Kombo's Review Policy: Our reviews are written for you. Our goal is to write honest, to-the-point reviews that don't waste your time. This is why we've split our reviews into four sections: What the Game's About, What's Hot, What's Not and Final Word, so that you can easily find the information you want from our reviews.

What the Game's About
Avatar: The Last Airbender – Into the Inferno follows Aang and his friends as they fights the evil Fire Nation. The DS version sports a unique super deformed style and a nearly all touchpad method of input. Play solo or with a friend as you use you perfect your skills.

What's Hot
You move around entirely with the use of the DS stylus and that places the focus more on puzzle solving using a tag team duo. With that focus, there are some interesting puzzles that make you use the four elements of nature in creative ways to platform hop and navigate obstacles. There were several times where I thought the levels were designed in a particularly cleaver fashion. There are parts where you and your teammate split up and you need to help each other as your paths intertwine. This is the feature that triumphs throughout the game.

The super deformed look is a treat on two levels. It models a special mini-series that the Avatar cartoon show and it fits with the DS rather than trying to go with a more realistic approach. It is visually more bubbly and pops from the screen. The context clues on what direction to go are obvious enough to spot with bright flashy colors and aid when you are looking at the screen to solve a puzzle.

What's Not
The combat isn't all that well done. For a game that centers around a subject of martial arts, it leaves something to be desired. It involves taping the enemy or using an element of nature to send the Fire Nation back to the ashes. It grows repetitive and not very fun when the puzzles are ingenious.

Besides the fighting and puzzle solving, there isn't much else that diversifies the gameplay experience for the single player. Replay is somewhat limited because the only collectibles are used for unlocking costumes that are used in the volleyball multiplayer mode. In today's market that is a fairly weak offering to hook players. While it is something and certainly better than nothing, it would have been awesome to see a challenge mode where the puzzles were the star.

Final Word
Avatar is aimed towards kids but anyone will absolutely love the clever puzzle. While they are never frustratingly hard, you can tell that care and thought was put behind. The style and format fit the DS perfectly and the multiplayer modes will ensure that anyone who wants to play will enjoy fighting the legions of the Fire Nation. Avatar is a pleasant surprise that would be a perfect stocking stuffer.