July 3, 2017
[Review] Avatar: The Legend of Aang (PSP)

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Dragging on my “complete” Avatar playthrough series project thing, we pick up with the PSP version of the first game. You’ll recall that the first released game (except for the PC version), despite its generic title and boxart, features a unique story set in between Books 1 and 2, wherein the Gaang picks up Haru and scoots all over the four corners of the world to confront a new mechanical menace.

The PSP game was made by TOSE, as was the DS one. The two share much in common, most notably having identical maps for all areas; the PSP version has the edge though in that the clumsy screen-rotating shoulder buttons are cut, and it’s therefore much easier to navigate. It lacks the charming 2D sprites, but makes up for it with nice dialogue portraits, and the simple 3D models are sweet in their own way as long as the camera doesn’t zoom in too much.

There’s more though, much more. On the PSP the game is souped up mightily compared to the DS outing, with equipment, upgrades, and sidequests fleshing out the experience much more. A seamless game world, and most importantly regular save points that restore your health (or “honor points”) for free are essential features bafflingly missing from DS. In terms of features and presentation it falls in between the main console version and the DS edition, although the GBA’s purity and polish still give it superior appeal and playability.

The DS game can boast one or two things for itself: a fun variety of food items, a full party of four, and brief voiced cutscenes; I felt the absence of these on PSP, especially when certain characters are required, forcing the player to backtrack for swaps. But on balance it’s no contest. On PSP you get gameplay that’s at times challenging but fair, also a useful minimap! It’s a mediocre action RPG but as a fan of the series I loved experiencing this story once again, and the different elemental machines make for great villains with cool designs whose attributes also inform the gameplay.

Speaking of which, as is customary, let’s look at unique elements this game contributes to Avatar lore. Full portraits of all NPCs is a good way to show off the dress of the different cultures you encounter, as well as a good look at Lian’s design. The plot and script are nothing new over the other versions (making the same gaffes as the other versions of this game, such as mistaking Omashu for Ba Sing Se), but as before I appreciated seeing the occupied port town, the earthbender training camp, the village in the shadow of the Southern Air Temple, etc.

As always I also noted animals not seen elsewhere. These include the new mouse/squirrel-cat hybrid, and a blue-ish kind of chicken; as well as the blue armadillo(?) wolves and odd deer seen in other versions. There’s ordinary cats in the village adjacent to the Air Temple, but the show already had one of those. There’s a few spirits too, with the familiar horned bear in chapter 3, but also a new six-legged tortoise in chapter 5 and a blue tiger/wolf in chapter 6. These little tidbits are so exciting to me! Anyway thanks for indulging me.

PS. One final bafflingly stupid piece of trivia: a formatting error on the printing of the game’s UMD disc displays the spaces that should be there in the title as question marks, as you can see in this picture I took.

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(Notes: 1)
  
Filed under: avatar avatar the legend of aang Avatar The Last Airbender tose psp 
July 21, 2016
[Review] The Last Airbender (Wii)

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To remind you, I’m still playing as many Avatar games as I can. This is in the lineage of the previous console games in terms of the developer, THQ Studio Oz/Australia, but represents a change of style. Needless to say, it’s based on M. Night Shyamalan’s controversial movie adaptation of Book 1, so it’s got the realistic visual style—the world design was a strength of the movie, not that it shows through terribly well here. Compared to Into the Inferno, it’s now a single player campaign (co-op is available in a separate optional arena mode), split between Aang and Zuko. Even more than the DS version, Zuko is portrayed as the main character: he narrates the stylish 2D cutscenes, his levels begin and end the game, the menu screen is a view of his shipboard quarters’ desk. I like this take given his role in the series, and again Dev Patel was one of the things the film had going for it.

Gameplay is a mix of combat and platforming/physics puzzles, with an over-the shoulder perspective. I got vibes of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, partly due to Aang’s ability to airbend physics objects to move and throw them, including enemies. The game is structured strangely, cutting down even more from the film’s truncation of the story. There are four environments: Zuko’s ship (a displaced flash-forward to the pirate attack, and Aang’s initial capture), the Northern Air Temple (the site of the Blue Spirit sequence in the film), caves beneath the North Pole city, and the Siege of the North. You alternate levels each as Zuko (or the Blue Spirit) and Aang. Zuko occasionally has to deal with a first-person Time Crisis-style shooter section, strangely enough.

As usual I’m looking for ways in which the game expands on the film/show, and there’s a few. The first thing you notice is that again the film’s restrictions on firebending have been lifted to facilitate gameplay; Zuko shoots fireblasts all day long like nobody’s business, and I wouldn’t want it any other way. (Aang also kills animals, which is a bit sketchy.) We have a Fire Nation tractor/tank thing as a boss at one point, which is interesting because you never actually see smaller military mechanisms like that in the film. Um, there’s Air Shells in the temple that amplify air currents for Aang to ride on? So that’s weird. The biggest thing would be the abandoned Water Tribe mines in the North, in the large cave system that is mostly previously unseen. They’ve been overrun here by a swarm of what are called “spider-crabs”—although the young have beetle-like wings—which spit goop at you. They range from cat-size to Shelob-size. Apart from this, there’s some small indication of content that was cut from the film in the unlockable concept art, such as the Kyoshi Warriors who otherwise are not in the game.

