Earth, fire, water, air; these are the four elements that unite to create a terrific game.
In THQ’s new title, “Avatar the Last Airbender,” you play as Aang, the last of his world’s air nation and the Avatar, the one person who can control ll four elements.
The background is a little complicated, so you should probably watch a few episodes of the hit Nicktoon series before you play.
THQ, one of the leaders in kids’ games, has taken this license right where it needed to go. Too often, kids’ games and will fall to poor game design, but this title kept it simple and avoided the pitfalls of the genre.
First, they worked closely with the creative team at Nickelodeon. All the material “had to be approved by the show’s creators and many months were spent sending game design materials back and forth until everyone was happy with the results,” said Ken Williamson, lead designer at THQ Studio Australia. “All the characters in the game were voiced by the actual actors from the TV show.”
Further rewarding the Avatar fan, the cut scenes and snappy one-liners reflect the humor that makes the anime-styled cartoon a favorite.
While the combat in the DS version can be a bit clunky, the versions for PS2, Wii, etc., provide more action and customizing of combat.
Also in the Wii version, the motion-sensitive controller is used as a brush to draw symbols and complete “focus” tasks.
The creators of the show used real Chinese martial arts styles such as Tai Chi, Hung Gar, Northern Shaolin and Ba Gua kung fu to create the different element-bending styles. For the Wii version, creators tried to re-create the feel of actually doing these forms with the controller to complete your attacks. “We went to great lengths to make sure that the movements are true to actual martial arts techniques,” Williamson said.
‘Avatar the Last Airbender’
Publisher: THQ
Rated: Everyone
Price: $49.99 (NintendoWii), $39.99 (PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox, PSP), $29.99 (Nintendo DS, Game Boy Advance)
