James Cameron's Avatar The Game Preview

Aw, don't shoot him! He looks so friendly!

While Ubi's game will tell a different story to its big-screen cousin, the action will focus on the same clash between nature and technology. Throughout the game you'll play as a human marine (think big guns and shooty machines) and as a 10ft tall Na'vi (think clubs, bows and probably a set of panpipes too), but eventually you'll have to make a choice and side with one faction or the other. At Cologne I only had a chance to play a human, on a mission which involved clearing out an area of jungle for an approaching convoy - first in one of those cool hoverships that you've seen in the film's trailer, then on foot.

The initial part of the demo was essentially an excuse to blow up a lot of jungle in a snazzy looking vehicle. While the destruction mechanics weren't as detailed as, say, Red Faction: Guerrilla, the overall effect was rather impressive thanks to the detail of the models and terrain. Again, the 3D graphics really added something in this regard, as they make it easier to pick out tiny details on the ship - like the blades on the vehicle's circular rotors. After a few minutes of wanton destruction, I landed my flying death-copter and tucked into the meat of the demo.

In simple terms, the level involved a jaunt through the jungle shooting everything that moved. While the level itself essentially consisted of several linear paths (as opposed to a single open area), there were plenty of branches in the road that allowed the player to head off to explore optional areas. These in turn lead to additional bonus objectives, of which there were a great many - from assisting fellow soldiers to gathering collectibles and re-activating bits of abandoned machinery. I'm told that many of these objectives had been included for demonstration purposes (i.e. the level wasn't a final draft), but if they're representative of the full game, there should be plenty of distractions from your core missions.

The action gameplay itself took a very familiar form, with run-and-gun controls that felt instantly familiar. Your heroic space marine can dive out of the way of approaching threats, but for once there doesn't seem to be any form of cover system. More controversially, there doesn't appear to be any way to get a zoomed-in view with your weapon of choice. Perhaps this has something to do with the 3D graphics, but it's certainly a notable omission. Aside from this criticism, the game presents itself very well, with pick-ups being highlighted by a sort of Dead Space- style floating message. And at the risk of repeating myself, most the character models looked pretty snazzy.

Indeed, perhaps the best compliment I can pay Avatar so far is that the game made me feel pretty bad about all the creatures and plants I was destroying. Perhaps it's just the after-effects of a childhood spent watching Captain Planet (although I hated it at the time), but I really felt quite guilty as I used my flamethrower to torch a huge, colourful plant that was attempting bite my head off. Ubisoft says that there are no good guys and bad guys in this story, but my twitchy eco-sense tells me that this might not be quite the case. Either way, expect to fight some unusual beasties while playing as the marine. The main threat in the demo took the form of Viper Wolves - poisonous reptilian dog-type things, but the real highlight was the huge hammer-headed mammoth who showed up towards the end of the demo. Despite the clear danger he posed as he charged headlong into the hapless soldiers, his strange blue features made him slightly daft-looking - a quality that made me wince with regret as I fired a grenade into his face.

While the marine sections look to be very gun-heavy, Na'vi gameplay will apparently be much more focused around melee - with the bow and arrow being your only ranged attack. On a similar note, while the humans get to use flying machines and hefty mech suits with an infinite supply of bullets, the Na'vi will have several of Pandora's strange and wonderful creatures fighting on their side. Hopefully these distinctions should give the combat quite a bit of variety, because regardless of how well Avatar does in the cinemas, this game is going to be facing plenty of competition. Still, this is always the case for a new third-person shooter, and if even a little of the James Cameron magic has rubbed off onto this project, it should be well worth a punt for action fans.

James Cameron's Avatar: The Game will be released on all leading formats in December.