Info about Video Games
Avatar: The Video Game
When big name movies are released, the inevitable video game ‘hanger-on’ is generally not far behind. These games are more often then not developed after the film is completed, or late in the film’s production cycle, and tend to be rush jobs handed off to smaller developers to enable them to get a little experience. The truth is that these games will sell, irrespective of quality.
Every now and then, though, a game based on a movie property comes out that is not a victim of this process. These titles truly shine, simply because they are so much better than other, similarly planned games. Avatar: The Video Game is a great example of this, and so it should be – the process in making this game was very different from the usual movie-based title.
That said, a game based on movies that shines above the rest of the pack is still only beating out a bunch of generally bad games – when compared to the applicable video game genre (including games not based on any other kind of IP) there are very, very few that stand out as topnotch titles. As a movie based game, Avatar is good. As a game in general, it drops down to being decidedly average. The process employed in making this game was an unusual one. Instead of having a finalised product dropped in their laps, the game developers got to work with the movie crew quite closely. This difference truly shows, because Avatar is free of many of the rather annoying nastiness that plagues games based on movies. It doesn’t regurgitate an abridged version of the film’s story, for example, but rather spins its own tale set in the same universe as James Cameron’s film. In fact, the game tells two tales… pretty early on, the player will be given the choice to betray their own kind and join up with the Na’vi (the intriguingly tall, blue skinned natives of the planet Pandora) or stick with the human RDA (who are the bad-guy exploiters in the film, but are treated a bit less harshly in the game.) This choice will lead to two different stories being told, but won’t make too much change to the game dynamic.
The Na’vi are more dependant on melee combat, while the RDA troops use guns. The Na’vi will have less trouble from environmental threats (seeing as how they are all chummy with the planet itself) while the RDA pack more fire-power. Other than that, things are pretty much the same for both sides (except for one or two further game dynamic differences that we’ll get to later.)
The game tries to give the player a lot to do, but in the long run, the missions get a little repetitive, and the ‘open-world’ elements (like collecting various bits and bobs) form part of the missions, rather than being accessible at any time. And, while the missions follow a fairly freeform route (allowing the player a little flexibility to get to where they need to go) the overall experience is more linear than it should be. The saving grace of this title is its presentation. The graphics are really good, with the jungle world that is Pandora wonderfully captured within the game. The voice acting is pretty good too, creating a believable environment for the player to enjoy. Sadly, the camera within the game does a bit of a poor job every now and then, letting the overall look and feel side down a bit.
Similarly, the controls have their good and bad moments. While movement and ranged combat isn’t too bad, melee combat leaves a little to be desired, and flight – particularly on the Na’vi side of things – can be a real chore. There are a variety of vehicles that can be used (read as ‘animals’ for the Na’vi) and most of them follow a fairly sensible, if somewhat loose, control scheme… unless they’re in the air. The flight controls are not quite nasty, but they’re on the border of it.
If the player can get past the niggles (like the camera and controls, and the rather repetitive nature of the missions) then Avatar: The Video Game is not too bad an experience. It’s violent, sure, but the lack of gore makes it a little more family friendly. The story isn’t particularly deep, but it does expand on the basis set down by the movie quite nicely. The game is highly accessible too, as is almost always the case with movie games, even to the degree that experience based upgrades are handled automatically. It’s a fun third person adventure that will provide distraction (rather than fulfilment), but its various niggles and issues keep it from true greatness.
• AT A GLANCE:
Avatar: The Video Game could have been so much more – a little more freedom, a little more tweaking… still, it’s fun to play.
• Platform
• PC
• PS3
• Xbox360
• Wii
• DS
• PSP