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Avatar: Into The Inferno - The First Hour Or So

Knowing what a fan I am of the television series Avatar: The Last Airbender, John tasked me with liveblogging my first play session of the third (and presumably final) game based on the series, specifically the Wii version. I had played and enjoyed the DS version over the holiday break and was looking forward to comparing the two.

For those that don't know, Avatar tells the story of Aang, a boy with the unique ability to "bend" all four elements (earth, air, fire and water) who must protect the world from the meglomaniacal Fire Lord. Think feudal-Japan-meets-Captain-Planet and you're just about there. Aang is assisted by his friends who each have their own unique skills, usually a slightly more powerful ability to bend only one of the four elements. Into The Inferno follows the tale of the third "book" or season of the television show and plays out as a co-op adventure platform puzzler.

Here are my thoughts during the first play session. There are no story spoilers for those of you who haven't seen the show yet (John!). I hope you are vaguely amused:

Yes, I Love Neopets Puzzle Adventure

Earlier this week, the NYC division of team 61FPS were treated with some hands-on time with some of Capcom's hottest upcoming titles, and there was something for everyone. Pete kicked all of our asses in Street Fighter IV, John blissed out in mid-air with Bionic Commando, and me? Well, I finally got in a few rounds of my most anticipated puzzler since Picross DS, Neopets Puzzle Adventure. Yes, that's right, I practically sleepwalked through Resident Evil 5 but was enthusiastic about playing Neopets Puzzle Adventure, and what might possibly shock you even more is that I loved it.

about the blogger

John Constantine, our superhero, was raised by birds and then attended Penn State University. He is currently working on a novel about a fictional city that exists only in his mind. John has an astonishingly extensive knowledge of Scientology. Ultimately he would like to learn how to effectively use his brain. He continues to keep Wu-Tang's secret to himself.

Derrick Sanskrit is a self-professed geek in a variety of fields including typography, graphic design, comic books, music and cartoons. As a professional hipster graphic designer, his recent clients have included Nerve, Pitchfork and MoCCA, among others.

Amber Ahlborn - artist, writer, gamer and DigiPen survivor, she maintains a day job as a graphic artist. By night Amber moonlights as a professional Metroid Fanatic and keeps a metal suit in the closet just in case. Has lived in the state of Washington and insists that it really doesn't rain as much as everyone says it does.

Nadia Oxford is a housekeeping robot who was refurbished into a warrior when the world's need for justice was great. Now that the galaxy is at peace (give or take a conflict here or there), she works as a freelance writer for various sites and magazines. Based in Toronto, Nadia prizes the certificate from the Ministry of Health declaring her tick and rabies-free.

Bob Mackey is a grad student, writer, and cyborg, who uses the powerful girl-repelling nanomachines mad science grafted onto his body to allocate time towards interests of the nerd persuasion. He believes that complaining about things on the Internet is akin to the fine art of wine tasting, but with more spitting into buckets.

Joe Keiser has a programming degree from Johns Hopkins University, a tiny apartment in Brooklyn, and a fake toy guitar built in the hollowed-out shell of a real guitar. He writes about games and technology for a variety of outlets. One day he will stop doing this. The day after that, police will find his body under a collapsed pile of (formerly neatly alphabetized) collector's edition tchotchkes.

Cole Stryker is an American freelance writer living in York, England, where he resides with his archeologist wife. He writes for a travel company by day and argues about pop culture on the internet by night. Find him writing regularly here and here.

Peter Smith is like the lead character of Irwin Shaw's The 80-Yard Run, except less athletic. He considers himself very lucky to have this job. But it's a little premature to take "jack-off of all trades" off his resume. Besides writing, travelling, and painting houses, Pete plays guitar in a rock trio called The Aye-Ayes. He calls them a 'power pop' band, but they generally sound more like Motorhead on a drinking binge.