Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is a BETTER Far Cry | Brutally Honest Review

take to the skies and conquer the world of Pandora in ubisoft's new adventure game Avatar frontiers of Pandora is massive but is the world teaming with life or is this another open world game devoid of all personality my name is Kodiak this is Legacy gaming and today we're sharing our brutally honest review of Avatar frontiers of Pandora a huge thank you to Ubisoft for giving Legacy gaming Early Access to Avatar Frontier years of Pandora two months ago if you asked me my honest impressions of the upcoming avatar game I'd probably have Shrugged my shoulders and said me because quite frankly it's a game based on a movie that has lost most of its Traction in pop culture that's just a fact the game is releasing during a period where Avatar is popular but not nearly as popular as it once was that's why going into this game we really didn't have too many expectations and it's rare we actually are in a position to judge a game knowing very little about the experience guys I've got to tell you Ubisoft pulled off a huge win here Avatar frontiers of Pandora feels familiar it's got that Ubisoft Foundation that will be immediately recognizable to most players that have dabbled in other open world games but the team's ability to build up the world of Pandora was what really took the gameplay experience to that next [Music] level [Music] more [Music] time right so let's get to it in Avatar frontiers of Pandora you play as a young na'vi taken by the sky people and taught that AA would only bring pain essentially you're a hostage trained like a human which makes you a stranger in your own skin this is all a set set up to the actual Adventure because early on you awake from cryosleep Saved By The Resistance who lead you away from the RDA and into the Wilds of Pandora much like the movies you'll spend a majority of your adventure discovering who you are and as a member of the fabled sentu clan known for their ability to wander the world of Pandora uniting the na'vi with Tales of Triumph and knowledge it's the perfect backdrop for a story of Discovery and acceptance just so we're all on the same page here we have a very set way that we play through open world games and it often involves playing straight through the story without much deviation open World Games Ubisoft ones in particular are packed with so much side content that it can often be hard to evaluate the story because there's so much filler content in between each major beat by focusing primarily on the main objective we get that endtoend storytelling which also often introduces all of the major systems and provides the best snapshot of the core experience in the case of Avatar frontiers of Pandora the story is very linear and takes you across the various regions of Pandora and that alone is impressive because while we know a bit about the world we've yet to walk ride and fly around it ourselves your adventure will introduce you to different regions of Pandora and within that region is a tribe that you must convince to join the fight against the RDA or Sky people as you might know them from the movies each Clan embodies different skills and personalities and while they all are na'vi it's clear that the team took great care to make them feel distinctly different what's not always great is the consistency of these moments in one breath you'll be enthralled in a beautiful cut scene that poys at your sense of wonder and pays off a relationship that's been building for hours while the very next scene might just fall flat because it didn't have the room to breathe it speaks to the high points though as those climactic moments are incredible and feel like you're living out a scene from the movie while other less impressive scenes be it writing acting or animation leave something to be desired on top of the relationships you establish with the other tribes there's also the world of Pandora itself teeming with life one of the absolute high points of the narrative experience is bonding with your erron and while we won't spoil anything specific about that interaction it's just as meaningful as it's made out to be in the movies it's not simply walk here unlock flying profit no no no much like the films you have to earn your status amongst the Clans and that takes tenacity while the game explores much of the Uncharted world of Pandora there is one glaring Omission from the experience and that's the lack of anything that ties into the most recent way of water movie in fact there's no aquatic tribes sections threats or even areas of the world to explore and that feels like a massive Miss knowing Ubisoft this could very well be some sort of future DLC content but to not have those elements of the most recent film in the game felt off I do think this speaks to the overall quality of the game though because we sorely wanted and missed not having this element in the base game based on everything we've experienced in Avatar frontiers of Pandora the team would have knocked it out of the park so to have it missing just felt a bit off you can't honestly talk about Avatar frontiers of Pandora without talking about the world itself which is easily the most impressive thing about the game The Narrative is more or less solid don't get me wrong but when it comes to open world games it's in the name and if the world part of open world isn't spot- on then it's often a done deal this is where the game gets it so incredibly right when you first start off you're more or less helpless navigating the dense King forest with little more than your instincts to guide you the first thing you'll immediately notice is the fluidity of the traversal and how your larger character is able to move around the world differently after 30 years years of playing firstperson games from the perspective of a human it's incredible what messing with those height parameters can do to enhance your experience not only is your perspective different but your ability to move around the world never feels restricted and that's such a key part of the early game experience before you have access to any sort of mounts once you get comfortable with the controls you'll be able to bound across nearly any stretch of the map with E and that's not something you can say with most other open world games that rely on mounts and vehicles to Simply gloss over how boring ground movement is that's not the case