james-camerons-avatar

Metareview: James Cameron’s Avatar

December 2nd, 2009 at 06:00pm Under Xbox 360

Here’s a dreary, uncomfortably true comment about the state of movie-licensed games: When we saw the average that James Cameron’s Avatar currently sports on Metacritic, our first thought was, “Wow, a 65, not bad!” Here’s how it was sized up by a few outlets:

VideoGamer (70/100): “James Cameron’s Avatar: The Game is easily one of the best movie licensed games I’ve ever played, but at the same time it’s not good enough to stand alone as a must-own title. While the presentation is great and the combat generally enjoyable, the missions leave a lot to be desired – and there’s little of the sense of wonder that the movie promises.”
IGN (68/100): “There’s nothing disastrous here, and the RDA shooter side of things performs well enough to be occasionally enjoyable. The quest design, including both the main and side tasks, is about as generic as they come. Go here, collect this, plant these bombs, or kill this and then return to me.”
Game Informer (65/100): “These shortcomings are a shame considering the game’s interesting gameplay twists. Avatar features a solid RPG element that unlocks new armor and upgraded weapons at a steady pace. Players also unlock new skills (i.e. buffs) that help spice up combat a little, but can’t overcome the gameplay imbalances.”
GameSpot (55/100): “It’s not a bad game, and portions of it are competent, if not quite remarkable. But Avatar wears thin quickly, and the story is too fragile to compensate for the deficiencies.

Metareview: James Cameron’s Avatar originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 02 Dec 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue Reading Metareview: James Cameron’s Avatar

Tags: avatar, james-camerons-avatar, metareview, movies

By Mister-X Continue Reading Metareview: James Cameron’s Avatar Add comment

Avatar’s third dev diary is all about choices

November 18th, 2009 at 06:00pm Under Wii / Nintendo

Okay, okay – we’ll admit that the transparent dry erase board thing is a bit on the “too much” side of things, but Avatar’s third dev diary contains enough interesting information about the game in it otherwise that we feel okay forgiving the clip’s director. The emphasis here is on the game’s many choices, and, more specifically, the one major choice which mirrors the movie’s plot. Will you choose the path of the human and murder a tall blue alien … thing, or stand up for all that is righteous and good in the world? The choice is yours (you monster!).

Avatar’s third dev diary is all about choices originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue Reading Avatar’s third dev diary is all about choices

Tags: avatar, avatar-the-game, dev-diary, dev-diary-3, developer-diary, james-cameron, james-camerons-avatar, ubisoft, Wii / Nintendo

By Mister-X Continue Reading Avatar’s third dev diary is all about choices Add comment

James Cameron’s Avatar launches for everything Dec. 1

October 23rd, 2009 at 02:00am Under PSP

Ubisoft’s website lists James Cameron’s Avatar as launching across all platforms — Xbox 360, PS3, PC, DS, Wii, PSP, Wifi-enabled Toilets and Toasters that also cook hot dogs — for December 1. As we’re often skeptical with what we read on the Internet, we decided to find out if the listing was accurate. According to Ubisoft, the game will indeed launch in North America on December 1.

The date thrusts gamers into the Avatar universe more than two weeks before the film hits theaters on December 16. Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 players — with the proper set up — will also be able to experience the game in 3D. Whether or not James Cameron will record what seems like an hours-long video introduction outlining every detail of the game and movie experience to accompany the launch is unclear.

James Cameron’s Avatar launches for everything Dec. 1 originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 23 Oct 2009 01:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue Reading James Cameron’s Avatar launches for everything Dec. 1

Tags: avatar, james-cameron, james-camerons-avatar, movie-tie-in, release-date

By Mister-X Continue Reading James Cameron’s Avatar launches for everything Dec. 1 Add comment

Avatar: The Game: The Developer Diary

September 19th, 2009 at 04:00am Under Wii / Nintendo

Ubisoft has released the first of its developer diaries for Avatar: The Game. This video mainly covers the Avatar universe and how the game will be directly related to the film. Avatar: The Game is not your typical licensed game — at least in respect to its story, by being officially recognized as canon in a larger universe.

Those of you looking to see some gameplay will notice some snippets above, though the video is mainly developers and Cameron talking about the game. Don’t worry, though: Cameron doesn’t pull another Cameron.

Avatar: The Game: The Developer Diary originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 19 Sep 2009 03:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue Reading Avatar: The Game: The Developer Diary

Tags: avatar, james-cameron, james-camerons-avatar, ubisoft, Wii / Nintendo

By Mister-X Continue Reading Avatar: The Game: The Developer Diary Add comment

Ubisoft sees Avatar as ‘world-changing,’ compares to Harry Potter

August 3rd, 2009 at 04:30pm Under Xbox 360

Having left EA and joined Ubisoft, Murray Pannell is finally getting out and about to promote Ubisoft’s upcoming titles. One of its biggest is the tie-in to James Cameron’s upcoming movie, Avatar. Pannell recently spoke about the IP to MCV, commenting, “Avatar looks set to be a world-changing kind of cinema given its pedigree and elements like the 3D.” Pannell also compared work on the game to his time spent working on the first Harry Potter game for EA, which he described as “an incredible entertainment phenomenon.”

Obviously, Ubisoft hopes to attain the same success with Avatar as EA did with the Harry Potter games, which have become a staple for the games giant. If that’s going to happen, we have one suggestion: don’t give James Cameron any monologues.

Ubisoft sees Avatar as ‘world-changing,’ compares to Harry Potter originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 03 Aug 2009 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue Reading Ubisoft sees Avatar as ‘world-changing,’ compares to Harry Potter

Tags: avatar, harry-potter, james-cameron, james-camerons-avatar, ubisoft

By Mister-X Continue Reading Ubisoft sees Avatar as ‘world-changing,’ compares to Harry Potter Add comment

‘Avatar’ game requires HDMI for 3D effects

July 31st, 2009 at 10:30pm Under Xbox 360

Avatar, the upcoming Ubisoft title based on the film James Cameron could not stop talking about during E3 2009 will require an HDMI port for 3D effects, leaving early Xbox 360 owners out in the cold. Luc Duchaine, senior international brand manager for the game adaptation of James Cameron’s Avatar confirmed to MTV Multiplayer that a full 1080p setup will be required to play the game with 3D effects.

Although all Xbox 360 consoles are now capable of upscaling content to resolutions as high as 1080p, the Avatar game requires a native 1080p output which is only achievable through HDMI (something that is common knowledge for 3D geeks, we’re told). Users with an HDMI equipped console now only need a pair of 3D glasses included with the game and a compatible 3D 1080p, 120Hz TV set! If 3D isn’t an option, the game is still playable the old-fashioned way; however, the 40-minute introduction video starring James Cameron explaining the entire Avatar universe that we expect to see when the game inserted into our console will be slightly less awesome.

‘Avatar’ game requires HDMI for 3D effects originally appeared on Joystiq Xbox on Fri, 31 Jul 2009 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.