Although Avatar is set in the same universe as the film, it kicks off two years prior to the events of the movie. Players will take the reigns of Ryder, a signals specialist who’s sent to the dangerous world of Pandora in order to assist the military in their mining endeavors. The story is pretty solid, although it’s told through quick abrupt dialogue scenes that will leave players who haven’t seen the movie, scratching their heads.

A little in to the game and players will have the choice to either stick with the RDA and pillage the planet, or join the indigenous Na’Vi and fight with the rebellion. Choosing the RDA, Avatar: The Game will play out as a third-person shooter. You get your assault rifles, shotguns and flamethrowers, along with a bunch of power-ups, such as cloaking and airstrikes. Siding with the Na’Vi however, will place heavy emphasis on melee attacks and close combat. Blades, staffs and arrows will be your primary weapons, although the Na’Vi have increased agility and climbing techniques. There is also a fair share of vehicles (or creatures for the Na’Vi) to give players an advantage in battle.

There is also a form of XP, which lead to new upgrades, weapons and skills being unlocked. This adds a bit of progression to the game, but doesn’t drastically change the way Avatar plays out. Besides some awkward controls, the gameplay is solid and will provide players with a little bit of the “Avatar-magic” they’ve been craving for.

Avatar captures the striking visuals that James Cameron’s cinematic counterpart has flaunted. The character models are sharp but their animations can be touch and go at times. The visual performance that steals the show is definitely the planet itself. Pandora is vivid with colour and life, with the drastic change to the flora and fauna during day and night cycles which really makes the title shine. Avatar can also be played in 3D and is one of the first titles incorporating the technology. All you need is your (or your children’s) college fund to buy a big fancy 3D television, strap on some ridiculous looking 3D glasses and you’re good to go.

Avatar also boasts a multiplayer component in which players can jump on either the side of the Na’Vi or RDA and battle it out in 10 different maps with 5 gameplay modes. It’s nothing out of the ordinary, but a lot of fun can be had with the multiplayer and the setting is a welcomed change from the usual battlegrounds.

Avatar: The Game is a definite step-up from the usual movie tie-ins and shows what can be done with an interesting concept. It doesn’t quite capture the compelling story or emotional drive of the film, but there is a lot of fun to be had with Avatar, and we can only hope we see more of Pandora soon.

[starreviewmulti id=1 tpl=20]

Boondock Saints

Anyone who’s seen The Boondock Saints knows it’s not one for the kids, and neither should the game be. This ultra-violent shoot-‘em-up fest would make an awesome co-op shooter, where you, along with your brother, take on the evil crime lords and drug dealers, dealing out some Irish vengence with duel baretta’s, shotguns and uzi’s, while also praying every now and then to regenerate your health.

Teamwork

Death Race

Ok, there’s very little convincing needed to be done here. Just think about it – customizable cars including weapon modifications, real-time damage and epic crashes, crazy power-ups players need to drive over in order to use their said weapons, as well as wildcard entries, like the giant truck which wrecks havoc on the track, would make Death Race a adrenaline pumping racer. It’d be like Death Rally in HD. *reader googles ‘death rally’*

Indiana Jones

Alright, we know what you thinking. There has been some old Indy games in the past, including the recent Lego: Indiana Jones series and Staff of Kings on the Wii, but seriously, we’re talking a fully-fledged Indy adventure with Uncharted-esque platforming sequences, great fire-fights and melee combat all wrapped up in some Spielberg magic. We can hear that great theme music now. That’s more than enough reasons for another Indy game, as well as the fact that Indy’s got a sweet-ass whip which he can swing around with (take that Drake).

Every Jackie Chan Movie Ever

For those of you who don’t know, Jackie Chan had a game back in the original Playstation days, entitled Jackie Chan Stuntmaster. Contrary to belief, this was downright one of the coolest and greatest games ever made. Any of Jackie’s movies would make a seriously stylish brawler. Kicking chairs, using ropes, flipping boards into your enemies faces. Basically, anything would be a weapon, and with Jackie’s unique humour and awkward situations, another Jackie Chan adventure would make one hilarious beat-‘em-up.

Above: Buy

District 9

Our very own homegrown sci-fi blockbuster would make the perfect premise for a game. The plotline and action sequences practically scream ‘video game’. From the stealth-like aspects of running from the authorities, to the awesome alien weaponry and underlying social undertones, not to mention some (spoiler alert) mech missions could be incorporated. We only hope some clever game developer picks up Bloemkamp’s masterpiece.

