This game has done more to spark my interest in Avatar than the mighty torrent of crummy adverts for the film.

User Rating: 7.5 | James Cameron's Avatar: The Game X360
Yep, that's right. Maybe it's just me, but a commercial that features little else but some unexplained graphics, a plug about the director who did Terminator 2, and the assurance that it's going to blow my freaking mind just does not inspire me to want to watch a film. It feels more like "we sank a lot of money into this - please please like it" than "this is genuinely interesting, here's why."

But I got the chance to try the game out, and being a gamer, I figured, what the heck.

I was pleasantly suprised! This game plays a lot like others in it's genre - Gears of War comes immediately to mind. And while it doesn't stray from that as far as the gameplay goes, I am immediately attracted to the environments. Avatar's world may look like your typical jungle at first, but some fascinating plant and animal designs, plus some intriguing tribal set pieces make it a lot more interesting to traverse than, say, the gray and brown ruins of Gears of War. In fact, the setting, along with the missions and characters, give me a feeling more akin to Mass Effect. It feels like I'm there to explore and discover, not just kill everything in sight.

Of course, in the end, this is a pretty forumulaic third person shooter, and the fact that you get experience points for shooting plants (even the ones that don't attack you) kinda ruins the science-y feeling, but it's a well put together game with impressive graphics, and I can't find anything deserving of less than a good score. It's not a genre breaker, or an innovator, but it's a fun game that's accomplished it's mission - to bring interest to the film, and in that, it's succeeded with me far more than the lackluster ad campaign that tells me that Avatar is going to be incredible, and I should just trust the awesomeness of James Cameron (who made Terminator 2!!!!!!! OMG)