With James Cameron finally returning to movie theatres this Christmas, it seemed inevitable that the cinematic event of Avatar would also become a video game tie in. We got some hands on time with no less than three versions of Avatar: The Game at Ubisoft’s showcase and the biggest surprise was how good it was.

First up was the Wii version, which is different from that being released on next gen consoles. Clearly aimed at a younger audience, this sees players take on the role of a Na’vi warrior (exclusively) as you battle to free the planet from the human invaders. The graphics were surprisingly lush and fluid for the little white box, with the bow and arrow making good use of the Wii-mote. Some nice gesture based melee attacks were added into the mix, including a fun face off against a Mech suited enemy. As a member of the Na’vi expect to have some control over the natural elements of Pandora, including riding on animals later on (rumour has it that the Wii sports balance board can be used for this during a good percentage of the game). The only evidence we saw of the natural connection was healing by running into regenerating plants. The controls are simple and the title certainly didn’t seem that challenging but as an introduction to the world for less hardcore gamers, it seemed like a worthy action adventure title.

Next up was the version coming to PS3, 360 and PC – a fast paced action shooter with some interesting extras. Rather than following the storyline of the upcoming movie, Avatar: The Game takes place some years before as the RDA descend on the fertile planet of Pandora in search of a vital mineral. In the course of the game, players will have to decide whether to side with the militant humans or the nature loving Na’vi, which reflects a similar war that will be seen in the film. We got to jump in as a human in the demo with the massive Rhino like beast which you may have caught videos of online.

And it seems like a lot of fun – the action is smooth with some great animation, weapons feel meaty and there is a commendable amount of detail to be seen in the lush jungle world. What’s more, a fully featured upgrade system and Cameron’s own Pandorapedia mean that there is also a lot going on behind the scenes and you can scan every piece of flora and fauna for more information. Gameplay feels a little like Lost Planet with some Gears of War thrown in for good measure. Dodging is a must, particularly in boss fights, and a handy quick turn button focuses your fire on the nearest foe. One thing we did notice was that at the time of writing there is no melee attack – something which would have come in handy against the smaller enemies – but our Ubi representative couldn’t confirm whether it would appear in the final build. Multiplayer was also confirmed but not elaborated upon, as was the fact that you can play much of the game as a Na’vi character (we would assume they mean an Avatar).