James Cameron's Avatar: The Game Demo

Avatar was one of the most expensive movies ever created, with jaw-dropping visual effects and one of the first true 3D experiences made available to the public. Unexpectedly, a video game has been made to give you a first-hand look at the fascinating universe depicted in the film, complete with most of the original actors voicing their characters.

James Cameron's Avatar: The Game is a third-person action game that allows you to play your part in the war on Pandora, by providing you with most of the gadgets and machinery seen in the movie. Thus, beside the futuristic weapons you can use to defend yourself against the jungle's most dangerous predators, you can also get on board of various ships, battle suits and even vehicles to carry you around the planet.

In essence, the game's story line follows the film's, although you do get to see a lot more action, by taking part in some battles that did not make it on the silver screen. Most of the actors voice their characters in the game as well, including Sigourney Weaver, Michelle Rodriguez and Stephen Lang, which greatly adds to the overall atmosphere.

Throughout the game, you are faced with a lot of powerful foes, most of which are vicious animals that attack you on sight. Thus, beside wolves and poisonous plants, you also get to go head-to-head with a hammerhead, which is a large beast with thick armor that can kill you in a matter of seconds if you do not get out of its way when it is charging toward you.

It can be quite difficult to properly control your character, though, since the third-person perspective feels and acts rather weird. The aiming system is also a bit off, although you do get used to it after a few minutes of gameplay. To diversify the action, the game also puts a few skills at your disposal, including heal, a sonic wave that renders your enemies unable to fight back for a few seconds and even an invisibility module, which allows you to sneak past some of the monsters.

Graphic-wise, James Cameron's Avatar: The Game shines from all angles, especially since it uses DirectX 10 to render the environments. Thus, everything from texture to post-processing effects give you plenty to look at, which, combined with the beauty of Pandora, can leave you wandering for hours, despite the fact that most of the game is very linear and does not encourage exploration at all.