While waiting to explore the next-gen forests of Avatar Frontiers of Pandora, let’s rediscover Avatar The Game, the prequel video game to the film that started the cinematic universe of James Cameron.
Authors of pearls like Assassin’s Creed 2, the guys from Ubisoft Montreal have made Avatar The Game based on good creative freedom, developing it while James Cameron was busy shooting the film. The events of the game in this regard occurred in 2152, two years before those told in the film and therefore did not involve Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana as Jake Sully and Neytiri. After choosing between different male and female models, the player takes on the role of Able Ryder, a soldier of the RDA faction – which stands for Resources Development Administration – and descends on Pandora to protect an area called the Blue Lagoon.
Before taking action, however, he reached Dr. Monroe for a small experiment, with his conscience for a short time was transferred into the avatar, the hybrid between human and Na’vi genes. It wasn’t just a scene that underlined the connection with the themes of the film but a real taste of the primary peculiarity of the experience. After a few encounters with the fearsome Lupivipera – an integral part of Pandora’s vast fauna – and a series of missions, Ryder was presented with the choice of allying himself with the Na’vi against the cruelty of the RDA or remaining faithful to his original species despite his malicious intent. In other words, from this point on, the campaign of this third-person action could take two different directions and not only on the narrative front.
Equipped with firearms of various kinds, between grenade launchers, assault rifles and even flamethrowers, the human version of the protagonist was called to survive in a hostile environment, where even plants could make an attempt on his life. The valiant avatar joined the Na’vi instead crossed the dense jungles unharmed, but could use much more primitive instruments of death, such as bows and melee weapons. These characteristics related to the two types of warriors changed the approach to battles, but there’s more: the soldier Ryder could drive vehicles of exploration and battle, while his counterpart in blue had access to various types of mounts, even aerial.
By completing missions and tasks, the chosen character obtained more powerful versions of weapons and improved skills, so as to cope with the many dangers he encountered during his journey. While not without critical issues, Avatar The Game supported 3Djust like the film, offered a multiplayer component and it sold 2.7 million units overall. We therefore hope that Frontiers of Pandora can pay homage to James Cameron’s universe in an even more virtuous way than the 2009 game, which in any case was able to give fans an adventure among the magical forests of the alien moon.
