SHARC GAMING

Overall:3.4/10    
Purchase Value:1.2/10   
Replay Value:1.1/10   
Presentation:4.5/10   
Gameplay:2.4/10   
Graphics:7.2/10   
Audio:5/10            

When you have a movie that was so well created... it is pointless to make a game that can not match any realm of greatness that the movie obtained. It would be much more worth while watching Avatar 3D in theatres or simply purchasing it (since it is now released). The two hours of enjoyment from the movie would be far superior than trying to gain any type of enjoyment from merely attempting to conquer/save (the somewhat poor representation of) Pandora!


Now let's explore some pros and cons of the game in specific. The game is very poor, since it restricts you to step by step play (very linear). You can venture anywhere you want, but later in the game you will have to re-venture to the same location to actually complete the assigned mission. It's a horrible limitation. There is a variety of weapons (which is nice so that the Na'vi race is not just limited to bows and arrows) but there is persistence with the crosshairs, and having this combined with horrible camera work... it simply ruins the gaming experience (the controls themselves are also horrible so this doesn't help the gameplay either) and becomes fairly annoying. Driving the vehicles or flying around Pandora have to be the worst aspects about his game; it's as though the game was never tested but just released so it would precede the release date of the movie. Also, one might want to watch out for the Left Trigger near high cliffs, because it may make you randomly attack and base jump from the side of a mountain... not very ideal.


As for a few (and when I say few, I mean it) positive aspects, there was a a great view graphically of Pandora after flying high up in the sky... love those sky-walls though... stop you every time.  To fly up and just look at Pandora and neighbouring planets is a spectacle; obviously it can't match the movie, but it still does a fairly decent job. Now when you are on the ground of Pandora, there are some slight image shading and rendering issues, which kind of take you out of the immersive atmosphere. Furthermore, there are some movie/game discrepancies, such as Banshee's trying to save you rather than kill you, but it is understandable since the game was released before the movie and gives you the option of being Na'vi or human and decide the fate of your race (quite interesting). Lastly, the world conquest feature is particularly neat, since it reminded me a lot like Risk. Everything is calculated out though; there is no chance involved in the domination. Fifty percent of your Na'vi ground troops will be lost when facing Human ground troops (so if they have 100, then you will at least need 200 to conquer that territory).


Overall, the game tries to force you to play through twice to discover both endings... but I don't even think that it is worth it. I would say just purchase the movie rather than purchasing or even renting the game... it will provide a more immersive and impressive experience and leave you with a very good feeling about Avatar.