The Avatar movies are breathtaking and this game manages to give you that same sense of wonder as you explore the alien planet of Pandora.
Frontiers feels very much like a Far Cry game when you take to the controller.
It has a large open world that allows you, from a first-person viewpoint, to explore the lush, colourful lands at your own pace between story missions.
Ubisoft pull a clever story string by introducing you as a native Na’vi child that’s been pulled from their family by the evil RDA organisation of conquering humans.
You’re then taught in all the human ways so, when you’re eventually freed through various early plot points 15 years later to become a part of the resistance, Pandora and its natives are as alien to your character as they are to you.
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That sets up a story-driven game that’s all about exploration, learning, building community and fighting your oppressors back from an aggressive takeover.
You soon learn that the RDA has returned to Pandora after a flit more dangerous than ever, and is once again threatening the flourishing ecosystems of the planet and its clans.
Created in collaboration with Disney and movie director James Cameron’s production company, Lightstorm Entertainment, you can see and feel a lot of effort has been put into making the cinema world created by that famous movie maker come to life on console.
Pandora is very much the star of the game and there’s a lot of emphasis on the discovery of alien plants, animals and other Na’vi.
Set after the events of the first Avatar film, you’ll find yourself embarking on a journey across the Western Frontier, a never-before-seen continent of Pandora, as you join Na’vi clans to protect Pandora from the formidable forces of the RDA.
It’s a beautiful part of the planet, lush, vibrant, packed with colour and neon hues at night, a real feast for the eyes. No doubt one that will be explored further in future movies.
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And it makes the most of the graphics made available by the PS5 and Xbox Series X consoles.
The gameplay itself is pretty much as you’d expect from a Ubisoft game, with your oversized Na’vi having the ability to run at speed and jump to great heights thanks to their gangly limbs.
Within a couple of hours you’ll have not only got to grips with traditional bow and arrow type weapons, but also resistance guns, rifles and grenades too.
A simple switching wheel allows you mid-battle to chop and change between these different types of weapons to ensure you’ve always got an option to hand when the chips are down.
Firefights can get quite brutal, especially when the RDAs mega mechs are stomping around, but like Ubi’s Far Cry games before it, there’s a requirement to use the terrain and open sandbox environment around you to ensure you avoid getting boxed in and are able to sneak up on baddies to take them out in a blaze of violence when necessary.
On progression, there are skill trees to upgrade to boost your abilities as battles get tougher and plenty of items to craft, like health supplies, to give you that edge on the battlefield.
And once you bond with your own personal banshee flying creature, it will give you another edge in aerial combat and can be used for traveling across the vast Western Frontier.
There’s even an option to play the full story campaign in co-op with a pal if you don’t want to go it alone.
It’s all fairly intuitive with little in terms of combat and gameplay that hasn’t been done before.
And while the story is compelling, a repetitiveness does creep into Frontiers when you’re tasked regularly with taking out baddie encampments and drilling rigs.
Avatar is a good game that could have been a must-buy had it doubled down on offering very different missions and experiences.
That said, if you want to experience a lush world and really dig the movies, you should definitely give this a go.
VERDICT 4/5
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