It pleased me that the voice actors from the film return; well, Zuko, Aang, and Zhao do anyway. Most exposition is covered by Dev Patel’s narrated cutscenes and Sokka and Katara have very limited appearances… I don’t think they’re even modelled in the game’s engine, only in cutscenes. The game doesn’t feel like it’s presenting the story super effectively… and the gameplay could be described as passable… at least the in-game achievement system gives some replay value…? The concept art is good in theory but mostly not worth it. Beating up Fire Nation and Water Tribe soldiers, bugs, and pirates can be fun but repetitive. It’s a far different experience from the DS game but even with that version’s brevity it covers more material of the story than this Wii version does (they share the 2D cutscenes by the way). The sad thing is it does show an improvement in the console lineage, if only in polish and mechanics, but that doesn’t save it from mediocrity. Ho hum.

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July 11, 2016
[Review] Avatar: Into the Inferno (Wii)

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Into the Inferno is much like its console predecessor, Burning Earth. It’s still a basic 3D action-platformer that follows the plot of the show, more or less (a lot is cut out; amusingly, it flashes back to Crossroads of Destiny, the events of which didn’t actually happen in the last game). One difference is the addition of a currency which acts as a reward system in levels for breaking things and beating enemies, and unlocks art and game-changing extras. The bending system has been overhauled; instead of a tacked-on and finicky contextual motion control, it’s a lot more integrated into gameplay with Wiimote pointing to both solve environmental puzzles and aid in combat. Also it’s shorter.

The game is obviously intended for co-op, as I found when in solo play battles dragged on, and deaths resulted in instant return to checkpoints, rather than the respawns enabled in co-op. It’s certainly less difficult and frustrating when playing with a buddy, although my wife didn’t enjoy it too much.

It’s definitely the best game of the three, although it doesn’t have the unique plot of the game released for Book 1. I liked improvements such as a neat world map (that has you flying on Appa above a stylised map as seen in the show’s intro), which allows you to replay levels at any time to find missing collectibles. Long overdue; the Book 2 game on DS and GBA allowed this. There’s also a glider minigame set around a small group of islands which isn’t bad.

As a fan of the source materials, once again I was looking for ways that this would expand on the world of the show. Unfortunately there’s not much going on. Enemies are merely barely-different kinds of Fire Nation soldiers (albeit including the female variant introduced in Book 3 of the show), and hog monkeys as always. There’s one or two setpieces that are slightly expanded from the show, and a large previously-unseen portion of the Western Air Temple that’s apparently specifically designed for secret Avatar training, or something.

Mostly I was amused to see how they truncated the story, such as Zuko immediately joining the party on the Day of Black Sun. Amusement turned to disappointment at the brief and very lame final boss battle, throwing puddles of water at an Ozai with simple patterns on top of a small rock plateau. Completely failed to capture the epic feel of the show’s finale, and even the denouement was underwhelming. Oh well. At least you get some decent voicework from the show’s cast, including Sokka catchphrases and a Zach Tyler Eisen who is obviously ageing out of his youthful Aang voice by the time the game was recorded! That was fun to hear. Pick up the game if you want to see a hallucinatory samurai Momo give you tutorial hints, or if you want to idly airbend a beachball. Oh and being a combat-heavy game Sokka actually makes decent use of his space sword, I appreciated that!

See more Avatar game reviews here.

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(Notes: 1)
  
Filed under: avatar thq studio australia avatar into the inferno wii review 
May 8, 2016
[Review] Avatar: The Burning Earth (Wii)

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The Avatar games are an interesting example of a developer iterating their design over the course of a series. I discovered that Halfbrick, in going from their first Avatar game on GBA to their second, streamlined their game and made it more action-focused, trimming RPG elements. Turns out THQ Australia did a similar thing for their second console entry.

The game is now shifted in a co-operative action-platformer direction. There’s still an experience bar but levelling up is simpler, and there are no persistent items besides collectible health potions. They seem to have strived to make the game more accessible and child-friendly, and as a result it can come across as simplistic at times. Fortunately there are improvements, such as much nicer looking and better animated cutscene models, and a slightly deeper combat system with button combos for different moves; fights still amount to mashing though.

A concern with this game is it simply rehashing the plot of Book 2 instead of telling its own story. This is somewhat mollified by having unique dialogue and a rearranged story; for example, the Fire Nation drill attack is foreshadowed heavily and serves as a motivation and the climax of the game (this is the same as the DS game). This adjustment at least added interest to how they would tell the story. Plus there were weird additions like the Omashu governor being an expert firebender, or having Jet, Iroh, and even Momo as playable characters on certain stages (Momo has the ability to throw cabbages at will!). There’s also plot added to the swamp with the Fire Nation dumping waste there, and Jet helping you clean it up (revealing in the process that after the Freedom Fighters disbanded they started helping Earth Kingdom refugees, much like the Kyoshi Warriors).

