A few years back (2003?), I was at a conference and called my children to check in — they couldn't talk, "Avatar" was coming on! Of course, my youngest was not yet 6 years old, so it sounded like "Abatah." Huh? Their father explained that they'd become enraptured by a new Nickelodeon show called "Avatar: The Last Airbender" and simply could not miss a single episode. I called back an hour later and asked them to explain it to me: big mistake. Fire nation, air-bending, -ang, water-bending, flying monster ... huh? More than three years later, I can only say this: My children stumbled upon one of the most incredible animated series of my lifetime. And although it runs on Nickelodeon, it is most decidedly not for children only. Avatar the Last Airbender: The Burning Crusade is an entire retelling of the second season of this incredible show.

I'm at somewhat of a loss at where to start with this review. For the fans of the show, I could write a review of the game that would be absolutely recognizable and sound like Greek to the uninitiated. For the uninitiated, this will take some back story. However, I think that this series and this game is worth the time of both demographics, so to the fans, please be patient while I school the uninformed in the ways of Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toth, Momo, Appa and the rest.

The world of our beloved characters is divided into four nations defined by a specific element: air, fire, water and earth. Each lives according to the nature of their element. The Northern and Southern Water tribes live at the poles where water is abundant (but cold!) and in harmony with the oceans and snow. The Air Nomads once lived in lofty temples to the north and south on top of mountains where they could commune with the flow of the wind. The hearty people of the Earth Nation live to the east and west. They are a solid people, defined by their unity with the unmovable rock and stone that composes the world upon which they all live. In the center is the Fire Nation, volatile, powerful and angry.

One hundred years before Season 1 begins, the Fire Nation began a war against the other nations. First, they completely wiped out the Air Nomads. Next, they attacked the Southern Water tribe. This war has been raging for three generations.

Unique to the world is the concept of "bending." People are born to each society with the ability to manipulate the element of their society. Water-benders can transform water to ice or vapor; earth-benders can create boulders from the ground, move themselves through walls and rearrange the earth as needed; air nomads ride the waves of the wind, push back the tide of the world with the power of the air and lived their lives in sure-footed care; and the fire nation uses their ability with fire to create great machines of metal — they not only call upon the power of the sun and anger itself, but technologies powered by fire.

Uniting the peoples is the Avatar, a mystic who is capable of bending all four elements and creating harmony within the nations. He/She is a single soul who lives on from generation to generation, keeping peace and prosperity throughout the years. During the attack on the Air Nation, Aang, the current Avatar hid with his Flying Bison (his familiar) in a bubble of air under the water. The entire Air Nation was destroyed less this one last air-bender. Two siblings from the Southern Water tribe, Katara and Sokka, find Aang, realize who he is and decide to help him on his quest to reunite the world some 100 years later.

The series is sophisticated on a multitude of levels. It asks questions of morality, ethics and faith that are difficult for children to grapple with but more so for adults. It has humor that will leave a child in stitches, along with their parents. The writing is superb, the voice acting incredible, the animation and design exceptional. It has received rewards too numerous to recount in this review.

I cannot stress enough how incredible this show is for not children, not adults, but for people.

And, like most television shows, it truly comes into its own in its second season — this is what The Burning Earth is based upon: a retelling and playing of the entire second season.

We begin the game with Aang on his quest to learn the other elements. He was only 11 when he hid from the Fire Nation attacks, and although Katara has been shown to be a water-bending master, he must still learn fire- and earth-bending to become a true Avatar. Those familiar with the series will recognize the locations and characters from the first scene. While the retelling of the story differs slightly — it must to make sense to a non-fan — the gist of the story remains intact.

Incredibly enough, so does the humor. Sokka, a 15-year-old boy is quite frankly, a dork. This comes across often. Aang may be the savior of the known world, but he's still only 12 at this point and wants to play. And Katara is the older sister of Sokka — she's been his mother for many years, and her motherly overbearing nature is obvious. You don't have to be familiar with the tale to smile.

All of the actors from the television show are present for the voice acting (less Irho because the actor who voiced him died in 2006). I can't stress how incredibly important this is. The depth of character and story is difficult to portray in the game, but using the actors who have made the show such a success makes up for this in more ways than one. Not only are they good at what they do, they know the stories they are acting out and therefore do so with passion. There is very little repetitious dialogue. What isn't newly recorded can simply be clipped from the shows themselves.

Simply put, the story carries itself with great aplomb.

The art is ... inconsistent. The backgrounds are beautiful. Avatar is based in a fictionalized Chinese society and has an incredibly distinct feel to it. Some of the landscapes and vistas are beautiful because of this. At times, the detail is astounding.

