James Cameron’s Avatar is, arguably, the most anticipated movie coming out of Hollywood. The man who created Terminator and Aliens and, well, yes, Titanic has finally returned to conventional cinema with Avatar, a sweeping sci fi epic that has, we’re told, been gestating and waiting for appropriate technology for the last fifteen years. The producer, Jon Landau, told us that Avatar was the first fully original, high budget world created from scratch in over twenty two years. We were lead to believe the scope was beyond belief, and, given the previous work of Cameron, that wasn’t a hard claim to swallow. While the motion picture focuses a narrative akin to a modern day Pocahontas, the game takes a different approach (with the blessing and input of Cameron, if you’re crying foul).

In Avatar, the game, you play as a member if the RDA military, sent to investigate Pandora, the planet on which Avatar takes place. What followed was a fairly solid third person shooter, with all of the amenities provided by the mind of Cameron, and the addition of personal perspective in the third dimension. By day, Pandora was a lush, beautiful jungle overflowing with wildlife (such as hammerhead creatures and flying reptiles) and, by night, it was blessed with bioluminescence and transformed into a wonderful, organic neon wonderland. From there you had to execute standard 3rd person goals, such as finding a couple of objects that frighten away enemies, activating them, and pressing through the jungle in a search to find more. We also saw a mech suit, and a vehicle called the grinder that made short work of the opposition. Lastly, we saw a boss; a giant dinosaur like creature, which other members of RDA helped dispatch.

After the main demo we were treated to a brief look at what it’s like to play as a Navi. Navi are the peaceful race that were indigenous to Pandora. Their plight is not unlike that of the Native Americans, so their made to be sympathetic figures in Avatar. In Avatar, the game, should you choose the path of peace (presumably), you can align yourself with them; become one of them (as a titular avatar). Aside from being ten foot tall melee specialist, the Navi also live symbiotically with the wildlife on Pandora, and are free to use their services whenever they wish. In the demo, this meant riding a giant flying lizard thing (there was really no earthly way to describe it), and then using it to destroy helicopter-like vehicles used by the RCA.

It’s easy to pass off the game as a typical movie license tie in. However, in this rare case, the game appears to carry a significant amount of personal inspiration. Cameron lent his ideas to and took ideas from Avatar, the game, for his film. Ubisoft, as they stated in their press conference, is even giving some of their CG work to Cameron for his film. The gameplay might not be as inspired (read: off the wall incredible) as the film, but the art style and the imagination should be consistent with the science fiction event of 2009.

Oh, and it was all in 3D. The game was presented on 103’’ plasma screen that was specifically built for modern 3D glasses. Presumably the theatrical experience also uses similar technology, but we were told that the game wouldn’t suffer if its players were relegated to more affordable/sane entertainment setups. The 3D worked well and it was definitely cool, especially since it didn’t submit to the typical third dimension tricks and jumping-out tricks. Plants were in your face, hammerhead dinosaurs roared in my ears, and laser gun blasts were all over the place. Cool stuff, to say the least.