in frontiers of Pandora but even good ground traversal does get boring after hours of repetition which is why with each new Zone you explore you'll gain access to a new way of navigating the world it's an evolution of movement starting out on foot graduating to the skies and then eventually coming back down to land via the dire horse it's a simple yet effective way to constantly change the player perspective which is augmented by the world itself guys when I say Avatar is massive I mean massive and while I haven't busted out the tape measurer quite yet it's got to be on the extreme ends of the spectrum when it comes to scale and density Pandora is absolutely huge and when you combine the foliage density with the draw distance the technology allows it really opens your eyes to how big the world this team created is it's impressive made more so by the three major zones you'll end up exploring quite honestly each Zone could been the foundation for its own game that's how much real estate we're talking about and when you stitch them together it's staggering of course when you're talking about a game of this size you need to consider the classic Pitfall does it feel lived in and for the most part the answer is yes but there's certainly a scarcity between major points of interest that leave stretches of the game feeling Barren when this is most noticeable is when you're navigating the world on foot running across vast swaps of Pandora often times you'll run across a Predator maybe a neutral NPC that you then startle and attacks you or occasionally some RDA soldiers but rarely does it feel like the world around the points of interest are populated considering that the RDA is taking over huge chunks of Pandora you'd expect there to be a much bigger presence of troops outside the confines of whatever base or area they've conquered and that lack of a constant threat does diminish the experience of the journey and puts onus more on the destination that being said it's hard to argue that Pandora isn't a vibrant and fully realized world and while it might not always strike that perfect balance the scale of what they've managed to build is pretty remarkable we've talked a bit about the story and the world of Pandora itself but what about the systems the things that make video games well video games you know we're huge sticklers for systems and R reviews and when it comes to Ubisoft we're more than acquainted with the tricks and tropes they often like to employ within their games so let's cut right to the chase flying a pinnacle Avatar experience which is absolutely incredible not only is bonding with your Acron a highlight of the experience but the act of flying is 10 out of 10 what honestly takes the experience to that next level is the ability to jump off any high place call your Mount and have it immediately spawn underneath and catch you talk about a classic movie moment translated perfectly into the game not only that but the act of flying itself is simple and intuitive and that's good considering it becomes the primary way you navigate major parts of the world once you have flying it's really hard to look back and that's a testament to how good the system really is what's also satisfying is the games combat and I'll just come right out and say it I was honestly shocked they pulled this off as good as they did when I think Ubisoft open world game I often think about dozens if not hundreds of weapons lots of quirky bells and whistles to try and capture your imagination but true to the source material frontiers of Pandora manages to strike a measured approach to how many weapons the game throws at you in this case that's a great thing as you're limited to mainly bows Spears slings and some RDA weapons like assault rifles and shotguns the game doesn't go off on some wild fantasy trip in an effort to win over fans with flashy weapons that don't fit the world in fact it's very much the opposite it's honestly exactly what I'd expect from the developers of Far Cry 3 that managed to strike a similar balance way back when of course this is a modern game and you will have access to more than a handful of weapons but they all play a specific role in shaping the combat experience for example your Longbow will be your primary weapon perfect for taking out soldiers and Pandora Wildlife eventually you'll unlock the heavy bow which has low ammo count but makes up for it with high damage and long range there's also more situational weapons like the staff sling which allow you to throw various explosives or set traps for enemies it's an Arsenal that doesn't necessarily feel different from weapon to weapon but Sur as heck plays a different functional role when it comes to the nature of the action where Ubisoft gets a little too Ubisoft is with its incessant need to create loot diversity within a specific weapon type as you're exploring you'll be able to pick up variations of weapons and as you might expect these have randomly attributed stats that don't really change up the play style in any meaningful way but do give you something to hunt down if you want them in Max what's most notable is the weapons assigned ammunition type depending on the weapon you have equipped you'll only be able to create a certain type of Special ammo and here again it's going to come down to finding or crafting the right weapon for you on top of that you can also equip mods for each weapon type and these are about as straightforward as it gets with items providing flat stat bonuses to enhance your combat I am not wild about systems like this I think I've made that point pretty clear across all of our reviews I'd much rather have variables that change the nature of a weapon something that really influences play style now in my mind just throwing a bunch of loot at Players feels like a cheaper experience and while I certainly understand the appeal of getting the best weapons in the game that sort of copy paste style has just really never been my cup of tea once you do find your preferred weapons I am happy to say that the combat is satisfying and it really does tap into what you'd expect the na'vi to excel at movement and stealth are core tenants of the kit and the weapons are designed to fit that play style you'll be required to eat and maintain your energy as well as craft and keep up your supplies of ammunition but due to the abundance of wildlife across Pandora this is a relatively easy thing to accomplish once you get