James Cameron's Avatar: The Game was on show behind closed doors at this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo, and we were fortunate enough to get a sneak peek at the elusive project. Inspired by the movie, Avatar: The Game takes place two years before its big-screen counterpart and reveals more of Cameron's epic universe. Avatar is set on a hostile, primordial moon called Pandora, and you play through the single-player campaign as both a human soldier and an indigenous blue-skinned Na'vi warrior. We were lucky enough to be offered a first hands-on with the game's single-player campaign ahead of the GamesCom convention.

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　　Who's Making This Game: The game is being developed by Ubisoft Montreal, with team members who have contributed to Splinter Cell, Far Cry: Instincts, Rainbow Six, and Surf's Up, among other games.

　　What The Game Looks Like: Set on the lush, alien Pandora, Avatar mixes the futuristic military hardware of Earth's Resources Development Administration (the bad guys) with the organic beauty of the alien Na'vi (the good guys). Avatar uses a modified Far Cry 2 engine and does a great job of creating the alien landscape, with a visual style reminiscent of Lost Planet 2.

　　What There Is To Do: Avatar combines on-foot combat with vehicles such as mechs and helicopters, and you'll even be able to control some of Pandora's exotic creatures. The final game will have 16 environments, and although what we saw was a repeat of the E3 demo, we did get a brief play with one of the Na'vi's flying creatures, which we took through some of Pandora's stunning mountain ranges.

　　How The Game Is Played: We used the two analog sticks to control the flying creature and found it easy to get the hang of the controls. One stick controls altitude, while the other controls direction, and the bumpers are used to increase or decrease speed. The dragon feels graceful yet powerful and flies in a slow, almost majestic, manner. It can't stop suddenly, but you can accelerate quickly, which is perfect for swooping in for a kill. The canyons, gorges, outcrops, and natural rock arches make the environment both engaging and well varied.

　　We made our way across a suspension bridge and discovered a clearing on top of a cliff. The area was surrounded by dozens of winged creatures, with a stunning landscape of steep cliffs above us and misty valleys below. The dragon flew down to greet us, and we hopped on for a bird's-eye view of the area. Gliding around the alien landscape was a buzz, and after a few minutes of wistful cruising around, our demo finished with a cutscene in which the creature attacks an RDA helicopter. The dragon's immense size means you can pick a fight with vehicles and stand a good chance of survival.

　　The level was long and narrow and felt somewhat akin to flying down a Death Star trench. The map isn't final, and the one that will appear in the game will be much bigger, spanning one kilometre by two kilometres. We're happy to report that the camera worked well and sits above and behind your dragon to give you a good view of the action.

　　What They Say: The developers told us that "this is a game that will have minimum 'suckage.'" The team has worked closely with Cameron's Lightstorm Entertainment and 20th Century Fox to make the game as authentic as possible.

　　What We Say: Avatar has been in development for a number of years, and it certainly doesn't look like a substandard movie tie-in. The rich, alien habitat of Pandora looks great thanks to some help from the robust Far Cry 2 engine, and the gameplay looks like it will offer a healthy variety between the RDA and Na'vi sections. Avatar can also be displayed in stereoscopic 3D--provided you can afford a TV that supports the technology.

　　Avatar will be released on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, Nintendo Wii, PlayStation Portable, and Nintendo DS on November 24 in North America and on December 18 in Europe. For more coverage from GamesCom 2009, visit gamescom.gamespot.com.