James Cameron's Avatar: The Game [X360]

Stereoscopic 3D visuals are mentioned in just about every sentence talking about James Cameron's upcoming flick, Avatar. The fancy technology has recently begun to make its way over to the world of videogames, and so it naturally will be featured in the game tie-in. Ubisoft is putting the finishing touches on it in preparation for its release later this year. We saw the game running in 3D back at E3 -- it looks like the game is actually popping out of the screen at you -- but the odds are pretty good that your TV won't be able to support this cool little gimmick. Mine certainly can't. Not to worry. Avatar can be played on any TV in its standard visual mode. That's just how I happened to play it at the Tokyo Game Show here in Japan. After romping across two stages, it's clear to me that Avatar has quite a bit higher production value than most licensed movie games.

This game doesn't follow the story of the movie directly. Instead, it simply exists within that same universe and tells the story of some new characters during the events that lead up to the movie. You play as a human member of the Resource Development Agency, a group that is at war with the native Na'vi race and just about anything else that moves. As you work through the game, you'll move back and forth between human and avatar form before finally making a decision as to which side you want to fight for.

Avatar: The Game has a basic formula you've likely seen before. There are enemies that need dealing with and you and your weapons are the way to deal with them. Guns, flamethrowers, and futuristic tanks and mechs are all part of your arsenal for this third-person action game. You can do a diving dodge by hitting the left trigger, but most of the game involves pointing the business end of a weapon at a foe and then watching it tear them to bits.

Where Avatar sets itself apart from the pack (aside from the stereoscopic 3D visuals) is in its depth and scope, both leaps and bounds ahead of what most licensed movie games offer. Tons of side quests are up for grabs, a full leveling and skill unlocking system is included, and there's even a little mini-game that plays out a bit like Risk. I played for about a half of an hour spread across two stages and I didn't even get to scratch the surface on any of these features, let alone complete a quest or two.

The levels here are huge. So big, in fact, that teleporters have been included to make the trek across the stages manageable. Activate a couple and you'll be able to quickly zip from one end of a map to the other. This feature is more important than you might initially think. There are roughly 16 stages and enough side quests that you'll want to backtrack and replay levels to do everything.

Those completionists looking to do everything will also want to dive in to the aforementioned mini-game similar to Risk. By playing through Avatar's main adventure, you'll earn points which can then be spent in a game of global domination. This involves recruiting soldiers, fortifying different positions on maps, and sending troops into enemy territory to do battle. In doing so, you'll earn experience and other bonuses for the main game. At worst, it looks like a cool little distraction, though I could easily see myself getting hooked on this sub-game.

During my time with Avatar, I got the chance to play as both a human and an avatar. The humans are driven by technology, so the arsenal on hand offered four different (and massive) guns. The machine gun was most effective in general, but the flamethrower was definitely the best looking. When playing as a human, Avatar: The Game is a lot like a standard third-person shooter. Once you switch over to play as an Avatar, the game changes. These guys can temporarily activate camouflage and become invisible. They carry a giant bow and arrow set as well as a couple of melee weapons. The giant club was my favorite, if only because it's so funny to watch the little humans go flying when you hit them with a really good swing.

It's impossible to tell how well Avatar: The Game will hold up in the long run without getting my hands on it for much longer than I did. There's a lot to this game -- so much that I only got a glimpse at most features. The gameplay itself is standard, which shouldn't come as any surprise, but Avatar is looking like a game that completionists can get behind. If nothing else, it's nice to see a developer working to flesh out a licensed movie game rather than simply rushing it out of the door.

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