the hang of the action it's immensely satisfying and as you run and jump and shoot across RDA facilities taking out enemies left and right it's another one of those movie moments that really help sell you on the Avatar frontiers of Pandora experience really our only hang up with combat was the lack of enemy diversity you'll fight amp suits soldiers and samsons and outside of some small variations that's really the entire lineup of enemies it's a bit disappointing knowing how many different types of war machines we know are part of the Avatar Universe if you're bouncing from side mission to side mission this is where you'll start to feel the grind of the game because that lack of diversity really is noticeable I should also point out that some enemy tuning is just silly the amp Grenadier for example without fail managed to laser me from hundreds of meters away raining down a barrage of grenades for nearly 30 seconds straight luckily how you take out these enemies is satisfying and the talentry system really helps reinforce that action the primary skill system or ancestor skills are tied to taru plants and gift you incredible abilities such as ripping soldiers out of their amp suits it's things of that that caliber these ancestor skills unlock and prove to be the most interesting aspect of progression there's also the Lesser skill system unlocked when you find a taru sapling these skill points are more straightforward increasing your combat stats I'm glad this lesser system wasn't the only one in place because as we've discussed flat stat bonuses are boring and this alone just wouldn't have cut it in the case of frontiers of Pandora progression isn't necessarily tied to enemies you kill but more to how you engage with the world we already mentioned ancestor skills and lesser skills but there's also Clan favor which you can build up by completing quests and donating tributes of specific resources as your standing improves you'll gain access to new and Powerful crafting recipes as well as cosmetics and it's cool to see a system like this implemented in a single player game it feels very MMO in nature and very much not something Ubisoft often employs don't worry Gearheads you can still find plenty of weapons and items out there in the world but if you want to take things slow with some Gathering you can still reap some rewards speaking of gathering I think it's worth mentioning that the team really leans hard into this concept and it makes sense right you're a na'vi you're one with Pandora so if the team didn't do something a bit more in depth it'd be disappointing resources can be gathered practically everywhere but they do fall into a few small categories but it's really how you track down the quality of the items that's interesting each resource has certain conditions that must must be present in order to harvest the highest quality and that means time of day weather conditions and your ability to extract the resource without damaging it it's a fun combination of right time right place and a conditional miname that really does make the Gathering process a bit more immersive the same could be said about the game's hunting you can track animals amongst many other things with your na'vi sense and this will tell you the overall quality a successful kill will yield through trial and error you'll need to figure out what's the most effective way way to take down a Target hitting weak spots is essential than not damaging the resource and using the wrong weapon will often mean ruining the resource entirely from Plants to animals the game forces you to think like a na'vi and respect the world around you and while that might be frustrating to some players that like to run around smashing X as they run across the world this creates a much deeper connection with the gameplay experience without becoming so intricate that it's tedious everything you gather will play into the game's crafting system and whether it's food that's providing important energy and Buffs or weapons that you craft at a Hub location all of the work you put in to reap the benefits of the land do pay out in one way or another Avatar frontiers of Pandora is easily one of ubisoft's best open World Games in recent memory the backdrop of the Avatar Universe might just be what the developers need to get back on track because quite frankly its recent string of games hasn't done much to win over over the masses this could change that if you decide to pick up the game know that you're getting a uniquely Avatar story and I should point out that the James Cameron team personally approved every asset used within the game so if you're worried about authenticity well there's your reason to believe the game's Hunter guide is a lore junkies dream and you could get lost for hours pouring over the insane number of entries detailing the Flora and Fauna of Pandora the high points of the adventure are in the exploration World building and certain points of the story the scale is impressive and if you've been jonesing for a Game World you can absolutely get lost in then Avatar frontiers of Pandora is for you on the flip side if scale is something you've stepped away from in recent years because the thought of 9 million things to do is just too much stress on an already stressed out mind then I hear you and this probably isn't the game for you in classic Ubisoft fashion once you break away from the main quest you're met with a myriad of side content that all falls neatly into specific categories while there's nothing wrong with being the savior of the na'vi there's only so many RDA outposts you can clear out before the enjoyment starts to wear off luckily there is plenty to do and if you can get over the sheer volume of things Avatar throws at you I think you'll enjoy the ride immensely so there you have it our brutally honest review of Avatar frontiers of Pandora as always if you want more reviews that shoot straight from the hip then you already know what to do hit that thumbs up and consider subscribing of course you can also join us on Discord if you want to hang out with the team talk about great games and enter for your chance to win tons of free giveaways going on all the time that link as always is below my name is codiak and from everyone here at Legacy gaming thanks for watching and play [Music] on

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Id: EUJqg0XGp0A

Length: 18min 58sec (1138 seconds)

Published: Wed Dec 06 2023