So as the title suggests, today we are reviewing
Avatar: The Game!
Now before we begin, the issue of movie based games is always one that gamers usually roll their eyes at, with good reason too. Most movie games are absolute crap and deserve to be treated as such. The only few good movie games I can think of are X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Spiderman 2, and Goldeneye. That is all. If you can think of another, then I implore you to comment. Of course, if you disagree with my list, please remember that the list is based on my personal opinion, as is this review.
Avatar is the newest smash hit from James Cameron and is making enough money to make Bill Gates blush as we speak. As it is with movies expected to bust some blocks, a game was in the works. Unlike other movie games, it isn't actually just a video game remake of the movie. In fact, the game has barely anything to do with the movie besides showing off some of the cast and going to the same planet. But honestly, that is okay. The movie was enjoyable enough by itself and tagging on some "plot within the plot" would just seem stupid.
I'm looking at you "Lord of the Rings: Third Age."
Now, the setup of the game is thus: You are Lance Corporal Able Ryder. You arrive on the planet of Pandora and have to soon choose whether to stay a Na'vi or be a DICK and shoot up the planet as a soldier. Seriously, the game gives you a sort of "moral choice" on who to choose but its more like a choice of feeding an orphan or stealing his food, eating it and then eating him.
In front of his parents.
That you just killed.
With his dog.
So the gameplay for the two races is thankfully quite different. Choosing the Na'vi turns your game into a sorta action/adventure/platformer. You spend most of your time using melee weapons on your enemy, flying on your banshee (or dragon as I call them), riding your horse, or basically just walking about. The controls for the animals are a little awkward and it is a little disappointing when you get to fly. The movie made it a big scene when the hero got to ride a dra-banshee and how free he felt. The only freedom I felt was the freedom being taken away by awkward controls and an angry camera that tended to stare at the wall while I was getting shot in the face. Otherwise, it was a solid experience and didn't make you feel like the devil.
As a human, it becomes a third-person shooter, which is were it seems to be more powerful. The aiming is solid and there is a nice variety of guns. And by "nice variety", I mean "there is nothing new here." Flamethrowers, shotguns, machine guns, rail guns, assault rifles, the works. You also get multitudes of the same ol' driving. Maybe this is after playing too much Borderlands, but the control was just awkward. The camera doesn't support what direction you want to go and it never feels like you are accelerating just as much as you want. Instead, you feel a bit like a slug with a bigger shell. Also, you get into a giant robot at one point and that makes you feel nice and unstoppable. Which it should because you have a giant robot and the Na'vi have THEIR FLESH.
Which nicely connects my issue with another factor: online play. Now, as the single-player shows, the two races are great in their respective fields. Na'vi are best at close range and humans are better long range. However, instead of making the game balanced and strategic, it makes both sides infuriating to play online. Certain maps are more suited for each race and it shows. Weapons don't seem to make a difference no matter what you choose. That gun is as good as that gun, that staff as that staff, etc. etc. bullshit. The biggest issue is that either side is fucked when it comes to the other side's strength. If a good size of military soldiers see you in the open, you might as well bend over, put your face between your legs and kiss your blue balls goodbye.
(I was going to work that joke in somewhere. YOU KNOW I WAS.)
And if you are a soldier and a Na'vi suddenly uncloaks next to your group, just take a sword in the face and be happy. Neither side has a way to survive in their weak areas and lead to infuriating moments that are not fun at all. Not even if you were into torture as a fetish.
So what about the very thing the movie is famous you ask? The graphics! Oh yes the graphics. Out of everything, the environment looks great. The mountains, vegetation, and animals look fantastic. The character models, on the other hand, range from okay to downright terrible. The Na'vi don't have the natural look as they do in the movie, not letting you connect with them as easily. The humans look so bland that each one is basically a massive potato. You don't connect with any of the characters, including yourself. Also, whenever you kill something, it doesn't feel like you did anything. For example, in the very first combat sequence of the game, you are shooting at a giant herd of viperwolves. Now, instead of being graphically competent, like Ubisoft usually is, instead of bleeding or having realism to connect us to what we are doing, this is what happens: when you kill the enemy, it grunts a bit and then disappears.
Thats right.
We have backtracked from keeping realistic dead effects to just letting them disappear.
This is coming from the same company that released Assassin's Creed 2, a game that shows off its graphical ability every time you expand your map. If anything, I expected Ubisoft to be one of the few developers that could pull off some great graphics, not just some nice environments.
And while I'm on dead dogs, when you first play as your Avatar the game takes an extra step to say "The planet isn't that mean to you now, so don't kill stuff that is not hostile to you. You won't get xp." I found that to be a cool, extra step to further the meaning of being a Na'vi. However, right after I was told this, I was attacked by 5 viperwolves. "Well," I thought,"they attacked me so I will get xp for beating them!" The game slapped me in the face, laughed and then gave me no reward for trying to SURVIVE. Thanks for sticking to your own rules game!
Something that was actually quite interesting and not generic in this game was a turn-based RTS system called "Conquer." The goal of this mode is to build up your forces and take over the planet, working for the race you sided with. It is relatively simple with just 3 units to make on either side and the ability to build defenses against the 3 units as well. To get "money" for the units, you have to get xp during the campaign. I actually found myself wanting to do the main story and side quests just to get more xp for Conquest. Now, I don't know about you, but when a game makes me want to play a completely optional side mode more than the game, something went wrong during design.
All in all, it is good for a movie game and just passable otherwise. The graphics are nice for the environment and the control is not TOO bad. All in all, just rent the game and play it for awhile. You'll enjoy moments but not the entire experience.
Unless you're a human.
Then you'll just worship Satan the entire time.
