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.

5:56pm  |   URL: https://tmblr.co/ZpvIwu297ZH-n
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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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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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