James Cameron's Avatar: Hands On + Interview

It’s not everyday you get to fly to another country for a few hours to play video games, but with the help of Monaco and Ubisoft Australia, we were lucky enough to head across the Tasman to get our hands on James Cameron’s Avatar: The Game.

So, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed from the early morning flight into Sydney, I was quickly hustled into one of the media rooms in the Ubisoft offices where Luc Duchaine, Senior International Brand Manager at Ubisoft was on hand to answer our questions (see below for the interview) and show us through the game.

Avatar: The Game takes place on Pandora, the world in which mankind has come to inhabit. The only problem is that it’s already populated by the Na’vi. The game doesn’t follow the exact storyline as the upcoming film, instead opting for an entirely new experience, while sharing some of the common characters from the movie. Players can expect to run into the likes of Dr Grace Augustine (voiced by Sigourney Weaver) and Trudy Chacon (Michelle Rodriguez).

Despite the fact the Avatar: The Game features voice actors from the film, and that the game has been made with directive from James Cameron and the team behind the movie, great care has been taken by the team at Ubisoft to ensure the game doesn’t fall into the movie tie-in videogame cliché that we’ve unfortunately seen too many times. Luc explains to us that the team at Ubisoft has had full access to all the resources from the film and those that have worked on it, to ensure that their take on the world of Pandora stays consistent with that of the movie.

One of the major selling points in our time with the game was the 3D mode that you’ll be able to switch to – provided you have an HDMI output, and 3D capable TV. While this may greatly limit the potential games that will experience it, Luc was quick note that it’s been implemented as an ‘add-on’ for the game, and you can still play without the image coming out of your television and smacking you in the face in the 2D mode.

Donning the 3D-enabling glasses, it a surprisingly fresh experience to actually be in control of what was normally an experience you could only watch. The HUD and main character sits on what appears to the middle-most level of depth, while the lush environment extends out at you, as do weapons you swing about. One of the neat examples of how the 3D can improve the gameplay is found with the fight scenes. Bullets will fly in from all angles, and seeing them come towards you from afar really adds that extra immersion.

Avatar balances itself between the third-person shooter and role-playing genres – while the majority of the objectives require you to run about and defeat enemies in your traditional shoot from afar with a few different weapons, there are also skills you can use which will need to regenerate before you can use them again. In exploring the level you’ll also come across various objects and plants you can scan to complete other objectives. Many of these things will also contain entires in the ‘Pandorapedia’ – essentially a in-game encyclopedia of all things you’ll come across in your journey. It’s a nice touch for those deeply interested in the mythology and universe of Avatar.

A huge part of Avatar relies on the atmosphere and the interactive nature of the world. And as such, there are many times when interacting with the environment can be just as important as shooting at your enemies. Luc made a point of mentioning that you don’t always need to kill everyone as the flora will help in this regards – at least when playing as a Na’vi.

Be sure to check out our full interview with Luc Duchaine, Senior International Brand Manager at Ubisoft:

James Cameron's Avatar: The Game releases in New Zealand mid December. A huge thanks to Ubisoft for making this trip possible.