The Avatar film franchise stands as the globally most lucrative, a fact probably only known to James Cameron, who possesses an uncanny talent for crafting worlds that draw in the absolute masses to the cinemas. Avatar, however, boasts a vibrant universe with meticulously explained customs, flora, fauna, and overall culture, representing an ecotopia and a symbol of beings living in harmony with nature. Having acquired the abundant world of Pandora, Ubisoft seized the opportunity to transform it into a video game, a task of considerable magnitude given its intricate and expansive nature. And so Avatar Frontiers of Pandora was born.
Previously, Avatar had several adaptations, including a decent game linked to the first film 14 years ago. Does anyone even remember the 2009 game Avatar? If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to roam the wilds of Pandora in all their glory, Frontiers of Pandora will provide you with that exact opportunity. My feelings are pretty “mixed” about FoP, considering it’s yet another of Ubisoft’s many Far Cry clones, sequels, or reskins produced meticulously on their assembly line over the past decade. Should we expect something different here because the game is set in a distinct environment? Yes and no. In essence, this is another open-world Ubisoft game.
The Story of Avatar Frontiers of Pandora
The narrative thrusts you into the period following the emergence of Toruk Makto, the main character and prophet of the Na’vi indigenous people, where you were raised by the RDA, humanity, to fight their wars. Over the years, you escape, discovering that you are a member of the renowned storytelling and adventurous tribe, and you must somehow bring this conflict to an end, extinguishing the program that trains kidnapped Na’vi children to become soldiers for human wars.
The story is, at the very least, generic but quickly unravels as you delve deeper into it due to its shallow writing and predictably linear progression, leading you from one tribe to another, gathering allies to fight against the RDA. The characters, including the one you create at the beginning, are mostly unremarkable, with perhaps a few exceptions, but even they don’t deviate much from the average Ubisoft set for itself.
The Combat of Avatar Frontiers of Pandora
Even the combat, primarily involving shooting and hunting, is identical to or at least similar to Far Cry games, relying on a bow and arrows, firearms, and a few exciting gadgets like slingshots. However, as a member of the Na’vi, your distinctly superior physical abilities come into play, facilitating easier climbing, high jumps, and swift sprints, fitting well into the game’s overall focus on parkour. However, this aspect should have had an expansion with more moves to make traversing Pandora more interesting. We suggest you keep at least one of your controllers charged with our SP-C100V Twin Charging dock.
Frontiers of Pandora differs most from its predecessors in terms of level design. Pandora is not only faithfully but also extremely meticulously recreated. This is the densest and one of the most beautiful vegetation and landscapes I’ve seen in any video game. Exploring Pandora itself was a true pleasure, as this game relies much more on the atmosphere it manages to create, coupled with excellent audio design.
You’ll constantly be listening to the rustling of nature around you, animals, plants, and insects you’ve seen and not seen in the movies. Verticality plays a more prominent role here than in any other Ubisoft game. Finding paths through Pandora’s jungles, especially if you play in a less guided exploration mode, will be challenging and exciting because everything looks natural and wild.
The Open World Template
Unfortunately, this is not only the biggest but one of the few differences from Ubisoft’s open-world game template. You still have typical skill points that mostly amount to simple percentage bonuses, with a few skills you find using unique flowers hidden worldwide. RPG elements, which Ubisoft somewhat unnecessarily and forcefully incorporates into every game, are here in a similar version to AC and FC games, with a slightly simpler system and an atypical UI that doesn’t provide the best user experience due to its clumsiness and lack of clarity.
The battles boil down to attacking RDA camps and allied Na’vi tribes. What is commendable is that Avatar will bombard you with significantly fewer enemies at every step, allowing a bit more breathing space for exploration and hunting, which plays a more significant role here. Playing on the mild survival mechanics, requiring you to prepare food with quite good bonuses, aligns with the overall hunter-gatherer civilization of the Na’vi tribes. Did you mention you can fly with Ikran? This, along with the exploratory aspect of the game, is the best part of what Frontiers of Pandora has to offer, as you will, like me, constantly stop and admire the landscape before you.
In Conclusion
Overall, this is one of Ubisoft’s most atmospheric games ever made. While we see improvements in many areas, the core of Ubisoft games remains the same, making it difficult for me to recommend Frontiers of Pandora to anyone who isn’t a fan of jungle wandering or a die-hard Avatar fan. If you’ve played any Far Cry in the last ten years, you will encounter something that could be more innovative in terms of combat and gameplay mechanics.
Avatar Frontiers of Pandora has an ESRB rating of T for teens. It has some mildly bad language and violence, but we wouldn’t recommend it to our younger players because of the plethora of in-game purchases.
If you are in the mood for a completely different game based on an original IPO, check out Disco Elysium.
Posted on 8th Jan 2024 by igorthegreat
