I’ve performed about six hours of Ubisoft’s new Avatar: Frontiers Of Pandora and my huge takeaway is that Avatar sickos will love this recreation, Far Cry Primal followers will get a kick out of Ubisoft returning to this components, and everybody else, effectively… uh…dang, the sport positive is fairly, huh?
First introduced in 2017, Ubisoft Huge’s open-world Avatar recreation has felt oddly hidden away by the writer forward of its December 7 launch on PS5, Xbox Sequence X/S, and PC (the place I’m enjoying). It is a recreation based mostly on a few of the hottest movies in historical past and but, we’ve not seen a lot of it. Is that as a result of it’s a whole trainwreck? Or a horrible, ugly mess? Properly, after a couple of hours with the sport, I feel the actual motive Ubisoft hasn’t been displaying off Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora as a lot as you may need anticipated is that in the event that they did, it might have given away the truth that this actually is simply Far Cry with blue cat folks.
Pre-order Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora: Amazon | Greatest Purchase | GameStop
I’ll admit, I’m being a bit reductive in calling this newest open-world Avatar recreation “simply Far Cry.” However after about six hours of enjoying by the primary quests and early aspect adventures, I can’t assist however shake the sensation that I’ve performed this earlier than. I spent a big chunk of my time creeping round forests with a bow, sneakily clearing out enemy bases, gathering supplies to craft upgrades, and combating again in opposition to a robust power alongside a ragtag group of rebels.
Sure, all of this options blue cat aliens and peculiar house vegetation, positive, however learn that final sentence once more. Should you’ve performed fashionable Far Cry video games, that every one in all probability sounds very comparable.
In Avatar’s protection, it’s not merely a Far Cry palette swap. One huge distinction is you play as a big Na’vi alien, aka the aforementioned big blue cat folks. You have been captured by the RDA as a child, instructed your clan had left you behind, after which the evil corp tried to brainwash you and some different younger Na’vi into good little troopers. This plan fails, as a result of occasions that occur within the first movie, and you might be put to sleep for 15 years in a cryo mattress, solely to get up through the occasions of the second movie. The evil people are again and able to take Pandora by power. Fortunately, you’re a particular “good at every part” Na’vi and can assist your folks (and the few good people) battle again to save lots of the planet.
In my time with the sport to this point, enjoying as a Na’vi is well the perfect a part of the sport. You might be huge. You’re feeling huge, towering over people and having to crouch to enter their areas. However you aren’t a slow-moving tank. As a Na’vi, you possibly can leap throughout bushes and rocks with ease, mantling up partitions in seconds. Hopping throughout the gorgeous forest world of Pandora as a giant ol’ Na’vi and touchdown subsequent to some tiny RDA troopers by no means obtained previous. Neither did taking them out with big arrows.
I additionally actually benefit from the attractive and detailed jungles of Pandora. Exploring this alien world is a visible deal with, with vegetation that react to you and all types of strange colours and glowing fine details dangling about. It’s great stuff. I simply want there was extra right here past the spectacular visuals.
I do know previously we’ve complained about Ubisoft video games feeling too overstuffed with aspect content material and collectibles, and I don’t need that. However in my six hours or so with the sport, the world of Pandora feels empty. It’s very fairly, with its unique bushes and alien creatures, however there’s not a lot to do or work together with on this digital Pandora. Generally I bumped into some RDA forces looking aliens, however that was about it, and it made the place really feel so lifeless and chilly regardless of all of the noises round me telling me in any other case.
Likewise, the narrative—which is haphazardly dumped on the participant with little context because the builders seemingly assume you’ve seen the films and keep in mind what occurred—feels empty and hasn’t grabbed me but.
The truth that the RDA are dangerous and doing horrible issues and I needs to be upset about that appears to be the one motivating issue, which is odd as within the first quarter-hour of the sport’s prolonged intro my sister was killed by them in chilly blood. However that occasion doesn’t appear to issue into something previous the intro and a one-off point out afterward.
I’m hoping that as I maintain enjoying Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, a bigger narrative with stakes will begin to type, however for now, the primary motive I’m nonetheless enjoying is as a result of I like hopping round Pandora as a giant cat alien man with a big bow and machine gun. For now, that’s sufficient, however in 20 hours will I nonetheless really feel the identical manner? I’m unsure.
Pre-order Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora: Amazon | Greatest Purchase | GameStop
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