Reviewed: July 24, 2007
Reviewed by: Stacey Meade
Publisher
THQ
Developer
THQ Studio Australia (Studio Oz)
Released: November 19, 2006
Genre: Adventure
Players: 1
7
6
6
7
6.5
Supported Features:
Screenshots (Click Image for Gallery)
Avatar the Last Airbender first aired on Nickelodeon on February 21, 2005 and since then the animated series has become a big hit. The series centers around Aang “The Last Airbender” who is the worlds only hope to defeat the Fire Nation and save the world. The show centers around Asian martial arts and elemental magic.
As we all know every successful cartoon has to have a follow up game. These games usually focus on the same audiences as the cartoons. Avatar is no different. THQ is trying to capitalize on a new system by releasing Avatar the Last Airbender along side the launch of the new Nintendo Wii. In the past Nintendo has tried to focus a lot more on their more youthful audiences and this game does just that. The level of visual violence is low and there is no gore.
Avatar is an adventure game that has you travel to different places and fulfill quests. Along the way you will obtain special items and different characters as well as special fighting techniques. To move along in the game you must complete the main quest, however, like most adventure games there are many side quests along the way, which are very important. The main goal in this game is to defeat the Fire Nation and free all the villages along the way.
One type of the side quest in the game involves your friend MoMo. He has his own mode where he can search out and find special items that the townsfolk need. This can be pretty tedious especially since you can only see part of the map as you walk, so you may end up like me and search for the last tomato for 15 minutes. Generally, the MoMo quests are easy to accomplish, just make sure that you listen to the quest giver, it will save you a lot of grief.
One of the more important aspects of the game is weapons and armor, some of which you will find along the way, others you will have to buy. Make sure you smash every pot and crate you find and don’t run away from battles because each foe could drop some kind of item after they are defeated. There are also treasure boxes along the way which contain special items.
As the game progresses you will need to use your different characters to open the special techniques chests. These chests can only be opened by completing Focus Moves. To complete a Focus Move you must draw a symbol with your Wii remote. The symbol must be drawn in the same way as it is first drawn by the computer. You have a limited time to do this but if you mess up you can try again. This part is pretty easy if you feel comfortable with the Wii remote.
While playing Avatar you can play as many different characters. You start out with the main character Aang. I generally only play with Aang because I have memorized his individual moves. Each character will learn moves unique to them. You learn these moves as you gain levels throughout the game. The special moves are a combination of swings and flicks of the Wii remote plus the B and A buttons. That is pretty much how you fight throughout the game. You run up to the enemies and hit them and if you are low on health you run away and drink a health drink. Once you complete the battle your health will go back up. The only times I really needed to use health drinks were during boss battles.
One thing I did not like about the game was the lack of variation in its battles. The battles are repetitive and will get old quick. The special moves add a level of depth but not enough to make the game completely intriguing. The boss battles are all pretty much the same as well. The best way to beat a boss is to allow it to wear itself out then hit it, and that’s all there is to it. After you beat the game there aren’t any real reasons to go back and play it again.
My last complaint is that although your party may have more than one member, there is absolutely no multiplayer support available. I think they could have incorporated the multiplayer, but this game is a role playing game so the length of play may have become a problem.
Avatar is done completely with cell-shaded graphics. The cell-shaded graphics in this game are mediocre, however, the lines around the characters are not always solid and can become fuzzy. You can really see this during the conversations with main characters. The landscapes in the game are kind of bland. There is really not a whole lot of detail. I really thought they could have done a better job on the cut-scenes too. They’re worse than some PS1 games I have played. If anything they could just have done the cut-scenes in good old 2D cartooning.
The sound in Avatar is average at best. It’s all really mellow and most of the time you don’t even notice it. The game does use the same voices from the show so that should make most fans of the show pretty happy. I just wish they would have added more dramatic noises and effects.
Avatar is priced at 50 dollars like most of the other Wii launch titles. I liked the game and its simplicity would be great for young or inexperienced gamers. It’s also pretty family safe; you never see any real sign of injury. When you defeat someone they disappear, there is no body left behind. I think this game is a good value for a family friendly game.
Overall I liked the game. I liked the cell-shaded graphics, although they weren’t the best. I liked the little MoMo quests and all the other quests. I love games like Silent Hill and Resident Evil but sometimes it’s nice to play a fun little fighting game. One thing that I did find on the game that really annoyed me was a save point that would always freeze up my game as it was saving. It’s located right outside the first battle in the Earth Avatar area. After you fight those annoying robots for 10 minutes you really don’t want to do it again.