Customer Reviews
A good game that easily could have been great!
Avatar is a solid gaming experience. There is absolutely nothing in this game that keeps it from being a lot of fun. The graphics are spectacular and the story is quite compelling. The Na'vi and RDA campaigns play like completely separate experiences which surprised me. They take place in different sectors of Pandora and each one is distinct. Playing as an Avatar, you tower over the humans and the plant life. As a human you are dwarfed by the plant life, Na'vi, and animals. The RDA campaigns really give you a sense of how hostile the environment is.
I have played through all of the Na'vi campaigns and over half of the RDA campaigns and I feel that the RDA campaigns are definitely harder. One of the nice things about Avatar, though, is that it is not a hard game by any means. You don't die much and you shouldn't have to play any of the segments multiple times to succeed. This may irritate hard core gamers but as a less skilled player, I consider it a plus.
Avatar is a good game but with a little more polish and a few adjustments it could have been steller. While the graphics are solid, there are still a few occasional glitches. In the later campaigns there is a little "drop-in" from time to time and throughout the game AI controlled Na'vi and RDA soldiers will appear from a long distance as featureless moving dolls. Then when you get closer the details will snap on. This is hard to explain but when developers make a game the character models are like fleshed out stick figures with a "skin" added later. It was weird and mildly irritating during the game to see characters moving around in the distance as little white figures and then once you got just a bit closer, "pop," now the details. The only other glitch and one common in many games is that some AI controlled characters would get stuck running in place against some of the scenery and once I saw an arrow get stuck in midair. Also the dragon like creatures the Na'vi fly called Banshees are sometimes seen perching in midair. No big deal but silly nonetheless.
Speaking of AI. Sometimes the enemy AI (wheter Na'vi or RDA depending on which side you play) is dumb as a stick and other times so clever you have a hard time staying alive. I would have preferred the AI to be better thought out. The developers should have either started the AI out as pretty stupid and then gradually smarter as you progressed through the game or make it class specific. For example, some the Na'vi tribes would be smarter or tougher than others with variations within tribes depending on ranks and on the RDA the AI could be assigned based on rank (grunts, commandos, elites, etc.) Either approach would be better than what was actually done.
The controls, weapons, skills, and vehicles are pretty well thought out but a few changes would have made them more fun. Both sides can equip 4 weapons and 4 skills at a time. However, each side has one default that you cannot swap. The RDA has twin pistols with infinite ammo that are almost useless and the Na'vi has a bow. Now the bow is a great weapon that you will probably use regularly throughout the Na'vi campaigns so it isn't really a problem but the pistols are a wasted slot. When you play as the RDA you need all the firepower you can muster. The skills are good but unlike the advertising there isn't 60 weapons and 20 skills. You have a handful of weapons and skills with 4 automatic upgrades for each one as you gain in experience points. The Na'vi have 6 weapons and if you count each upgrade you technically get 24 but they are not really that different just more powerful. The Na'vi have 9 skills and the upgrades bring you up to 36. The RDA have 8 weapons and 7 skills. Each side has a sprinting skill but a dedicated standard sprint would have been nice. The left joystick button isn't used so they could have made that the sprint which would have been nice. The RDA vehicle controls work just fine although the AMP suit is not much help if you get swarmed by Na'vi because they are so much faster. The suit gets destroyed in seconds and if you don't get clear of the blast you're toast. Also, I don't understand why when you run over the Na'vi they aren't killed. Usually there is minor damage if anything. The animal controls are okay but it would have been nice if they could have figured out a way for you to use weapons while riding. Also, it is hard to land the Banshees even when it looks like a spot has room. You keep pressing "Y" but the stupid thing won't land. This is major irritation.
Two final things that I can think of at moment that could have used some improving is the campaign structure towards the end of the game and enemy spawning. The last Na'vi campaign seemed rushed. In the rest of the campaigns the quests were spread out across the maps in such a way that you would have explored most of the map by the time you finished the sector. To complete everything I had to go back after I beat the game and explore the rest of the map. The developers clearly got in a hurry and I am curious to see if the final RDA campaign is structured the same way. A big improvement would have been to completely separate the campaigns. This would have aided the replay factor big time. What I mean here is that you have to play the opening sequence twice if you want to play both the Na'vi and RDA campaigns. You start out as an RDA soldier and after you are transferred to your Avatar body you come to a point where you have to choose sides. Take one route and you stick with the RDA and lose your Avatar, take the other and you turn on the RDA and remain in your Avatar body. It works as a story but it is boring to have to do the same stuff twice in order to get the point where you can take the route you didn't take the first time round.