The real problem with the game, and my co-op buddy’s main complaint, was the motion controls. Characters’ ranged attacks would trigger accidentally, and “focus move” spots required specific fiddly motions that were a pain to get right. The PS2 and Xbox360 versions would obviously avoid this problem.

Being always on the lookout for anything adaptations can add to the universe, I can report that enemies in the game included some kind of warty beaver-rat in various sizes, found in the swamp and Omashu sewer, as well as giant spiders. The Library of Wan Shi Tong also had to include fights, so now there are statues that come to life and can bend fire and earth.

This game has potential but it’s hampered by being overly easy and by its frustrating motion controls. There’s still interest for Avatar fans but in this case the contest between the console version and the DS version is closer, and the GBA one loses out. The console one is a little shorter and probably a better overall package, though (but not having played the DS one for a long time, my memory’s a little hazy).

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Filed under: avatar thq studio australia avatar the burning earth wii review 
April 18, 2016
[Review] Avatar: The Burning Earth (GBA)

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I’ve encountered a roadblock in terms of Avatar games. When I opened the case for The Burning Earth on Wii that I bought ages ago, I found a disc for the first game had been sold to me by mistake. And it was too scratched up to work! So while a new copy wings its way to me, I played the GBA version.

It was a bit of a letdown. I completed it in only a couple of hours—it’s the shortest game on the list so far. Like the other Halfbrick games, you use bending and other abilities for both puzzles and combat. And like the Into the Inferno game in particular, the characters are paired up in different combinations (or sometimes solo) in different levels. In this case, the puzzles, combat, and action-y segments are pretty segmented; you’re either doing one or the other, and moving on linearly, a quite plain structure.

This time, the game is built around a scoring system. Presumably this is to encourage replays of its short length. The upper left number is your score, which also acts as health and is restored by defeating enemies. Beating a string of bad guys (only ever the same three types of Fire Nation soldiers, besides the boss fights) also gives a combo bonus, to encourage proper use of your bending abilities. It’s a fairly complex and neat little system. The upper right is a bonus, which ticks down over time and is filled up by collecting jars in the levels, providing the occasional reward for doing something extra or risky.

The sprites, following the previous game, are adorable, and the environments are drawn beautifully. The weakness of the game is that it’s simply retelling the story of Book 2, but severely cut down. It doesn’t have the novelty of the first game’s new plot, and it’s so fast-paced that you have to be familiar with the show to really get it. It does have the advantage of showing Zuko’s side of the story as well, which the DS version was unable to do. What I look for in adaptations are things they’re able to add to the story or world, but the only thing I noticed that wasn’t an adaptation from the show was a reuse of the armadillo wolves from the previous game; they’re used for puzzles rather than combat, which is amusing.

The characters’ abilities are translated to game mechanics in interesting ways, but the score-chasing structure is just something that doesn’t grab me. Despite the aesthetic strengths of the game, I find myself preferring the DS version in this case. Of course, both cover different content, with the desert and Ba Sing Se omitted here but present on DS, and Zuko and Iroh levels here. It’s just so short though, only 7 levels and one of those is more like a minigame. After playing all of Halfbrick’s other games in the series, this was underwhelming to me.

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Filed under: avatar avatar the burning earth halfbrick gba review 
March 30, 2016
[Review] Avatar: The Legend of Aang (GBA)

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Time for another Avatar game. See previous reviews. This one also uses the new storyline, albeit abbreviated by removing the “Earthbender training camp” and “Southern Air Temple” chapters. Haru still shows up, in Omashu, but doesn’t join the party. As I expected of Halfbrick (having played their two DS entries) the gameplay is more puzzle-oriented with some RPG elements. Aang, Sokka, and Katara move as a group and you can cycle between them to use their abilities. They all learn new tricks as you go on, to overcome environmental obstacles and the occasional combat.

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The spritework is lovely; clean and fluid, with plenty of colour variety. I dare say it’s the best looking of the bunch that I’ve played so far. There are fewer enemy types, both because of cut chapters and the chapters themselves are much shorter. I believe I’ve covered them all in these screenshots. I did notice Yu Yan archers, which do not appear in the other versions. Boss battles also play out differently, more strategic and hence more fun.

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While the storyline is the same, it’s cut back significantly. They left in Bumi’s excellently lame joke and most of the important plot points, and there are still some civilians to converse with, but it’s pretty stripped back. It’s a concise way to tell the story and certainly a quicker game to play to experience that story, but missing two locations is unfortunate. However, it does uniquely have a large section set in the Omashu sewers.

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I was surprised how similar it felt to the later DS games despite using more traditional controls. The puzzles are thoughtfully designed and can get challenging, especially the brutal chase sequences and final boss. There are also hidden health upgrades off the main path which aren’t too necessary outside said boss, but are a nice bonus to find.

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Despite lacking voice acting, sidequests, and some locations, I might recommend this as the best way to play this story. It’s the most polished and fun game experience. I still think fans should seek out the console version though, for its more fleshed out story, and additional characters (and spirits!).

