|
|
|
| Avatar |
|
| Action |
|
| N/A |
|
| Ubisoft |
|
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
|
|
Gamescom'09 gave us an opportunity to witness James Cameron's Avatar and have some hands on time with the game after months of no media bar some early screens and no actual gameplay footage. The event saw the release of the first trailer for the movie and subsequent game trailer as well, and so the shackles were off and it was time to get to see what a game with James' name attached to it could muster. A movie tie-in game if there ever was one, but James seemed to come across very passionate about not only his creation with the movie, but also the accompanying video game.
We have to confess that during the first presentation of the game, we came away feeling that James Cameron's Avatar looked a horrid mess and one that gamers would rip apart due to having horrid graphics. There must have been something in the air on another day as we weren't scheduled to see it again, and our first impressions were pretty sour as far as the visuals were concerned. Maybe the gods at Ubisoft were ushering us uncontrollably as we decided to take a second look on a whim (although having a look at the game on the 3D HD TV probably played a big part of this). Our second slice of the action was way more favourable and after questioning the team on hand it transpired that the presentation we'd seen the day before did not show the game off properly as the large screen TV and leads used were not true HD which meant fuzzy graphics and in our case negative opinion, so a sigh of relief was breathed. Having seen the game on a decent set up, felt a lot more positive about the game's looks. The game looks very crisp, and detailed with lush foliage and well designed enemies. Capturing the essence from the movie (we assume looking at the cinematic trailer).
So before we go into detail about the game, let's recap on what's on offer. Avatar thrusts players into one of two roles based on the movie. On one hand you have the exploratory human race (RDA Corporation) exploring the planet Pandora for resources, and on the other the indigenous Na'vi who are protectors of the planet and seem to be the opposite of their human counterparts. You can choose either side, with the humans relying more of technical prowess where as the Na'vi more in tune with nature and their surrounds. So that's two distinct gameplay styles on offer.
The RDA gameplay is more akin to your traditional third person shooter with some solid controls and easy to get into combat. You're rewarded for destroying as much as possible whether that be plants or animals. Simply aim and shoot. There are some 60 weapons available between the two races and each race will have skills (up to 4 at any time) which you can choose and employ on the field - one of these being Airstrike which as you can imagine is great for clearing troublesome areas. On the other hand there's a cloak ability which is useful for moments of stealth or recon. You'll gain more health skill points as you rack up destruction and so there's a constant shooting the environment to showcase the RDA being the invaders of this lush and varied planet. RDA can also hop into vehicles like buggies and traverse the terrain quickly, adding another layer to the gameplay. The most notable vehicle was the mech suit which offers powerful attacks against most enemies and certainly different to moving around on foot on in buggies. There's a level of free-roaming the areas in what we played and although there's a map and fairly tight pathways, it was good to just goof around rather than follow the set objective. You'll also see fellow team mates who take part in the battles you encounter, although we didn't really get to see how well the AI stacks up in the more full on combat situations.
The Na'vi on the other hand offer a contrast as the gameplay feels more like a hack and slash game rather than a shooter. This means getting up close and personal to the RDA and taking them out quickly and efficiently. The Na'vi can use ranged attacks with their bow weapons but the premise is certainly to get stuck in there and take out the enemy, using the environment/stealth being key. We didn't try in the demo, but the Na'vi are able to ride beast instead of the vehicles the RDA use.
Avatar is shaping up to be a decent slice of action gaming, a movie tie in game that might not re-invent the genre, but certainly something that is well worth playing once you've seen the movie, taking it home with you so to speak. Now about that 3D HD TV. That was something else altogether and perhaps we'll go into more detail in another article. But whilst we're here. Avatar supports the feature and looks and plays amazingly when used. Forget the old specs as this could well be the future of gaming.
Preview By: Robert Cram
|
|
|
|
|
|