Now regarding enemy spawning. Sometimes you clear an area and then you have to travel a ways before the enemy respawns. Other times they respawn so quick you have to sprint away to get clear. Also, sometimes the enemy follows you until you kill them and other times enough distance gets you clear. I would have much preferred a less haphazard approach. No respawning until you replay a sector would have made much more sense.
The multiplayer is okay. I am not a big multiplayer fan and I cannot see where this game breaks any new ground in this mode. I haven't tried the conquest mini game yet but I suspect it some kind of RTS game.
In conclusion, all quibbles aside, you can't go wrong with this game. It is interesting and fun at the same time. Buy it sooner or later.
5.5 out of 10 from gamespot, i think not!
First off i'll state by saying that Avatar is a third person shooter, nothing more nothing less. But, Gears of War, and Lost Planet(which this game compares a lot to, in gameplay terms) is exactly what they are. You see the enemy, shoot, kill, collect items, reach checkpoints, rid in vehicles, do missions. Avatar is just that, the one thing that makes this game stand out among the others is its shear beauty, and atmosphere, i mean the graphics are just second to none especially on the PC version. The detailing Ubisoft put into this game in working along side James Cameron himself is just stellar, and you find yourself just wanting to take in the sights, even though theres really not much time for it. Basically anything that moves(plants, spores, strange explosive type flowers) are considered your enemy and you gain points and ugrgades from doing so. The enemies are quite unique also to say the least, the hammerhead creature is a favorite of mine, and towers over you much like a giant Jurassic creature straight from the movies, and is so realistic you nearly wet yourself. Most of the animals other than that are pretty easy to kill,the vyperwolfs however run amuck allll over the place and can be difficult to aim down. Many reviews have dogged not only the game but also the aiming accuracy, which isnt true, you just have to be quicker than your opponent, and i guess they just stink at shooting things. Also many critics have said how bad moving around in vehicles is, this i just don't get, i think they are just as good as Halo, or Gears or anything else you do battle in machines. The mechs remind you a lot of lost planet, as do a lot of the collection of items from killing foliage. Its also fun to play as the Na'vi or however you spell it, although most of your killing consists of bow shooting, and melee with a giant club, its still pretty solid for battle. Even though i myself prefer the marines. So by all means if you have the money and want to spend it, and are a fan of Lost Planet, or Gears of War, then pick this up, of course just because of the popularity and selling status of those large titles, is the reason the average rating for this game was 6.5. Don't listen to critics, check out that most actual, "players" of the game gave it an 8.6, and you should listen to people who play the game all the way through, not critics who play it once for a while and judge it based on there opinion because it doesnt sell hugely. They call it repetitive i call it innovative and a good source for fun in the strange land of Pandora, quite a beautiful creative place. And hey it beats just going around killing zombies, and waiting for more to do the same when your done, hmm isnt that repetition? Yep.
NOTE:If you have the gear get it on PC, this version looks stellar, but on PC with direct x 10 and ultra high settings it just looks Godly.:D
Nothing special, some awkward control issues
Would I buy this game: No
Would I rent it again: Definitely not
Would I recommend someone rent this: sure, its not terrible but its nothing great either
Its a third person shooter with a few gimmicks tacked on like leveling and skills, but that's about it. Each level you usually get a new weapon to choose from and a new skill, but after playing for about 4 hours and leveling up several times you realize that leveling up isn't really that much of an improvement. The things I like least about this game are that the enemies are really tiny on the screen so you can't see very much detail on them, the controls and perspective make shooting difficult, and enemies will insta-spawn after you kill a group in an area (this really just takes away from the experience of immersion in-game when four enemies suddenly appear).
Some reviews have said this game is gorgeous. I disagree. There is a lot of detail in the environment but its sorta grainy looking; just not a really smooth look to the environment. I would call this game about average in terms of its graphics compared to other titles.
The game itself is kinda fun, but so far its been a lot of scavenger quests or go-somewhere-and-turn-something-on quests. Oh, and did I mention that it is quest based. The world does seem to be open for exploration, but what exactly you find out exploring is a good question. The quests have all been linear with no side quests so far.
On an up note there is a strategy type game which is kinda fun to play; I've gotten very bored of the main shooter story and I've been playing the strategy game since its more involved and requires a little more thought. Don't get me wrong, I like a good shooter, this just doesn't seem to be one of them.
