I ORIGINALLY ONLY picked up this game because there was very little on offer in my local gaming store when I was looking for titles to increase my library of games for my, at the time, newly acquired Wii. At the time I didn’t have a working television aerial or access to either Sky of cable, so I had not yet had the opportunity to watch the smash hit Nikelodeon series. All I knew about it was that it seemed to be influenced by old Chinese mythology and that, despite apparently being popular with absolutely no children in the world anywhere, it was an extremely successful cartoon.

I was apprehensive at first because, generally speaking, commercial success doesn’t really mesh with my specific tastes. Perhaps it’s simply because overexposure turns me off (which it certainly does) or perhaps it really is because I just have different taste to most of the rest of the world. Whatever the reason(s), on this occasion, the rest of the world and I are very firmly in agreement. The game itself is an engrossing and visually stunning experience, utilising the glory of cel-shading (something which I am a distinctly vocal proponent of) to its full potential to produce beautifully colourful and rich textures. One of those games where you can just stop and marvel at the simple elegance of the environment without ever getting bored. Something which, for me, the more (supposedly) advanced games often lack.

The characters, also, are expertly rendered, moving with an impressive degree of realism and, better yet, not falling foul of the bane of incorporeal scenery. Everything you come across, be it a rock, a tree or another person, is solid and will prevent any part of your chosen character (there are four, but I’ll get into that below) from passing through them. No hands or feet passing through walls or anything like that. At least, not that I could detect, and I usually notice that kind of thing because it’s something of a pet hate of mine.

The game has no overt ties to the series itself, although it does feature many elements from it. Including the full voice cast and a number of secondary characters who have appeared throughout the span of the first season. And though it is an officially licensed game, it’s standing within the overall cannon is uncertain. And, oddly enough, it isn’t a fully self contained story as you would often expect from a game like this. There are certain aspects of the plot which are left open as the story comes to a close. Perhaps intended for an, as yet, unreleased, sequel.

However, as previously stated, the game does feature many aspects from the show and seems to take place either in the space between the end of season one and the beginning of season two, or at the very least during the closing episodes of season one. The absence of Yue, who plays a significant role during the events of episodes 17 to 20 (the final four of the season) lead me to believe that it is afterwards. Though the plot of the game seems to have been based heavily on an earlier episode (number 17 to be precise) as it features a very similar premise, albeit handled differently.

Basically, the Fire Nation have gotten their mitts on some technological wunderkind and are forcing her to make monstrous new war machines for them to propel their war efforts to new heights. Part of this new plot entails the capture of benders from each of the other nations, Earth and Water, though not Air as they were wiped out a hundred years earlier. All apart from the Avatar (the only person capable of learning to use all four elements whilst everyone else is limited to one) who rather luckily managed to get himself trapped inside an iceberg and was perfectly preserved until two teenagers from the Southern Water Tribe found him whilst out fishing one day.

Being the Avatar, the de facto protector and peace keeper of the world, Aang cannot just sit idly by and let this all go on unchecked. So, he and his two friends Katara annd Sokka, the brother and sister who first found him, along with his loyal companion Appa, the flying Bison, and Momo, a lemur he found amidst the remains of his former home, set out to give the Fire Nation a firm slap on the wrists. And hopefully rescue the imprisoned inventor and the missing benders along the way. To do so, they must travel all over the world, from the North Pole, to the Earth Kingdom city of Omashu and one of the destroyed Air temples. There’s even a pit stop on a forgotten island thrown in for good measure.  Initially, players take control of Aang, the twelve year old protagonist with a lot of weight on his young, narrow shoulders. But over the progression of the first three levels first Sokka and his boomerang, Katara with her healing water, and then Haru with his control of the very Earth itself are added to the list. Each of the four main characters appear on screen at the same time, fighting in tandem, with the option to switch between any of them via use of the motes thumbpad. Apart from during those occasions when they are not in the party of course.

Gameplay consists primarily of a diagonally, top down roving beat-em-up style. Something akin to the Baldurs gate or Champions of Norrath style, with levels progressing via the accumulation of exp when defeating opponents such as Fire Benders, hog monkeys and wolves (amongst others). And though level twenty is the maximum, it will still take you until late into the game to reach it. At each level up your health and chi are increased and you earn one more point to allocate to the heroes skills. These are different for each character and reflect their respective skills. And although twenty skill points is not enough to have all skills available together, you go back into the character screen and shift them around at any time if you feel that your current selection isn’t working. Or simply just because you fancy a change.

Ultimately, the game has very little variety in the gameplay itself. It’s a pretty straightforward dungeon crawl affair, which is fine because that’s exactly what it was intended to be, the focus being a lot more on the progression from one plot point to the next. The plot development itself being shown primarily through cinematics at the beginning and end of each level, and in smaller doses via the quests that you will be asked to embark upon by various people you will meet along the way. Though there is also the option to make use of Momo to go scouting for hidden items (one quest on each level) and a tile game called four nations (which is also used to acquire some rare pieces of equipment) if you want a change of pace. Taking control of Momo, which can be done even after his sub-quest is completed, can be especially amusing when near people as he hears nonsensical sounds rather than words, what with being a lemur and all.

There are also a number of hidden treasure chests scattered throughout the game which can only be unlocked either via bending, or by having Sokka smash them open with his boomerang. This is done by copying various sigils which are drawn on screen by using your Wii remote. First you will see a demonstration of the sigil (which seem to be loosely based on Chinese) being drawn, then you will use the mote to recreate it as accurately as possible. In principal it sounds simple, and it is simple, but not quite as easy as it may sound. It’s not just the shape you have to duplicate, but also the order in which the lines and curves are drawn. As well as the chests there are various points such as Earthbending a path across a gap, or Waterbending a sheet of ice across a river, where you will be required to do the same.

Unfortunately, the game received a lukewarm reception from both fans of the show and the uninitiated as well. Some going so far as to call it both dully repetitive and uncooperative, with an uninspiring storyline. It must be said that, yes, as far as Avatar goes, the game cannot claim to boast the best plot when held up against the superb quality of the writing in the series, but neither can it be said that it was poor either. And as well all know, the transition from one medium to another is never an easy thing. And again, yes, this may not be the most successful attempt, but nor is it the worst.

On the whole, the game is thoroughly enjoyable. A suitably challenging, but not overly difficult game that was clearly intended to be a more sedate, relaxing gaming experience. There is a good balance between appearance (it really is a visually stunning game) and smooth, simple, gameplay mechanics. The one real failing I would say is that it does not support multi-player. With four characters to choose from throughout the vast majority of the game, it was definitely a bad choice on the part of THQ to not allow for at least a two player aspect. And it was a shame that Mako was not included to play Uncle Iroh who appears briefly, but does not speak.

Graphics: 9/10
Gameplay: 7/10
Audio/Music: 8/10
Plot/Scripting: 8/10
Overall: 8.5/10

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