Apparently, in the world outside my house, Avatar: The Last Airbender is a pretty popular show. Who knew? The animated series, hosted on Nickelodeon, concerns itself with the adventures of Aang, an Airbender (i.e. bloke who can manipulate air, to fly, create wind and whatnot), and his merry crew of assorted mystical, wise-cracking characters, as they fight to restore peace to their war-torn world. Aang will need to learn the powers of Earth, Fire and Water-bending as well if he is to save the day (we reckon he probably will), for only them will he become the titular Avatar.

So far, so 'anime made for kids, but also one that adults guiltily enjoy'. The game adaptation looks to follow our general expectations of what THQ can do when they've a licensed game to release on multiple platforms: bang out a game relatively tolerable for adults, fun for kids, but a nuisance to journalists desperately trying to get Zelda finished for the review deadline.

The gameplay mixes simple role-playing and beat-em-up elements, as you move through environments and use attacks and special moves to fight the scoundrels in your way. You can equip new items and unlock new moves as you progress, but it's hardly Final Fantasy. As mentioned before, Aang has himself an entourage: you can use the D-Pad to switch between different characters and take advantage of their exclusive abilities. Flaming barrier hindering progess? Call on the Waterbender! And so forth, we imagine.

The game is, largely, the same one as the copy you didn't buy on your Gamecube, but does boast some Wii control adjustments. You use the Wiimote to pull off certain moves, and even control the camera, but initial reports have noted the slightly unwieldy and confusing nature of this. More promising is the use of the controller for some good old-fashioned calligraphy, a delightful idea one might see more of in the console's future.

Otherwise, it looks to be paint by numbers. The high-flying circus dynamics of the TV show have been grounded for some top-down trudging, and the voicework and artistic flair of the television series are apparently found wanting. Diehard fans will probably be disappointed, although if there had any sense they would've seen this coming.

Sand-drawing aside, The Last Airbender looks to be another wholly unremarkable launch day filler.