PlayStation Holiday Preview ‘09 – James Cameron’s Avatar: The Game

When I heard that Canada’s own James Cameron, director and script writer of many blockbuster action films, such as Terminator, Terminator 2, Aliens, and True Lies, was returning to his roots with the upcoming science fiction action film, James Cameron’s Avatar, I could barely contain my excitement. When word broke that Cameron intended to utilize revolutionary three-dimensional technology and computer-generated environments and characters so detailed that they’d leap off of the screen and copulate with your eyeballs, my excitement for the film shot into the stratosphere. Then I discovered that Ubisoft was making a game based on the film, scheduled for release a few weeks prior to the film itself, and I wasn’t too excited. Licensed games based on movies have had a poor track record, and are typically nothing more than a low-budget affairs aimed to cash-in on the short-term popularity of the corresponding box office release. However, Ubisoft intends to break the mold with James Cameron’s Avatar: The Game, treating the title as a major release, and involving Cameron and his studio in the development right from day one. Will Ubisoft succeed? I sat down with the game at the PlayStation Holiday Preview Event to find out.

Before we began, I was informed by the Ubisoft representative that while the game set on Pandora, the same alien planet featured in the motion picture, James Cameron’s Avatar: The Game was actually designed to be a prequel to the events seen in the film. Both Ubisoft and Cameron wanted to avoid having the game spoil the events of the film for fans, and set out to have the game compliment the motion picture rather than imitate it.

The game began with a very Cameron-esque looking space marine drop-ship flying through one of the many lush canyons of Pandora. The ship was carefully controlled, avoiding the strange flora that emerged from the walls and floor of the canyon, and then finally landing in a small opening marked by the on-screen objective indicator. Once the ship had landed, a human soldier, the demo’s protagonist, emerged and Ubisoft informed me that players will get to choose between a human campaign or a campaign for the Na’vi, the large, blue, and agile natives of the planet Pandora. The two campaigns have contradictory goals, pitting the humans and Na’vi at war, and that events experienced in one campaign may run parallel to the other, giving players a chance to see both perspectives. For the purpose of the demo, we were confined to the role of a human, but we would catch a fleeting glimpse or two of the Na’vi as we travelled.

Shortly after departing the drop-ship, we were issued a new objective of locating and assisting a group of fellow marines in infiltrating the suspecting location of a Na’vi village. After exploring the jungle for a few minutes, we found our comrades resting in a large, open grove. We engaged in a short discussion about our objectives, but were suddenly interrupted by the arrival of several agitated reptilian creatures, who immediately proceeded to attack the human soldiers. As each creature was defeated, our human protagonist earned experience points, which accumulated in a progress bar at the upper-left corner of our HUD. As players gain new levels in Avatar, they will unlock new weapons, armour, and powers to use throughout the game. One such power was used against the swarm of reptilians, a kinetic wave that emitted from the character, knocking all enemies away and incapacitating them momentarily. This proved to be too much for the creatures and they were soon dispatched by the more strategically-oriented human soldier AI. Unfortunately for the humans, these small reptilians weren’t the only things lurking in the jungle.

Just as the human soldiers began to regroup, a thunderous roar broke the silence, and the ground began to tremble beneath their feet. The trees on the far side of the grove parted, and a creature resembling a giant rhinoceros emerged. Towering over the humans, it charged into the grove, killing many of the soldiers underfoot and knocking others aside with its head. As it drew closer to the human protagonist, he dodged to the right, illustrating one of the evasive combat maneuvers available in the game. The soldiers concentrated their fire on the beast for what seemed like minutes, dodging it as it charged, until finally it fell. Defeating the creature awarded the player with a significant chunk of experience points, resulting in a new suit of armour and two new weapons. Sweet! Bring on more of the big stuff!

With the group suffering significant losses, the protagonist decided to make his way toward the objective on his own. While en route, Ubisoft informed us that the game featured a real-time day and night cycle, and for the sake of the demo, chose to accelerate the process so that we could witness the changes in Pandora’s ecosystem. We were guided onto a fallen tree that acted as a bridge over a small river, and time began to accelerate. I could feel my jaw drop as the jungle began to change. As the sky grew darker, everything from the flora to the insects began to glow in different shades of phosphorescent neon. It was almost as if we had stepped out of a jungle and into a rave. It was beautiful sight to see, and made me sad to know that daylight was inevitable.

As we descended from our tree-bridge, night turned into day, and we resumed our mission. Closer to our objective, we encountered another group of human soldiers that were ordered to assist in the infiltration. However, these soldiers were better equipped, bringing a mechanized suit of power armour with them. Once again, Cameron’s design style was evident in the suit of power armour, as it had a striking resemblance to the mech used by Ripley at the end of Aliens. We hopped in the mech and followed the soldiers through the jungle. Within minutes, we began to see carvings and symbols on trees – evidence that a Na’vi village was up ahead. We slowed our pace and proceeded with caution, occasionally seeing a tall silhouette leaping through the trees above us. And then it began: in a blur of blue, a Na’vi warrior landed beside an unlucky space marine, dispatched him in an instant, and leaped back into the trees. The human soldiers opened fire into the trees, and more and more Na’vi began to leap down and prey upon the humans. The casualties to both sides were significant, but before our demo ended, we got the distinct impression that the humans were in over their heads, as a wave of Na’vi charged toward them on the backs of large beasts.

James Cameron’s Avatar: The Game certainly impressed me during my time with it, shattering my preconception of it being just another lazy, licensed IP game. However, it wasn’t perfect, as the demo we were shown did suffer from the occasional drop in framerate. That aside, James Cameron’s Avatar: The Game looks to be a solid effort from the developers at Ubisoft, and an exciting third-person shooter to boot. For those that have played it, the game felt very similar to Capcom’s Lost Planet, with its oversized enemies and intriguing environments, but looks to benefit from a more cohesive storyline. James Cameron’s Avatar: The Game not only succeeded in making me even more excited for the motion picture, but for the game’s late November release as well.