James Cameron's Avatar: The Game

 Xbox 360
Metascore
61

Mixed or average reviews - based on 62 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 62
  2. Mixed: 48 out of 62
  3. Negative: 6 out of 62
Buy Now
Buy on
  1. Armchair Empire
    45
    Avatar does look awesome (even better, I'm told, when you're playing in Stereoscopic 3D) but there's so little fun here that your money is better spent elsewhere.
  2. GameSpy
    40
    The basic gameplay of Avatar is so fundamentally flawed that even those few bright spots would only set you up for disappointment. Because, despite the guiding hand of Cameron, Avatar is ultimately just another big-name movie game that doesn't fulfill its early promise.
  3. Eurogamer Spain
    40
    A very uninspired and boring adaptation of this Christmas blockbuster.
  5. Giant Bomb
    40
    Fancy whiz-bang 3D effects wouldn't do much to rescue the clunky, mundane action here anyway.
  6. InsideGamer.nl
    40
    Avatar: The Game is ambitious enough, but ambition alone doesn’t make a good game, something James Cameron doesn’t seem to realize. With wonky gameplay mechanics, a boring story and an overall lack of polish, this game is just another film crossover gone wrong.
  7. Destructoid
    30
    If this game is any indication as to the quality of the movie, then it's safe to say that this is one trip to the theater that you do not need to take.

Awards & Rankings

34
#34 Most Discussed Xbox 360 Game of 2009
47
#47 Most Shared Xbox 360 Game of 2009

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
6.9

Mixed or average reviews- based on 92 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 48 out of 92
  2. Mixed: 28 out of 92
  3. Negative: 16 out of 92
  1. Bradyboy12
    Sep 29, 2013
    7
    a decent game, and for a movie licensed game it is top class. a prequel to the movie you can play as the navi or humans battle your waya decent game, and for a movie licensed game it is top class. a prequel to the movie you can play as the navi or humans battle your way through a semi open world while leveling up your characters abilities using light RPG elements. Incredible graphics, but all of the endings in the game fall awfully flat.… Full Review »
  2. Lambo442
    Jul 14, 2011
    8
    An excellent game. top graphics, lush detailed environments, tons of weapons and abilities and quite a few hours gameplay seeing as you canAn excellent game. top graphics, lush detailed environments, tons of weapons and abilities and quite a few hours gameplay seeing as you can play through with the navi and the humans and get a completely different experience for each. The vehicles/mounts are fun to ride. diving down from a great height on the navi mounts is pretty exhilarating. there's a conquest mode that plays out like a game of risk on pandora. Build units and buildings, take over territories etc. Don't let the luke warm critic reviews put you off. the voice acting is a little shoddy but that's my only criticism.… Full Review »
  3. aspentitan
    Mar 24, 2021
    7
    This game is a lot better than the scores indicate, but it does have some minor blemishes. First off I'd like to support this game. Number oneThis game is a lot better than the scores indicate, but it does have some minor blemishes. First off I'd like to support this game. Number one it's a movie game and after just rewatching the movie I thought it was a perfect time to play the game and see what's what. I wasn't expecting much because of the bad reviews but as I played I have to say this game was unfairly scored by many and although not wowed I was pleasantly surprised. The game does an excellent tie in. Just like the movie it pulls on your strings who you should side with: invasive sky people or native aliens. The feel of the plot within the game matches the movie quite well. On top of that it's pretty decently constructed to be open world. Is it the best open world game? Well no, but it does a fabulous job portraying pandora and it's theme and as a bonus it's not linear. You actually get two campaigns in this one so valuewise it's pretty decent. The game is rated teen and I guess this is where it turned people off myself included being a little bit on the easy side and a bit of a fetch quest. It could have benefited from difficulty settings but I have to be fair it's a movie based game and they chose their market (teens) and the game difficulty is matched to advertised imo so not fair to bash it too hard on that merit. Now on top of that I feel the open world gameplay isn't really that bad all said. You are given creative loadouts as you progress through the game and they do help continue immersion within pandora. If you are fair imagine all the extra work it took to add software development to each of these loadouts skills. I think people were overly harsh with their ratings. Further to all this the game is presented in 3d so if you are able to take advantage of that this game almost is in must own territory. Story wise, this is a decent adaptation. It's different than the movie but follows the same theme of what took place in the movie. So all in all, for the most part I want to give this game an 8/10 for being must own or must play but I have to hold it down to 7/10 because the game does not have difficulty adjustments and is therefore only mostly suitable for the teen crowd. Since it's a movie game and the movie is long in the past with no sequels expected I have to reduce the score. On top of that the controls are a bit unpolished but for the most part are responsive without aggravating you except perhaps in the air on your ride. Ive played a lot worse games that this and I truly feel this is a decent game that deserves a better score. The gameplay may be a little iffy but if it is it's most likely you are not in the age bracket that's on the games label.… Full Review »
See all user reviews »