"Journey young grasshopper you must to Avatar the Last Airbender"

The hit Nickelodeon TV series Avatar has finally been turned into a game. No element(bad pun intended) of surprise here. What is surprising is that the game is actually pretty good.

Gameplay:

Gameplay is sort of RPG mixed with Action tossed in with a little Beat-em-up style gameplay. You play as the main 3 characters Aang, Sokka, and Katara along with another guy named Haru. The battles though are what make the game interesting. You see the enemy on screen but rather than fight them there, you're taken into a combat screen that is in real-time-battling meaning you actually control your character whilst attacking the enemy. There are 2 ways to attack and 2 ways to defend. The basic attack and basic defense are the standards and require no Chi but can sometimes be a pain when facing boss monsters. The other 2 require the use of chi, which replenishes itself. I haven't made it very far but according to the manual, more special attacks and more defenses can be learned as your characters level up. You'll need them as the boss battles are tough if anything like the first boss. Going into towns doesn't restore your HP either so the only way to do so is to buy food items from vendors or find them across the land.

Story:

The story sort of follows the TV series whilst adding in new storylines and enemies. Basically, Aang is a 1000 year old monk part of the Air nation who was also known as the Avatar. Aang was descendant from the last Avatar who disappeared when the world needed him but now Aang has become the new Avatar for the world. Some point in time, Aang was frozen at the North Pole and found by the siblings Sokka and Katarra. With their help and help from the other 3 nations Fire, Water, and Earth, Aang must complete his training to fully utilize his power in order to stop the Fire nation from taking over the world.

Graphics:

The graphics are superb with a cel shaded look. I can't really comment much on the graphics as I am still in the beginning but so far, the graphics are fluid. The characters even show signs of exhaustion whenever their HP becomes too low. I wouldn't mind if the environments were a bit more lively rather than a static look but I won't hold the game down for it until I play it more but it shouldn't distract others.

Control:

The controls work well with little to no problems. Y and B are the standard attack and defense whilst X and A are for the special attacks and special defenses. The stylus is only used in menus and the start screen but other then, the control pad is what moves the characters.

Sound:

The sound was ok at first but when things start to heat up like a major story event or a battle with an enemy, it starts to become a bit interesting but not anything epic or memorable though Avatar fans may like it.

Replay:

I'm unsure how much replay value there is but this game can last a good while as the battles, especially against the bosses, are pretty difficult and can take several tries before beating them. If this kind of replay frustrates you then you might want to consider renting the game first.

All in all, Avatar is a surprisingly good game from THQ based upon the fact that it is a licensed Nickelodeon game. If you like Avatar or want a good challenging game then Avatar is your pick.

8/10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 10/16/06