14 DAY TRIAL // James Cameron's Avatar easily falls into the category of Hollywood blockbusters, so no one was surprised when a video-game spinoff was announced for it. What could surprise you, however, would be to hear that the game is not really that bad. The main reason for this is that Cameron didn't let it follow the same script as the movie, and, instead, Ubisoft had to make one up for itself. What it was allowed to use was the universe, and the planet of Pandora as it was seen by Cameron. And while the game script doesn't have any huge wholes or seems at all outrageous, it does suffer from a certain simplicity and shallowness. And that's not just compared with the movie.
So you might wonder where the “not really bad” part comes in. First, the game looks great, with Pandora vividly drawn, in all the pretty colors that the movie shows the giant mudball in. While the CGI isn't nearly as nice as the one in the movie, no matter how much you push the game and how many settings you set on “Ultra High,” and the models are somewhat poorly drawn, the planet, with its vegetation and fauna, is very rich and a true pleasure to behold. The character animation is also exemplary, with viperdogs, marines and AMP suits moving very fluidly and naturally.
Secondly, and this is the bigger part that's “not really bad,” is Avatar's actual gameplay, a third-person shooter/action game. You have several weapons available in your arsenal, out of which you can select to carry four at a time. There are also several skills available, like heal, shield or camouflage. As for the fighting, here, as long as you've seen the movie, you're going to get a huge kick out of it. At one point during the game, pretty early on too, you'll have a choice to choose sides in the Pandora war: the RDA or the Na'vi. I, for one, chose the RDA, so this first impression will be made through the eyes of a merc.
Watching Avatar, the movie, I couldn't help but feel conflicted. I really, really sided with the humans, with the soldiers, so it was a bit of a disappointment to see them lose. But in the game you're in charge, and, as long as you side with the RDA, you'll get to win. I couldn't feel happier, assault rifle in hands, jogging through Pandora, exterminating the Na'vi as if they were cockroaches. There's a very Terran vs Zerg feeling, especially at the very beginning, when you're fighting side by side with other mercs against waves of viperdogs.
Later on, when you clash with the Na'vi themselves, you feel like taking on some lock-tech, primal Protoss, so the fact that I enjoyed the game so far could have a lot to do with this Starcraft feeling. It looks like some part of my mind wants to pretend I'm playing the Starcraft: Ghost that was never made in the end.
As you progress through the game, you gain experience, from kills and quests, through which you unlock new weapons, armors and skills. There is also a ton of vehicles in the game, ground as well as air units, but the ground ones at least aren't really that effective. The quads and ATVs are cumbersome through the thick jungle of Pandora, and aiming the big guns they carry is a tedious and unrewarding task. If you want to get from A to B as soon as possible, the buggie is a decent option, but when it comes to killing power, you're at your best on foot, gun in hand and mind on the enemy.
