the three-dimensional format in general, but one thing we can say is that even in 3D Avatar the game would not be any better.James Camerons Avatar the Game is an ambitious license that Ubisoft has taken on wholeheartedly but failed to achieve anything memorable. Crucial errors were made in its overall concept and design from an early stage resulting in a generic and bizarrely mundane experience. Pandora isnt worth saving on the basis of this and you wont care about its fate either.