We can only hope

Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune – Ryan Reynolds (Nathan Drake)

Nathan Drake seems to have it all and Hollywood will need an actor who’s got the broad talent to encompass our new favourite fortune hunter. Ryan Reynolds (calm down ladies) seems to fit the bill with his action-oriented background, as well as his goofy wit, which makes up for a significant amount of Nate’s charm. We think Reynolds is a winner for Drake, let’s see what ol’ Hollywood pulls out the bag.

Gears of War – Dominic Purcell (Marcus Fenix), Dwayne Johnson (Dominic Santiago), Josh Holloway (Damon Baird) and Lester Speight (Augustus “Cole-Train” Cole)

If the Gears of War film is aiming to match the scale set by the games, a powerful cast bursting with different personalities is definitely needed to make GOW a success. We definitely think Dominic Purcell (Prison Break) has the physical presence and dead-pan badass attitude to fill the shoes of humanities last hope, Marcus Fenix; while (believe it or not) The Rock (Dwayne Johnson) could take on the role of Dominic Santiago, Josh Holloway (LOST) as Baird, and who better to do Cole Train than the actual voice actor, uber-buff football talent, and all around nice guy, Lester Speight (Terry Tate: Official Linebacker).

Gears of War deserves an incredible cast, and with Cliff Bleszinski signed on as producer, we have a safe bet on an awesome movie.

Dead Space – Edward Norton (Dr. Issac Clarke)

Who better to play a lonely, yet determined scientist trapped on a space-ship battling mutated life-forms than Edward Norton? Norton definitely has what it takes to fire up the line-gun as Dr. Issac Clarke, and while he has the nerdy essence to pull of the scientific aspect of the Dead Space protagonist, he also retains enough internal badass and no-holds-barred attitude to take on a legion of necromorphs in zero gravity.

Photoshop are fun!

Army of Two – Jared Leto (Elliot Salem) and Michael Chiklis (Tyson Rios)

EA’s infamous mercenaries have enough combined attitude to fill a 10 ton truck. The perfect balance would be needed within the cast to provide the right amount of humor and aggression to the roles of Salem and Rios respectively. Jared Leto has got the looks, acting ability and humourous edge to hold down the role of Elliot Salem, while Micheal Chiklis (The Shield/Fantastic 4) could play Tyson Rios and provide a bit of military precision and brute force to the silver screen adaption of Army of Two.

Metal Gear Solid – Christian Bale (Solid Snake)

The Metal Gear Solid series is practically a set of movies on their own, with some cut-scenes spanning over an hour and consisting of some of the greatest action-sequences known to man. However, a big screen adaption of Hideo Kojima’s long running series is inevitable and a solid action-star is needed to play the role the series’ hero, Solid Snake. Christian Bale has the power and commanding presence, as well as talent to drive a blockbuster action film, with a heavy dash of emotion, right into box office gold. Bale would be ideal for Snake in both his demeanor, as well as his looks. His low-brow grimace and subtle raspy speech would make codec conversations and action-sequences a joy to experience on the big screen.

We hope Hollywood takes these suggestions into consideration (they probably won’t) when casting for the next big video game movie starts. We’ll have to wait and see… In the mean time, comment on who you think should play what role in the upcoming video game movies?

Set in the same Avatar universe as the film, the video game takes place within a different timeline, as players take control of the human faction, where you’ll play as a marine, or the Na-Vi, where you’ll become the character of an Avatar and experience their side of the story, as well as their unique gameplay mechanics.

Playing as the human faction feels powerful to say the least. Armed with flaring assault-rifles and a host of special abilities, such as cloaking devices and self-healing, the human faction is a familiar yet unique third-person shooter experience. Cool weapons, futuristic helicopter. While playing is the Na-Vi is primarily focused on more melee based attacks, incorporating elements of a brawler into the mix, while the Na’Vi have some incredible powers of their own.

Avatar: The Video Game incorporates a complete day and night cycle into the world of Pandora. Not only does the light differ from day and night, but the entire surroundings including the plants, shift and change during the transitions.

Avatar: The Video Game is running off an enhanced Dunia engine (of Far Cry 2 fame), so expect to see some organic fire effects and a dynamic world at your hands this November when Avatar: The Video Game drops.