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(Notes: 1)
  
Filed under: avatar avatar the last airbender avatar the legend of aang halfbrick review gba 
March 29, 2016
[Review] Avatar: The Legend of Aang (Wii)

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As part of a rewatch of Avatar: The Last Airbender, I’m playing video game associated with the show. Of course I had to wait until Book 1 was finished to start this one, and finish the game before Book 2. Yes, most versions of the first tie-in game bar the PC version share a unique plot. It’s a nice little sidestory, with some inconsistencies to be sure, but greatly enhances the value of the game for fans. Note that the PS2, GCN, and Xbox versions are mostly identical, and this Wii version is a port of that version with some motion controls added.

I would tell you to go back to my review of the DS one for a rundown of the new plot, but I’m always embarrassed by my old writing so I’ll tell you again now. The setup makes you think it’s a Mechanist situation where a gifted engineer is making machines for the Fire Nation against her will. You find out though that Lian, aka The Maker, has a grander plan to replace benders with analogous constructs and end the war by having a better army of robots. You also discover benders from every nation are in on the conspiracy. Tracking Lian takes Team Avatar (plus Haru, so that you can play as an Eathbender too) from the North Pole to several Earth Kingdom villages, Omashu, a hidden island with a lost history, and the Southern Air Temple before you confront Lian in her fortress in what has become a desolate wasteland due to her machinations.

Some parts feel familiar, taking cues from the show, but mostly it’s fresh and exciting to see new places and talk to people, even if they don’t have much interesting to say. Lian is a great character, and evocative of themes that are brought up later in Korra. Zuko has a scant few scenes: he captures Katara but is detained himself as a traitor, then has a few brief cameos. Really he could have been cut entirely without losing much; this game is about the new independent mechanised threat, and the Fire Nation just gets in your way in a few levels.

Zuko’s reintroduction in the first chapter seems to ignore his state at the end of Book 1, but at least the game then goes on to acknowledge his banished status. Lian’s plan to destroy the Avatar statues in the Southern Air Temple was, as far as I can recall, treated seriously in the DS game. The console version gives Aang a line to say that this wouldn’t actually do anything, but they should protect them anyway—salvaging that moment for me in terms of the order I played them. But Omashu is still regarded as the Earth Kingdom capital, remaining as a niggle for me. Nitpicks aside, the plot is fine for a video game, although chapter transitions can be a little narratively clunky.

Anyway let’s talk about the game. Each chapter has a pseudo-open world structure, with a hub town. You get quests, visit shops, then venture out along narrow paths to other hotspots, fighting groups of enemies in real time. There’s usually backtracking involved and fights are generally very easy once you have the full party, as long as you take the time to do sidequests and get the best set items. Yes, there is also phat loot. Combat gets more challenging and interesting on the few occasions the party is forcibly split. Unfortunately once you leave a chapter there is no returning. Doubly unfortunately, I think there might be a bug because after doing everything (so I thought) in Chapter 6 it was stuck on 98%, so I never unlocked the character gallery. Boo. According to the guide I occasionally used, it’s good to watch out for quest order, because due to bad design certain things become cut off even within a chapter. I never encountered this though.

I did however have problems with the game crashing, but that may just be due to a damaged disc. Either way, my play experience was occasionally fraught but despite this I had a better time than with the gruelling DS version. The sprite art there is more appealing than the wonky 3D models here, but I did like the lush environments here better. It’s also more quick and fun to play, and much more fully-featured. It does frequently make you stop to play a drawing minigame with the Wiimote to pull off environmental bending moves though.

Two more quick highlights of this game. The incidental dialogue heard just by standing around villagers adds both humour and world-building, which I appreciated. And as with all Avatar adapted material, I’m on the lookout for new animals, as the series is known for its fun hybrid animals. In fact this one was pretty lackluster for new hybrids but it does have some rarely-seen vanilla animals, with wolves and feral cats as enemies. A different kind of wolf with some perhaps armadillo traits is a common enemy, and the final chapter has a “deer” with some alpaca and rhino traits. Item names also reference minksnakes and whales. There’s also several spirits in the story: a forest guardian in the form of a horned bear who transforms into a man, a normal-looking badger mole who guards the lost history of the people of the hidden island, and a large owl connected with a sacred place next to the Air Temple. I liked seeing these spirits more than the animal offerings, although the game did also bring back many animals from the show as enemies, not to mention the variety of intriguing elemental machines.

Well I’ve gone on long enough. For now I’d say this is the best way to experience the new story that Flint Dille created for this project, but we’ll see how the GBA and PSP stack up later on. Keep an eye on the home page for my Avatar reviews if you’re interested.

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Filed under: avatar avatar the last airbender avatar the legend of aang wii review thq studio australia 
March 24, 2016
[Review] The Last Airbender (DS)

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As I’ve said, the Avatar Book 1 game tells an original story set after Book 1. To experience the story at the same time as I watched the show, I played this game; M. Night Shyamalan’s movie is an adaptation of Book 1. There’s two angles here: how this game adapts the movie adaptation, and how it follows Halfbrick’s previous effort, the Into the Inferno DS game.

I still have not seen the movie but I know a lot of details by reputation. From what I can tell, there are a few tweaks here to make it a more playable game that also coincidentally (or not) bring it closer to the show, the most prominent being that firebenders are able to create their own fire.

