On December 7, 2023, the highly anticipated game adaptation of the popular film franchise from Ubisoft Studios called Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora was released. Thanks to the usual Ubisoft games open world and familiar game mechanics, gamers have already dubbed the game ‘Far Cry in the Avatar setting’. However, in the end, the novelty turned out to be rather ambiguous. Why? We will talk about it in detail in our review of the game adaptation from Ubisoft.
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About the game
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is an action-adventure with first-person shooter elements, based on the popular James Cameron franchise. However, the game offers its own take on the Avatar universe, with its own separate story and locations where key events take place. Players will have to play as one of the Na’vi race, destroy RDA invaders, travel around Pandora, craft, and do everything we are used to doing in Ubisoft’s open-world games.
Plot
The plot of the game is connected with the events of the original films and begins 16 years after the finale of the first film. However, the developers decided to create their own, independent story, which takes place in another, previously unknown part of the planet. The Natural Resources Development Corporation (RDA) once again seeks to take over Pandora and destroy the local inhabitants of the Na’vi race. You and the other Na’vi will have to form an organized resistance and destroy the outposts and factories of the RDA invaders. Overall, the game’s story is very bland, with a lot of genre clichés.
Far Cry 7
Gameplay-wise, the novelty resembles the Far Cry series in everything. You will traditionally have to capture outposts scattered across the wide open world, travel (including by air), destroy RDA machines, craft, and improve equipment, which is almost usual for the series activities. The only interesting new feature is ‘Na’Vi’s Vision, which is a wallhack that illuminates enemies, which helps a lot during fights with RDA. However, this is where the interesting mechanics end, and it is somewhat disappointing.
Atmosphere and graphics
One of the main advantages of the game is definitely the graphics, which are very colorful and striking in their beauty. The developers were able to use the maximum of all possible visual technologies, thanks to which Pandora is revealed in full. Add to it a competent game design of locations, and at the end we get a cozy atmosphere of the mysterious planet, which surprisingly successfully conveys the films of James Cameron. Separately, note the fascinating flights on ikrans and dyrhorses, which are simply amazing.
Crafting and enhancement
The system of equipment improvement, which is characteristic of the Far Cry series, is expected here too, but with some nuances. You can improve your weapons and armor by finding rare components that you can get by exploring Pandora. These are usually an exotic plant and a trophy from a predatory animal. Also in the game is cookery: from the ingredients you find, you can cook food, which will give the character certain bonuses for energy, health, and other parameters. In general, pumping is standard for Ubisoft games and is not too interesting.
Verdict
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora has amazing graphics, a unique setting in the universe of ‘Avatar’, exciting journeys on Pandora, co-op… and that’s it! Outdated and already boring Ubisoft mechanics, like capturing outposts or primitive crafting, together with broken stealth and in-game transactions, create rather mixed impressions of the game. The novelty can’t be called bad, but only loyal fans of the franchise or connoisseurs of the Far Cry series will enjoy it. We recommend you try the novelty only during the sales with a big discount.