Review #572: The Last Airbender(Nintendo DS)

 Avatar The movie The game.

 There're two things that tend to suck in the world of gaming: Stylus controls and licensed games. The Last Airbender has both. And the movie it's based off received pretty scathing reviews. However, despite everything... it managed to be pretty decent.

 The game has you playing as both Aang, the last airbender, and Zuko, a firebender that wants to capture Aang. The game automatically alternates between characters as you go through the plot of the movie. As for said plot, it's told via a few in-game cutscenes, voiceless text, and through a few barely animated, mute hand-drawn sequences. It's not the prettiest of presentations, and it's better if you're familiar with the source material, although not a necessity, since everything that needs to be known in order to be cohesive is told.

 You tap on the screen with the stylus to move, and you tap on enemies to attack them. Holding L or R lets you bend elements, tapping on the screen will make Aang shoot air blasts and Zuko shoot fire balls. Holding L/R and moving the stylus from your character-outward will make Aang shoot a wide wind blast, which can reflect projectiles once upgraded or put out flames, while Zuko performs an evasive roll. Near the end of the game, Aang gets the ability to bend water from fountains and Zuko magma from torches. Lastly, Zuko gets a few acrobatic stages in which he gets to wall-run or jump from walls(by pressing L as he scales/runs across walls).

 What's most surprising about the game is how well the controls work. I don't think there was a single instance of either Zuko or Aang doing something I didn't mean to. Zuko's platforming challenges are simple, but are relatively fun to do since the controls work well. When you're not defeating enemies, which are very easy to defeat, you'll be solving simple puzzles, like activating switches, turning off torches, reflecting fireballs or moving water from one fountain to the other. They are very simple, but amusing enough as not to be boring. Hidden throughout the game you can find Health and Focus(Bending) upgrades, although you don't really need them... even if Zuko does get one rather difficult boss fight. Each character also has four upgrades which require Chi acquired by breaking objects and defeating enemies.

 The Last Airbender on the Nintendo DS is a simple, easy game that doesn't last more than a couple of hours. But considering how low the bar for licensed games can get... I'd say it's safely above the usual drivel. No one but fans of the franchise need apply, though.
 5.5 out of 10