Avatar the Last Airbender [DS Review]

Hey folks! Krismas here coming from that glamorous land we like to call Hollywood bringing with him remnants of the silver screen that are sure to seduce some salivating souls into submission. You won’t need any 3D glasses for this ride so let out that sigh of relief and take a seat.
The movie industry has been hard at work making sure we come back again and again to watch the latest blockbuster hits that seem to be popping up with increasing speed. This season, they have given us Avatar the Last Airbender based off of the hit Nickelodeon cartoon of the same name. Four different nations, each built around the manipulation of different elements including earth, wind, water and fire, co-exist with one another through the efforts of the Avatar, the one person who can control all the elements. One hundred years prior to the events of the movie, the fire nation waged war against the other nations after killing the Avatar.  Now, the arrival of a young new Avatar remains the one true hope for all of the nations under attack from the fire nation.
“Mr. Krismas, are you reviewing this movie for us?” Why heavens no! And stop calling me mister. I am here to talk about the DS game based off of the movie, of course. The game follows the same storyline as the movie, but the player gets the opportunity to see the story through Prince Zuko’s eyes. Exiled from his beloved nation, Zuko is left bitter and seeks to regain his lost honor by capturing the Avatar to bring home to his nation. With the aid of his uncle and few loyal soldiers, the player must embark on Zuko’s adventure to hunt down Aang, the newly awakened avatar. At certain points in the game you are also able to play as Aang and witness his side of the events as well.

THQ brings us this game for the DS and despite any initial opinions you may have about how good or bad this game may be, its actually more playable than you might’ve expected. This game decided to adopt a simple control scheme, where the only buttons actually used are the shoulder buttons. Movement is handled by draggin the stylus across the screen as the character follows it. Bending, or the manipulation of the elements, is achieved by entering a bending stance using the shoulder buttons and either tapping or dragging the stylus in accordance to which techinique you would like to do. Attacking enemies and breakable objects is executed by simply tapping the thing you would like to attack. Hidden throughout the stages are collectible powerups that increase your maximum health and maximum focus points, a meter that is depleted upon the use of any bending techniques and replenished gradually as you stop bending.

I think the easiest way for me to describe my experience with this game is to say that it is an incredibly watered down Golden Sun. You are forced to go around and solve puzzle after puzzle using your ability to bend. While most of the puzzles have glaringly obvious solutions, there are a few that make you think a tad bit, but only a tad. There are a lot of meaningless tasks you must preform but you do get to fight a good amount. The only problem about the fighting is that it is incredibly easy. Tap, tap, tap, tap and you’ve won. The few times that the throw a wrench in the fighting aren’t enough to make it feel like you are doing anything different. The bosses are pretty interesting though as they don’t consist of brainless tap-fests. Movement is very annoying and you’ll often find yourself cursing the game for making you walk into spikes for the 50th time in a row.
While I didn’t enjoy this game, I will say that the market that they were gunning for should love it. Fans of the movie might find it interesting to be able to play through their favorite scenes in the movie and of course the younger audience will get a kick out of the bending mechanics. For any hardcore gamer of any sort, it would be wise to steer clear of this title and save your money for other endeavors. This game would make a perfect gift for a fan of either the series or the movie.
This has been Krismas scoping out the fresh titles for you guys! Stay tuned as I turn my attentions to the Wii version of this very game. Yes i love you guys that much, just don’t expect a ring any time soon.