Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora ** __ ** marks Ubisoft's foray into the world of James Cameron's Avatar , and the game seems to have picked the perfect protagonist for this journey. Originally announced in 2017, this title by Ubisoft subsidiary Massive Entertainment has, like the Avatar sequel films, spent a long time gestating. Pandora is a planet teeming with alien flora and fauna, and creating that environment in an open-world scale is a demanding task. Now that the game's release is actually on the horizon, details like the playable character and narrative are becoming clear for the first t

One of the best parts about Assassin's Creed is the fact that it transports players to exciting historical settings. While seeing these unique time periods and locations is an at-times thrilling novelty, the games simply don't have the narrative chops to serve interesting stories in these settings. This is to say nothing of the overarching, long-running Assassin's Creed story , which is confusing and boring at best and nonsensical at wo

The Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora approach might even improve on some criticisms of the film by getting away from the baggage of a "white savior" narrative, setting a Na'vi on the path to be the hero of her people rather than a character from another world. Her unfamiliarity with her own planet will let players experience the thrill of a first flight like Jake Sully's banshee ride in the original film without having to retread the movie's central gimmick. The word "avatar" may not even be particularly relevant here, but the focus on finding a way to reveal a new world to the audience is definitely being targeted once m

The first thing I noticed when jumping into the game was how much of its control scheme and gameplay mechanics feel transplanted from Ubisoft game delay’s long-running open-world series. I can pull back a bow similarly, or sprint forward to clamber up platforms in ways that feel almost identical. You can’t shake the similarities, so much so that it wouldn’t be a stretch to label Frontiers of Pandora as a licensed side project, one that takes an existing universe and applies the Far Cry model to it.

The Na'vi rcognize a close connection to nature , but their relationships with Ikran take things to a whole new level. Because they form lifelong bonds with their riders, Ikran hold a special position in Na'vi beliefs. Many of the clans treat bonding with an Ikran as a rite of passage, and an essential step to becoming a warrior. Because of this, every Na'vi warrior has their own Ikran mo

Ubisoft has been aggressively ramping up its microtransactions over the past ten years, and the Assassin's Creed franchise is a prime example of this. Assassin's Creed releases following Assassin's Creed: Unity have had some of the most egregious microtransactions in a single-player game. While AC Valhalla 's armory might get fans playing again , this same loot-centric game design and increasingly MMO-style progression systems are underpinned by in-game purchases of cosmetics and gear. Perhaps the worst in-game purchases, however, come in the form of XP boosters, which have a direct impact on the glacial pace of base-game leveling and upgrad

While venturing across Pandora, players will be sure to see many of the different sights of Pandora's diverse environment. The Aranahe clan live among the floating rocks known as the Rookery, giving players a rare chance to see these unique sights up close. Players will be able to explore the plains with the Zeswa clan, while the Kame'tire clan will give players the chance to explore the more dense Clouded For

Like other creatures on Pandora, the Na'vi can connect to Ikran through their braids, which act like chords joining them together. What distinguishes Ikran, however, is setting up the link permanently ties it to the rider. This means that any Na'vi and an Ikran that form this link remain lifelong companions. Because of this, many Na'vi clans view bonding with an Ikran as a rite of passage and most Na'vi warriors have an Ik

Analyzing the reveal trailer, it seems that Frontiers of Pandora will be about exploring the planet as an Avatar and won't be about following the RDA. Without guns to play with, the best possible comparison is most likely Far Cry Primal , which actually didn’t have any microtransactions and only one DLC pack. Still, the Ubisoft title had opportunities to monetize with weapons and clothing cosmetics - it might just have seemed out of place in the prehistoric sett

Unfortunately, Ubisoft doesn't appear to be interested in toning down microtransactions any time soon, if AC Valhalla and the upcoming live-service Assassin's Creed are any indication. Still, if Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora can resist the urge to commodify collectibles, gear pieces, and in-game currency, tying these resources to real-world money, it would result in a game that is much less frustrating and more focused on offering a fun experience over one that has the most profit potential. The game would also avoid the problems that Assassin's Creed games face when it comes to pac