I kept being put off by the character designs, although they have their own consistency. Just because they’re different, they’re not necessarily bad. The Fire Nation army look is pretty cool and I do like Aang’s redesign even if he’s a very dour child now instead of a happy-go-lucky tween. But there’s still dissonance which can’t be helped.

The game frontloads some exposition that is not revealed til later in the show, which bogs it down a bit. But there’s also at least one new “event”, Zuko being trained by some kind of martial arts master called Jiu Jiao (not to be confused with Zhao or Jeong Jeong). That’s the kind of thing I look for, even if it’s simply a tutorial level for Zuko’s abilities.

Speaking of Zuko, he appears to be the primary protagonist, or if not it’s close. Levels alternate between him or his Blue Spirit guise and Aang. The focus on the game as being this dual story is welcome, with Zuko as a sympathetic character rather than a stock villain, just as the show portrays. However, there are a few downsides to the way the story is told, both due to alterations the movie made and cutbacks due to the scope of the game. But on the other hand, the added touches of humour in incidental dialogue are much appreciated.

Still, the game is competent enough as an abridged Book 1. But how is it as a game? Well, I had fun, although it is easy and brief. As I said, it very much builds on its immediate predecessor, the DS Into the Inferno game based on Book 3 of the show, but without the chibi style. As before, it’s entirely stylus-controlled except for the shoulder buttons to enter bending mode, but there’s a bit more of an emphasis on combat than puzzles.

It makes up for having only 2 playable characters with a sort of RPG progression system. You find chi orbs as a collectible or receive them for doing tasks, which can be spent on upgrading the characters’ skills. Don’t bother saving up though because they throw them at you, especially towards the end. There are also health and mana upgrades to find in the levels (there’s no backtracking, but the game actually contains more than you need to max them out). I felt invested in the characters because of this, and despite their abundance these collectibles were a better motivator than the lotus tiles in Inferno.

So it was a fairly breezy time, but I enjoyed the situations the game put me in, even if they were sometimes contrived in a game-y way. Maybe it helped to play along with episodes of the show. The enemies were mostly Fire Nation soldiers of various types, but there were also a kind of spider, as well as a memorable boss battle against Katara as Zuko! It is short but not bad by any means, and it’s the only way to play the Book 1 story on a handheld (if that’s appealing?).

EDIT: I have now watched the movie. So I can say that like the film’s comic adaptation, the game takes aspects or scenes of the movie and handles them better than the film itself did. And indeed tweaks the story in a slightly more show-like direction. Also Zhao in the film stabs Tui in the bag. In the game he hilariously punches the bag. That’s all I wanted to say.

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Filed under: avatar the last airbender ds halfbrick review 
March 23, 2016
[Review] Avatar: The Legend of Aang (PC)

I’ve started playing all the Avatar games. As I’ve said before, the first round released for Book 1 have an original story set after Book 1. The PC version is the one exception. It has 6 chapters based on episodes in the first season. The game itself is obviously cheaply made and not very good, but I want to talk more about its content because it’s not widely acknowledged. By documenting it more thoroughly I can perhaps save you from playing it but still bring it to light.

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Apart from the show’s animated intro as an opening cutscene, you’re dumped straight into The Kyoshi Warriors, episode 1x04. The main gameplay is a simplistic Diablo-like clickathon; you’ve got 3D models, isometric view, painted backgrounds, and mouse-only controls. Each of the clicks has three skills which are unlocked through the plot: attacks on left, and on the right are the air scooter for mobility, an air shield, and a mist technique to hide from enemies. Other gameplay modes are inserted between small arenas of this type. In the first chapter we see the meditation minigame (click the distracting thoughts to keep Aang’s mind clear) and an Appa-based flying shoot-em-up.

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We move on to 1x05, The King of Omashu. The game is fully voiced, with all the actors reprising their roles for the cutscenes, an abridged mix of slightly rejigged lines and new dialogue that gets the same points across as the show. The lunchbox key test has been replaced by fighting a bunch of hog monkeys, and the Flopsy test shows a new “chase” gameplay style which controls like the Appa stages but just avoiding obstacles. Then there’s a one-on-one battle with Bumi, which has the standard controls but feels different due to duelling single opponents with a range of skills. The difficulty is very forgiving; if you run out of health you instantly respawn and enemy are not reset. The other modes are bit less lenient but still easy.

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The Scar of the World, as the manual calls it, is 1x7 The Winter Solstice part 1. After an Appa stage against a new kind of bird (”spine hawks”), you fight out-of-place canyon crawlers and later the also-new tiger bees/wasps. The new creatures are a great part of this game to me. The Avatar world has lots of interesting hybrid animals so seeing brand new ones for this game was really fun, such as the boar-coons in the Kyoshi stage. There’s a Heibai chase and another meditation here, but also a nice story moment that’s not in the show; meeting repentant Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom soldiers who regret their actions destroying the forest in the name of war and industry. The fight with Heibai requires the use of the dedicated Avatar State button on the interface, which is used only the once.

