When Ubisoft and James Cameron announced the Avatar video game, they made it clear that they wanted to create a title that would not only raise the bar for movie tie-ins, but usher in a new era for the medium itself. That’s a rather lofty aspiration, especially given the unfortunate track record already solidified by countless licensing disasters, but with these two powerhouses of entertainment joining forces for a brand new interactive entertainment experience, nothing could go wrong… right?
Well, not quite. Unfortunately, Avatar has little going for it, but the one thing it does right is in the visual department: the sweeping open world of Pandora looks fantastic, with lush vegetation and clear skies full of floating rocks. Yet, I felt that something crucial was missing from the whole planetary spectacle: It just didn’t feel alive. The world, while beautiful, is really nothing more than an arena for repetitive battles with various creatures, man-eating plants plants, and simplistic mission objectives. Recent titles such as Brutal Legend or Assassin’s Creed 2 took pains to make their worlds feel unique and memorable, but Avatar’s Pandora does little to immerse the player in its jungle habitat. There is a feature called Pandorpedia within the game’s menu which explains some of the history and ecology of the world in small paragraphs, but I couldn’t help but feel that more time should have been spent bringing Pandora to life rather than writing encyclopedia entries.
