James Cameron’s Avatar movie is till the highest grossing film ever released, so it makes sense to have a video game tie-in. Did developer Massive Entertainment create a masterpiece with Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, or is this just another blockbuster movie tie-in flop?
Read on to find out
You would have to be living under a rock, or be completely disconnected from the world to have NOT heard of James Cameron’s Avatar franchise. The series is set on Pandora, a lush habitable moon of a gas giant in the Alpha Centauri star system. Pandora has a vast neural network spanning the entire lunar surface into which the Na’vi, the indigenous inhabitants, and other creatures can connect and communicate not only to the present, but also to their collective past.
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora Review – Stand Alone, but Connected, Story Line
In the year 2146, eight years before Jake Sully arrives on Pandora in the 2009 film, the RDA (Resources Development Administration which was created by humans) sets up The Ambassador Program (TAP) led by Dr. Alma Cortez and John Mercer, who seek to train five young Na’vi children: the player (referred as “the Sarentu”), Ri’nela, Aha’ri, Teylan, and Nor to be Na’vi-human ambassadors. These children all become disillusioned by Mercer’s training tactics and memories of their past that have slowly emerged, and attempt to leave, resulting in casualties and the children are forced to return to Mercer’s program.
Fast forward eight years and Jake Sully’s army takes down the RDA, forcing them to abandon the TAP program and Mercer orders the liquidation of all Na’vi assets. Instead of killing the children, Dr. Cortez hides them away and puts them in cryogenic sleep chambers, and they stay there for sixteen years. They are finally awoken by Dr. Cortez and the new resistance fighters when Mercer is returning to the camp. This is where your journey, playing as “the Sarentu” begins.
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora Review – Gameplay
The game is played in the first person perspective, and is very similar in style to the Far Cry series, especially Far Cry Primal. You start out on foot but you’ll eventually unlock an Ikran, a flying creature that will allow you to navigate Pandora’s huge map much quicker. There’s also a horse-like creature that you’ll be able to ride on once you’ve progressed through the story far enough. Navigational fast travel points will also be unlocked once visited to make traveling around even faster, but having that Ikran makes unlocking those much easier. There is a lot of running around on foot to start out, though, so be prepared for a slow start.
Our Na’vi protagonist was raised and trained by humans, so he is no stranger to human weaponry such as automatic weapons, rocket launchers, and grenades, all of which will be at your disposal. Once you hook up with other Na’vi clans, though, you’ll start to learn about native Pandora weapons such as the bow and arrow, the staff sling, and the spear thrower, all of which can aid you in your stealth tactics. The game uses a gear level system which means better gear can be found or bought using the in-game clan favor system. The game definitely has that RPG feel to it. Once you reach the first main tree house, you’ll also be able to play co-op with a friend.
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora Review – The Bad Guys
Enemies in the game vary from your standard foot soldier, which can be taken out with a single silent arrow, to the full on mechanized soldiers that are walking around in Amplified Mobility Platform (AMP) suits. These guys are a little harder to take down, but once you learn how to use your Na’vi sense, you can highlight their weak points for a much easier take down. Your Na’vi sense can also be used to tag bad guys from behind cover in order to keep your stealth intact. Our character can’t take a lot of damage, so stealth really is the key to success.
As you fly around on your Ikran, you’ll also encounter airships of the RDA, and these guys can shoot you down if you’re not careful. The smaller airships aren’t too tough, and we were able to defeat a couple with nothing but a bow. Shooting a guy out of the doorway of one of these is a pretty satisfying feat, as is seeing one detonate after hitting the engines with a few fire arrows.
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora Review – Gorgeous World
Pandora is a beautiful, multi-colored, living breathing moon with a vast neural network connecting everything together. The world map is massive, and the game will take you at minimum fifteen hours or so to just complete the story, but once you start unlocking side quests, that fifteen can balloon to over forty pretty easily. That’s not a bad thing, though, as the game is an immersive experience in vast, beautiful landscapes that vary from lush jungles to windswept plains. You’ll be glad to have that Ikran to enjoy the view.
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora Review – Conclusion
Developer Massive Entertainment took on an epic task in recreating James Cameron’s world of Avatar, and surpassed our expectations. Seeing the movie world not only come to life, but also be completely interactive, was the most impressive part. This is an absolutely stunning game with an impressive soundtrack that gives you the feeling that you really are on Pandora.
Awesome job!
10
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora review code provided by publisher and reviewed on a PS5. For more information on scoring, please read What our review scores really mean.