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Part 2 of the Winter Solstice is the basis for chapter 4, The Crescent Isle. Just like the show there are scenes with Zuko and Iroh, mostly just repeating lines from the show. The Appa level that starts this chapter is not tacked-on like the others feel, as it recreates (poorly) the desperate flight through a Fire Navy bombardment. It was in this level I discovered the tactic of using the air scooter to skip right past all the bad guys to the next cutscene trigger instead of tediously fighting them; the game’s controls and hit detection are very unsatisfactory. Amusingly, the temple is stacked with Fire Sages, rather than there just being 5.

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Chapter 5 is mainly based on 1x13, The Blue Spirit, although I was pleased to see it enriching its presentation with elements of 1x09 The Waterbending Scroll (pirates to fight, and the scroll teaches Aang a new move) and 1x15 Bato of the Water Tribe (Bato shows up for exposition). Sokka and Katara sometimes accompany you, throwing boomerangs and water whips, to help with fighting sections. But both they and the enemies often just wander around or lag behind, so it’s not very dynamic. The stealth section is very tedious but at least the new “croco beasts” in the swamp gave something to look at. The “scoot past all enemies” technique helped again to escape the Pohuai stronghold.

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The final chapter adapts the last three episodes of Book 1. You fight some “frostbats” on Appa, then a duel with Pakku, infiltrating Zhao’s ship, a duel with the chain hammer guy, meditation in the spirit oasis (no Spirit World level unfortunately), and finally an epic beatdown as the ocean spirit (which in fact looks and plays pretty poorly, as does most of the game).

It’s too bad the game is not very fun, because it does have its commendable features. Being the only Book 1 adaptation (apart from the movie tie-in games) gives you the opportunity to play favourite moments from the show, and the few new plot elements and new creatures are worthwhile for fans. It also has some nicely drawn backgrounds, but just as many bland or muddy ones. It tries to vary the gameplay but each mode is pretty lousy. Finally, there is a section of the credits devoted to showcasing concept art for the project that could be of interest to fans. It’s baked into the credits movie so I’ve captured the video of it which you can watch here. So, now you don’t have to play this game. Unless you want to, of course.

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(Notes: 1)
  
Filed under: avatar avatar the legend of aang avatar the last airbender awe games pc review 
March 22, 2016
Avatar series playthrough

A while ago I played the three DS games that were released for each book of the animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender (sometimes called Avatar the Legend of Aang). After collecting more games and DVDs of the show, I’m now embarking an a greater playthrough of games attached to the series, while rewatching it. As I did with Rayman I’m going to lay out the games and post links to my reviews here.

The first round of games produced for Book 1 had a new story taking place between Books 1 and 2, except for the PC version. The tie-in games for the movie however cover the events of Book 1.

Book 1

Avatar: The Legend of Aang PC (reviewed)

The Last Airbender (movie) DS (reviewed)

The Last Airbender (movie) Wii (reviewed)

Book 1.5

Avatar: The Legend of Aang DS (reviewed earlier)

Avatar: The Legend of Aang Wii (reviewed)

Avatar: The Legend of Aang GBA (reviewed)

Avatar: The Legend of Aang PSP (reviewed)

Book 2

Avatar: The Burning Earth DS (reviewed earlier)

Avatar: The Burning Earth GBA (reviewed)

Avatar: The Burning Earth Wii (reviewed)

Avatar: Bobble Battles PC (to do)

Book 3

Avatar: Into the Inferno DS (reviewed earlier)

Avatar: Into the Inferno Wii (reviewed)

Avatar: The Path of Zuko PC (to do)

Korra

Avatar: The Legend of Korra PS3 (to do)

The 3DS version wasn’t released in Australia :(

There are countless other games, mostly for Flash, on Nickelodeon’s website, but none of them are very substantial and opening that can of worms is a slippery slope down a rabbit hole to some open floodgates.

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Filed under: avatar 
March 6, 2014
Avatar: Into the Inferno (DS)

Here it is, the last Avatar game. But guess what, I got one of the Wii ones in a bargain bin so there’s more to come! Haha! This game, unlike the previous two DS installments, was developed by Halfbrick, an Australian studio subsequently responsible for iOS hits such as Fruit Ninja and Jetpack Joyride. They did the first two Avatar games on GBA but the console generation cycle bumped the GBA out of the running and I guess bumped these guys up to DS. Bumped out were the RPG gameplay and the spritework, to be replaced by a stage-based isometric puzzle platformer rendered in 3D.

The comparisons to the DS Zelda are very easy to see. Mostly stylus controls, super deformed art style (although there’s precedent for that in the Avatar franchise), the early 3D polygon look. There’s less combat though and more using bending to solve puzzles in the environment. Much more, in fact, which is welcome after the limited interaction in the last two DS games. As I said, the structure is also level-based, with collectibles to find so you can go back and do it again better. Each is based on an episode, with many skipped of course. Each one also gives you a unique pairing of two characters to use, who have their own skills.

Between levels we have delightful little cutscenes. No voices but some very amusing bits of written dialogue with some visual humour and expression on their huge faces. The collectibles I mentioned are used to unlock characters and costumes exclusively for a volleyball minigame that can be played by DS Download Play (I heard you could use costumes in levels but couldn’t get it to work). It’s not the best motivation for completion but seeing those characters in the cute chibi style was almost worth it.

