James Cameron's Avatar: The Game (Nintendo DS)

James Cameron's Avatar: The Game is an Avatar video game prequel to James Cameron's film of the same name on Nintendo DS. The title is developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft, Lightstorm Entertainment and 20th Century Fox.
The story revolves around a Na'vi boy of the Tawkami Clan named Nok whose planet Pandora is being invaded by humans conducting research on its animals and willow trees. Dr. Anthony Ossman is tasked by the RDA to be the forefront of this biological research; he is also motivated his research may help his daughter Molly awaken from her coma. Nok and Molly cross paths and decide to sabotage her father's research in order to save the wildlife and willow trees, and Nok is assigned by his clan's elders to learn more about the Sky People in order to relay this information to Eywa. The game is set before the first film, some time between the 2120s and 2152.In an MTV interview, James Cameron stated that the colonization of Pandora began 35 years before the first film and Lungoray died in 2152. Throughout the Nintendo DS game, the player sees much of the colonization has begun, with laboratories and the like already built on Pandora.
According to Joshua Izzo, every Avatar video game that was released in 2009 is now non-canon, including this one. The primary clan appearing in the game, the Tawkami, are still considered canon due to being repurposed and re-canonized for Toruk - The First Flight.
==Plot==
Nok, a young Greenhome Na'vi from the Tawkami clan (Sky Seer clan) believes that the stories about Sky People (humans) are not just stories. His friend Omati, however, doesn’t believe in them. One day there is a commotion in the Hometree and children are prohibited to go outside. Nok and Omati, however, see it as a challenge to test their skills. But before they find their way out, Nok is invited to see the Olo’eyktan, the leader of their clan, and he receives his fighting staff. Young Nok then proceeds to sneak out of the village. On his way out he spots some aggressive tapirus, who normally don’t behave like that.
While playing outside with his friend they spot a human flying machine (Samson) and something dropping out of it. Nok and Omati decide to go see what it was. After they find the machine they are attacked by viperwolves, as if the machine drew them closer. Making their way back to the village, they hear that the clan elders have been abducted by the humans. With the guards in disarray, Nok decides to put to use his new fighting staff skills and save the elders. He succeeds in that, and Eywa selects him as her Alaksi Nari (ready eye) and he receives one of the hidden weapons of the last Alaksi Nari.
Now another human flying ship approaches their Hometree, and Nok is asked to help. He runs atop of the tree and meets Dr. Anthony Ossman, who surprisingly speaks Na’vi. Nok chases Dr. Ossman away and destroys their machines. Nok then is instructed to connect with Eywa through the Tree of Souls and show her what has transpired; Eywa rewards Nok with a mountain banshee.
Hearing that more humans have been spotted near the Skycliffs, Nok is sent there to investigate their plans. While en route Nok meets a girl who dresses like the humans and speaks in a strange accent; her name is Molly. The two exchange names, although he comments she has a strange accent, that her skin is pale and asks her if she is sick. Molly takes offense; Nok apologizes but Molly says it's okay because he has a lot to learn. Because the two are on opposite sides of a cliff, Nok decide to follow her. When he catches up, she is confused as to why he is still following her. He tells her he wishes to apologize, but she points out he already did and he should leave because it is dangerous. 
She then walks away but he catches up again and asks her what she knows about the Sky People, as her clothing is similar. Molly dejectedly says it's a complicated matter he does not understand. Molly gets trapped when an explosion shakes lose some rocks, and Nok saves her. Nok then continues his travels to human base and again sees Dr. Ossman. Nok sneaks near his lab to see what he is up to and sees avatars, humans who walk in Na’vi skin, Molly being one of them.
Nok then proceeds to set the captured animals free. He is seen, however, and humans evacuate the base. Nok again follows them, this time to their ground base in the Distant Forest. In the forest, Molly argues with her father, saying she is glad the banshees are free and that he got what he deserved. He instead replies he is disappointed with her, saying she does not comprehend the nature of his work. He leaves to go perform more research into the willow tree.
Nok meets Molly again, who complimented his saving of the banshees as being impressive. She says that she is on the Na’vi side and that her father, Dr. Ossman, is a selfish man who plans to enslave the beasts (to control them as weapons) and the trees; she also tells him about the unobtanium. Nok thanks Molly for helping him understand the human ways. The two agreed Ossman's actions are wrong, and Molly told Nok about how humans need oxygen to breathe. Because humans would be forced to flee without oxygen, she told him about the oxygen cell deep in the base that the humans used to refill their masks, and Nok ploughed on in to destroy it. Molly later told Nok about the nature of avatars, about her comatose body, and how she did not view her father as an evil man. She implored Nok to go to the Highcrags to prevent her father from finding another willow tree.
Eywa consistently rewards Nok with helpful weapons and animals. One of those animals is a prolemuris, who accompanies Nok and helps him reach otherwise unreachable areas. Nok then chases after Dr. Ossman to Highcrags, who plans to use the willow tree in his experiment. Nok manages to catch up with him in Floating Cave, defeat the digger he releases and chase him away from the tree. Dr. Ossman starts to take things a bit personally and threatens that they will meet again. Nok reports what has happened back to Eywa.
