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Sunday, November 02, 2008 |
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Avatar: The Last Airbender - Into the Inferno
By madmex @ 5:43 PM :: 5960 Views ::  :: Wii
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From the many shows that have risen from the depths of Nickelodeon, Avatar has been one of the better ones. The series has spawned many games and has had success with the television cartoon, but the show has come to an end and the final events have been injected into the latest game Avatar: The Last Airbender, Into the Inferno. Even though this title suffers from severe control issues and a camera system that is flawed, the story is still entertaining to some regard and there are some interesting techniques that the airbenders use.
The most intriguing section of the game is definitely the story that is told. Though if you are not aware of the previous games or cartoon series you may end up feeling lost as to what the premise is. To summarize the series, there are four nations Air Nomads, Earth Kingdom, Water Tribe and the Fire Nation which all lived peacefully until the Fire Nation decided they wanted to rule and went on the offensive. The only person that can stop the Fire Nation is the legend, a boy name Aang who is the reincarnated Avatar (the Avatar is the only person that can influence all four elements). His goal is to defeat the Fire Lord Ozai from the Fire Nation and restore peace once again. Aang can only attempt this after he has mastered bending the four elements, and at the start of this game he has already mastered three, air, water, and earth thus beginning the quest to master the fourth fire and to attempt victory over Fire Lord Ozai.
Being victorious over the Fire Nation takes a lot of patience when struggling with the controls, and to a child that is usually lacking in the attention span department, it does not help make the game interesting or pleasing. The lack of precision causes a great deal of strife when it comes to moving items like barrels or even while bending the elements. Also, the jumping mechanic seemed a little underwhelming, there were times I found myself jumping to clear an area but without success only to go back and try again however this time triumphantly. It was the same jump, puzzling. Having questionable controls can be overlooked as long as the camera works to your advantage, unfortunately in this case it does not.
It is one thing to have controls that are not exactly kosher but to have a miserable camera as well formulates a calamity that is certain to happen. Besides an issue of just a doorway that is slightly hidden from view or an item that just cannot be seen because of the angle, the camera also has an issue with the protagonist being off screen during specific platforming elements. For instance, during the game you will find yourself creating platforms whether out of water or earth (in this case water) to ascend areas (this case waterfall). If you fall off the platform, and you are not at a height that can kill, the protagonist is left on the ground where he is not visible. I honestly do not understand how something this buggy could have made it past beta testing. Disregard the deficient camera and the poor controls and you will find an attention-grabbing game where there are interesting gameplay elements that give this title a distinct character.
Having the ability to manipulate the elements makes the experience of playing Avatar interesting. When the elements are present they can be used for puzzle solving among other things. The art of bending is a pretty clever form of gameplay, creating ice or earth pillars to raise the character to attain otherwise inaccessible places is appealing as well as using water to cut through materials like bamboo or dispatching enemies. Wind is also available and is used for solving puzzles as well. Fire on the other hand is not usable until after an NPC Zuko teaches Aang (the Avatar). Again, I found the use of the bending to be intuitive and it was the driving factor to the amusement of this title. Another good aspect of the game would have to be the ability to return to previous stages.
Throughout the campaign there are coins that are collected and also secret scrolls. Using Appa, the six legged flying beast, allows for easy access to completed levels. The coins that are found can be used for purchasing abilities or even movies at the shop on Ember Island (where there is also a flying and target shooting mini-game that is available). The secret scrolls that are picked up unlock items for purchase at the same shop. There is always a reason to return to previous sites, whether it is to collect coins, secret scrolls or even play with a friend in cooperative mode.
Co-op, it should be a main stay in any video game these days especially on the Wii. With Avatar there are two characters that are playable during each level, if your playing by yourself you can switch on the fly, you control one and your friend can control the other one. Let it be known that this is local co-op only.
Aside from the unpleasant controls and the horrible camera issues Avatar: The Last Airbender could have been a great game. Fortunately, they had a decent story to work with and some intuitive gameplay mechanics to boot. No matter how you look at it, this is another Nickelodeon product that is on the shelf and many soccer moms are going to buy it for their little wannabe airbenders for Christmas.
6 out of 10
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