It’s just so strange to have this game (which is admittedly pretty quality) come after two games in the completely different, more serious, RPG style, especially when the second was bulding well on the first. The shift in gameplay and art style is very jarring, but hey if it gave them the chance to do something interesting with the Avatar license (which it did), then it’s not such a bad thing.

So it was fun. Not too hard to get through, which is refreshing after some bits of the RPG ones which were frankly a slog. Actually some stages were quite long but it tried to gradually ramp up the puzzles as you went on to keep it engaging. I miss wandering around and talking to townspeople but realistically they never had much to say. It’s a tradition for developers to ape Nintendo but this spin on that DS Zelda style worked out well, and its heavy focus on spatial puzzles seemed to fit. It’s certainly pretty unique and that chibi style is cute (I love how the boxart is a takeoff of its console bigger brother. I found a copy for $8 and at that price it’s great for fans of the show. So until I get to the Wii game, I’ll say flameo, hotman! (Yes that’s a greeting but I’m using it to say goodbye ok)

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Filed under: review thq ds avatar avatar: into the inferno halfbrick 
February 17, 2014
Review: Avatar: The Burning Earth (DS)

Please refer to my previous Avatar game review, because this one is by the same developer and in the same genre. It has some improvements, though: now you can sleep to regain health in towns, and item managament and menus are much better. The camera is now fixed to one position, eliminating the frustrating rotation necessary before. Your party is now two characters, with contrivances to split up the party where necessary and later the ability to freely switch (this makes battles less hectic and feels balanced, as most battles are now easier). The chi system has been overhauled, and now refills outside battle, and attacks can also be used in the field to reveal items and secrets, as well as jumping to traverse areas. So a lot of my complaints have been addressed, and the result is a much more polished and enjoyable game. Plus, you can travel back to previously visited areas outside the chapter structure. And best of all, this game has Toph! Woo!

All of these things make the game better. Unfortunately, this one simply follows the story of Book 2 Earth, rather than forging a new path with an original story. In my mind, this largely eliminates the need for it to exist at all. RPGs especially live and die by their story, and while it’s a better game it’s less necessary to play as an Avatar fan as it’s just Book 2, which we could just watch. True, it does change things around, adding some details and completely reworking the ending so that it finishes on the drill with a happy ending (at least in the DS version…?). But that’s not enough, not really. I guess there’s always the appeal of exploring these areas we’ve seen yourself, and interacting with the characters in this new direct way.

It really is a lot better than the first one, but the fundamentals are the same. I haven’t played any other version either so I can’t compare, but the greater interactivity and detail in the previous console iteration would suggest that this game’s big-screen version is probably worthwhile looking into. I have heard that the 360 version is notorious for easy achievemnets, with the full 1000 points being obtainable in the first half hour of game play. I really should play the GBA versions some day. So busy with games… Well, I’ve outlined the basic tradeoff: no new story but better gameplay than the first one. Much more forgiving too, it’s not a trial to struggle through it this time. So, eh? Eh.

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Filed under: review avatar: the burning earth THQ TOSE ds avatar 
December 5, 2013
Avatar: The Legend of Aang (DS)

Here’s a game I was very interested in as a fan of the show Avatar: The Last Airbender (apparently in some regions at some times, the show was marketed as Legend of Aang instead. I know my Book 1 DVD has that title, but I don’t think the others do). The reason it was appealing was that it presented an all-new story within that universe, set between Books 1 and 2.

Now, you won’t actually know this from the box, the manual, even the game itself. I started the game thinking it would be a retelling of Book 1 with extra plot elements and levels added in to make it more game-friendly. It starts with a choppy rendition of the show’s opening (if you’ve played any DS game with an FMV, you know the quality we’re talking here). You start, and see Aang standing next to Appa. He wants to go penguin sledding with Katara. Ok, I say, I know what’s going on here. This is the same as like Episode 2, but we’ve been given no introduction or background aside from the stock show opening.

I start exploring and find a Water Tribe village. So far so good, some stuff happens and Zuko attacks. But a few details start to bother me. There are adult males here, when all warriors should be away fighting. There’s waterbenders! Then someone mentions they’re in the North. A typo? I start formulating a theory that this is some kind of wacky alternate universe retelling of Book 1. Then everything changed when a robot attacked! This was getting simply bizarre.

I realise of course at some point, that this is set after the end of Book 1. That waterbending master (that they call Master Wei in the DS version) is supposed to be Pakku. But if this world is anything like Earth, there shouldn’t be otter-penguins in the North. Oh well, there’s polar bear-dogs in the South so that’s fine. Apparently the small village I’m in is a special waterbender training town, not the North Tribe capital. Ok, I can see that. It all comes together. Of course, the game really should have explained itself better.

Let’s skip ahead. I had the chance to play the PS2 version later, and while they’re both produced by THQ Studio Australia (although this was actually developed by TOSE), the difference is night and day. The DS one is really skimped, gimped, and rushed compared to the console one. There’s also a GBA one I hope to play soon, and a PSP one, and a PC one, which are all different but cover the same plot. The console one at least has more mechanics, voice acting, equippable items, explanations, and isn’t as brutally hard.

