While game-based movies or TV series often turn out to be great, movie-based video games seldom turn out to be enjoyable and there is a very good reason for that. The movie scripts are written to be brief (roughly 2 hours of content) and the audience is passive as it doesn’t have to interact with the subject matter in any way or form. Video games are the exact opposite. Most single-player games offer over 25+ hours of campaigns these days and the players want to interact with as many elements as possible. This is why there are very few games that manage to elevate the content borrowed from movies. Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora faces this same challenge as it has to offer an open world with far more exploration opportunities than are presented within the movies. Without giving too much away at this point, I would like to share that the game manages to achieve probably the most difficult yet most important task of providing players with the best option to explore the world of Pandora that is available right now.
While we can argue that a great game needs to deliver an excellent story, characters with depth, fun gameplay, and combat elements, the truth is that this game is meant to be for fans of the movie who want to explore Pandora on their own, and thankfully, the makers of Frontiers of Pandora used most of their resources on this front.
Table of Contents
Story and gameplay
The story of Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora begins on an emotional note as you assume the role of a young Na’vi who has been raised in captivity by the human RDA faction with the intent of grooming you and some other Na’vi children as their warriors. When the attempts to manipulate your mind seemingly fail, the chief of the faction resorts to violent suppression and you end up losing a loved one. As the story progresses, you eventually manage to escape captivity and enter the world of Pandora, which is breathtakingly beautiful but under attack from human invaders. As you tackle human enemies, help out your fellow Na’vi brethren, and learn more about your roots, the game unfolds new opportunities for you to explore. While the story is largely predictable and doesn’t elevate the content of the movie substantially, it kept me engaged throughout. One of the key things that stand out, just like it does in the movie, is the impact of humans on the natural world of Pandora. Avatar movies have constantly tried to depict that humans are having a net negative impact on the natural environment, be it Earth or Pandora, and that in the greed of obtaining valuable natural resources, we can often undermine the existence of other living creatures. This same message echoes in this game as well.
While Frontiers of Pandora follows similar gameplay mechanics to some of the other open-world games of recent years, it does seem heavily influenced by the Far Cry series. Whether it is the resource collection or capturing numerous outposts, the game will remind you time and again of the aforementioned popular Ubisoft game. Don’t get me wrong, this is not necessarily a bad thing. However, it does get repetitive after some time. While the main story keeps you engaged, the side missions do not offer enough variety to encourage you to go out of your way for exploration.
Combat
As far as the combat gameplay is concerned, I didn’t have high expectations from the game, but I stand corrected. Initially, you get access to bow and arrows, and my understanding was that my character would stick to the weapons traditionally used by Na’vi. But the variety in weapons and the ability to use guns took me by surprise. I liked the shooting mechanics in the game and mostly felt that I was in full control of the weapons.
As far as stealth is concerned, I didn’t find it to be as enjoyable as other games, but that could partially be due to the fact that I enjoyed using weapons a whole lot more. If you climb up the trees, there is a good chance you might remain unnoticed but if you engage in constant firing, the enemies will spot you right away.
Graphics and sound
The environment design and the graphics on offer in Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora are both top-notch. The sheer joy of navigating through the world of Pandora makes you forget about any other shortcomings of the game. While I did expect that the developers would focus on this aspect the most, I didn’t think they would go this far. The expansive world in this game is highly detailed and the background score and sound ensure that you feel immersed in it.
Verdict
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is a game made for Avatar fans and in this regard, it is a massive success. It offers you the perfect opportunity to explore the world of Pandora like never before. The graphics on offer here ensure that you feel immersed in its world and combat gameplay is pretty good too. While the game’s core story is decent, the side missions lack variety and capturing outposts becomes repetitive after a while. Flying in this game feels amazing and satisfying. If you like the Avatar movies, you simply can’t afford to miss this game but if you’re not a fan, there is nothing vastly different from the movies here.
Editor’s rating: 8 / 10
Pros
- The best way to experience the fictional world of Pandora
- Combat mechanics are good
- Impressive sound design
Cons
- Capturing outposts becomes repetitive