In the meantime the elders arrive and tell him that they think he is the Alaksi Nari. They suggest that Nok visit the wise hermit, Lungoray. Lungoray is said to live in Dusk Valley, and Nok takes flight. He speaks with the wise shaman, who wants Nok to prove who he says he is by finding the previous Alaksi Nari's bow. After Nok completes that quest, Lungoray sends him to his final test, to gather some glow worms. After they have been collected, Nok returns to Lungoray, who shows him how they can be used. He cooks a potion and throws it on a hammerhead titanothere who then is more connected to Eywa and helps Nok clear the way to the RDA base.
At the Hammerhead Graveyard, Nok eventually stumbles into the room where he finds Molly's human body. Molly's avatar walks into the room and is relieved he is alright as she has been searching for him; she heard guards mention a lone Na'vi was sneaking around and figured it was him. Nok comments Molly looks healthy to which she comments he does, too. Nok tells her that her father has found another willow tree and will damage it. Molly is horrified and claims she "cannot" stand against him. She gives Nok a keycard and apologizes. 
Ossman soon traps Nok in an electric field. Molly appears and orders her father to stop, saying she refuses to let him hurt others for her sake. Ossman says he's so close to restoring Molly to herself, prompting Molly to reply, "I AM myself!" She touches the lever in an attempt to free Nok, but ends up electrocuting herself unconscious. Lungoray appears and says he will take Molly back to her home where she can recover. Back at Lungoray's house in Dusk Valley, Nok finds Molly's injured avatar. She tells him her father found another willow tree and that he should head to Blightground.
Nok flies there to stop Ossman once and for all. Dr. Ossman releases a thanator who is under his control, but during the fight a feedback shocks Dr. Ossman and he ironically falls into a coma like his daughter. Nok manages to save the tree and alert Eywa that the humans can be dangerous.
Nok meets up with Molly's human body and activates her Link Pod. Molly in her avatar, Nok and Lungoray look over the destroyed ruins of the laboratory. She is saddened about her father's condition and mentions she still loves him, but does not blame neither Nok or her father, finding the entire journey to be a sad one. Nok mentions he fears Molly will never wake from her sleep, but she says it's okay because she feels more alive than she has ever been. Nok says that now that Eywa is aware of the presence of the humans, their future should be a more hopeful one.
==Characters==
* Nok - Hero of the game, a Na'vi boy who is selected by Eywa to be Alaksi Nari.
* Dr. Anthony Ossman - The villain in the story; he justifies his actions by saying it helps his daughter.
* Molly Ossman - Dr. Ossman's daughter, who is in a coma and can walk around only in her avatar body.
* Lungoray - Wise shaman who helps Nok.
* Dr. Gregorius - One of the avatars; he disagrees with RDA's actions.
* Mel - One of the RDA grunts assigned to help Dr. Ossman.
* Lawrence - Another RDA grunt assigned to help Dr. Ossman.
* Tawkami clan - Numerous members of the Tawkami clan make an appearance.
==Gameplay==
Most of the game is presented as a top down adventure game, similar to The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass.
Much of the game is comprised of logic puzzles; players will need to think critically about aspects such as where blocks are located in order to jump across, what tools they should use to progress the levels, etc. The logic puzzles are solved using potent fruit switches, nerve plants and other devices. Eventually, Nok will receive a prolemuris which he can throw across gaps, as well as crawl through spaces which feature their own mini-level. Platforming and timing is a major part of the gameplay, with plenty of moving platforms.
There is a little combat which is controlled using the touch screen. There are some unique boss fights, although many of the boss fights feature having to defeat an AMP suit repeatedly by throwing its bombs back at it. Nok begins the game with a staff. He then receives a sling, a whip, a bow, and finally a maul in this order. The maul can be used at certain points to summon a Prolemuris helper.
Early into the game, Nok unlocks access to a banshee which can transport him to a world map. Navigating through different parts of the world map features a fully 3D flying level, although there are only about 20 seconds long, there are no hazards and the main goal is to collect Essence Seeds.
Essence Seeds are used like a currency, and can be used to purchase lore abilities or additional health from shrines. The game does not have any sort of New Game Plus; the main incentive of its replayability is to collect all the lore entries. Players can backtrack to previous worlds using their new tools in order to find more lore.
The game is DSi enhanced; if playing on a DSi, there will be another Na'vi named Amitsa in the lore hut with a Rainbow Plant. The player is tasked with taking real-life photos of requested colors; this will unlock parts of the "Warrior's Song". Completing this song nets a visual change; Nok will have a new character model in which he wears red-plated armor (although his character sprite portrait remains the same). He will be able to wear it at Dusk Valley and onward. It has been rumored that the armor provides a slight defense upgrade, although testing it, this does not seem to be the case.
==Reception==
The game received mixed reviews. Cheat Code Central gave it 3.2/5 and complimented its basic gameplay, finding it "surprisingly compelling" and felt that some of the logic puzzles near the end of the game are quite a challenge. They criticized that the levels can drag at points and feel repetitive, however, and disliked the clunky inventory system which requires players to press tap the screen twice instead of once in order to use it.
==References==
ru:James Cameron’s Avatar: The Game (Nintendo DS)
Category:Games