It’s basically an action RPG with instanced battles. But it’s missing basic mechanics like a place to rest and recover health. There’s a few items that give you a stat boost, but there’s loads of herbs everywhere that fill your inventory and can be crafted to make useless potions and expensive, slightly useful ones. And apart from food for health and smoke bombs for escaping battle, that’s all. And items don’t stack. Money is also hard won and each battle will sap your health so for a long time I was on a tightrope between my health, EXP, money, and progression. That tension didn’t make for a fun experience.

Other dodgy mechanics include the lame minigames, locking you out from each area when the chapter finishes, and the awful camera control. The shoulder buttons rotate your view, but more than half of the available angles are grossly unhelpful, so you’re constantly shifting around just to see where you’re going. There are others, but the basic fundamentals of RPG balance not being well developed results in a game that is just tough to get through. Grinding is not viable at the start and once you get over the hump (and Katara gets the revive ability) it’s too easy.

So as a game it’s not great, but the other versions have potential. Let’s get to the whole reason I played it, which is the story and characters. I’ll say the writing is pretty great, at least for our main characters. Between chapters is a fully-voiced cutscene, with the original show’s actors reprising their roles (this was produced concurrent with the series, although obviously after Book 1 aired). I found myself laughing at Sokka’s usual antics and so on, so they captured that stuff well. NPCs are very dull though, with small text boxes and not much to say.

Your party climbs to 4 when you reunite with Haru, you know that earthbender kid form Book 1? He turns up later with a mustache? Yeah, him. I guess they wanted that element represented so they brought him back. It’s cool, and of course I put this game in my own canon as Book 1.5 Robots or something so any element that fits is fun. Of course, there are problems with the continuity of this game. They regard Omashu as the capital and “heart” of the Earth Kingdom, with Bumi as its king. This is just wrong, and Omashu looks all wrong. It’s all yellow sandstone. I’m playing the second one right now and they did Omashu much better there.

Anyway they also claim at one point that destroying the Avatar statues at the Southern Air Temple (which they call “the Air Temple”) will sever Aang’s connection with the Avatar spirit. Now that’s also wrong, although this could just be construed as Lian’s misguided theories. It’s also a little strange in general with the Gaang jetsetting around on Appa through the Earth Kingdom and elsewhere, instead of doing Book 2 stuff which seemed fairly pressing. Aang needs an earthbending teacher: they meet Bumi face-to-face here, and travel with Haru. He also displays no waterbending skill. You gotta forgive it some things though, for trying to do something new here.

The reason for basically ignoring any other matters is due to the appearance of mechanical monstrosities that are terrorising towns and I guess killing benders or something? Not sure but Lian, the mastermind of these machines, has a vendetta against benders and their warmongering and so is replacing them with her artificial creations. There are shades of Amon and the Equalists from Korra here with her plans and the idealists who follow her, which is cool as this came first. It’s also interesting that you rescue her from Fire Nation prison, but it’s revealed that they were keeping her for her ingenuity and machine designs (I think?), kinda like the Machinist in the Northern Air Temple. You think you’re saving her but by freeing her she goes rogue with her robots, which is a bit of a twist.

This whole plot isn’t given a whole lot of justification though, and there’s a few tenuous connections. I feel like the console version probably fleshes it out a bit more. You get to visit some cool locations though, like the aforementioned North Pole, Southern Air Temple, and Omashu, as well as an Earth Kingdom village with forest and scared cave with a bear Spirit, a Fire Nation prison, a hidden island with a lost civilisation, and finally a blasted wasteland with Lian’s doom fortress. Don’t know how she built that so quickly but fine.

I really like that they made a whole new plot here. It allows them to explore a few new ideas and characters, revisit old ones, and add a bit to the “continuity” while avoiding simply rehashing the show. Unfortunately the next two games do exactly that, and just retell Books 2 and 3 (as far as I know so far). This one is also considered non-canon generally which is a shame but yeah I can see the point that just adding things willy-nilly can dilute the importance of the show’s events. But hey the comics are canon, and they’re not slowing down. It’s most likely because Brike were not directly involved (“Flint Dille, Union Entertainment” is credited with Original Storyline).

Anyways the game isn’t really that good so if you’re interested in the story, try and get the console one. It was ported to Wii from the Gamecube/PS2 version with some motion controls and some minigames I think, that’s probably the one to get. The GBA one (developed by our own Halfbrick studios) is also supposed to be quite good, I’ll try that one some time. Like I said, highlights are the writing of the leads, maybe the robot designs, although the sprite work is a little shonky. The music is also really horrible. No no positives! Um, er, the bending? No that’s underwhelming and hard to control. The fan service? You do meet the cabbage merchant, and there’s a few animals that appear which is always fun, and a new spirit bear/man. Really the plot is the main reason for this game, but this isn’t the best way to deliver it. I’m glad I had the chance though. I do savour every game experience, yes even Donkey Kong Jungle Beat and Metroid Other M. You’ll hear about those later ;)

So until next time, yip yip! Or even Avatar State, yip yip! (obligatory Ember Island Players reference)

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(Notes: 1)
  
Filed under: review avatar avatar the last airbender game THQ TOSE ds 
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