The characters are cell-shaded on this background. In the cutscenes (which so remarkably carry the game), they are fully animated with facial expressions and lip-synching. You hear as well as see the joy, pain or distress of each character. However, in the game, the characters are paper doll-like. They move with the exception of the face. Their eyes do not change, and they have no mouths!

Now ... this brings me to a point I will bring up repeatedly in this review. This does not bug my children or their friends in the least. They've never mentioned it if they even notice. Me? I'm an older, more sophisticated gamer, and it bugged me at first. But the game wasn't made for me. Keep this in mind as you read this review.

How does it play? That depends on who you are and your expectations. Again, you must keep in mind this game is designed for a demographic of about ages 7 to 15.

You'll play each scene with two characters available. Each has their strengths, and each is different. This is very important because it leads to a lot of problem-solving. The playable characters and their skills are as such (fans rejoice at this list):

• Aang — Air-, water-, earth-bending
• Air in melee requires up-close combat to do damage. At a distance, it can push things over or break them even at long distances
• Katara — Water-bending
• Water requires that you step back for melee so you can slap the water out a few feet. At a distance, you can freeze and stun enemies.
• Toth — Earth-bending
• Earth-bending will force you to push forward in melee. At a distance, it pushes the Earth up in a snake-like pattern.
• Sakka — Melee with the boomerang
• The boomerang is an effective club in melee. At a distance, it doesn't require that you aim (unlike bending), and it's great at activating switches and the like.
• Jet — Melee with hooks
• In melee, the hooks become extended arms that cause damage. There is no advantage at a distance except to create a great running charge before descending upon your opponent.
• Momo — Melee and ranged with melons
• Lemur claws are great for scratching and ripping at an opponent. From a distance, you can toss melons that increase in size and damage the longer you wait.
• Appa — Flying and air-bending
• He's a Flying Bison — need I say more?
• Zuko — Fire-bending
• The key to fire at melee range is to remember you are setting something on fire; the effect is not always immediate. At a distance, it causes explosive results.
• Irho — Fire- and lightning-bending
• Ihro uses fire at melee range. At a distance, lightning is very powerful but requires that you adjust to the idea that the direction you face is the opposite of the direction you will cast.

The truly wonderful part of these attacks is they all occur using the same key combinations. A single child playing this game isn't burdened with learning combinations for nine different characters. You need only learn how to correctly use the character in the situation.

Also, there are different degrees of use dependent upon the skill and experience of the player — great for kids. As you play, combinations open up. Using them is really a matter of preference. The control scheme as it stands allows for shaking the Wii-mote toward the target to activate the distance attack; hold up and release for big distance attack; or button-mash B for melee. Or, you can use the combos that unlock in combinations of B and Z for a more enjoyable experience. Or, for the player wanting a more in-depth but difficult play experience, you can use C to block some attacks and perform special attacks — when the player uses super-bending skills or advance melee attacks to do some serious damage. Occasionally, you even have the chance to send Aang into the Avatar state — when he goes berserk and just annihilates all in his path.

Switching between two characters in a single-player game is as simple as the press of a button. But in co-op, this game shows its true strength. I remember yelling to my son, "I'm doing Aang moves!" Of course, I got an immediate, "Mom, you're such a dork." But together, we were incredibly effective. It didn't matter if we were Momo (the Lemur) and Sokka or Toth and Katara. Co-op is the way to play this game.

All that I've described to this point is how the game excels. However, when it comes to level design it becomes inconsistent, sometimes to the point of frustrating. An adult won't notice, but this game isn't targeted toward an adult. For a kid, it can be an exercise in frustration or completely futility.

First, I must get this out: Developers, jumping puzzles are not fun. Jumping puzzles that you cannot bypass or that do not scale are not only not fun, they make children want to stop playing. Please do not place them in your games!

OK, rant done.

Based on the above, you may have surmised that jumping is a large part of the game. Well, it is in some parts. Many times, it's simply an exercise in working co-operatively with the two characters on the screen to get past the obstacle present. But far too often, there are jumping requirements that require precision that only an experienced gamer (or the parent of a child) may have. Adding timers to these puzzles only adds insult to injury. Be prepared to help your kids.

Also, most of the levels (minus the puzzles) are pretty straightforward — not easy for most kids — but straightforward ... until you get to the boss levels. Then the difficulty ramps up by a factor of 100. Again, parents, be prepared to help your kids. Especially with the Swamp monster! And the designer who created the Zuko/Irho levels created jumping puzzles in the dark but neglected to place invisible planes to keep you from falling over the sides of, well, everything. Frustration may kick in ...

Inconsistent. That's the best word for it.

Still, someone knew they were creating for children. The entire game is voiced. You can turn on subtitles if you wish, but at no time is reading-only required. So, even the youngest players know what they must do. Collection is a big part of the game: collecting health, collecting power for new moves, collecting secrets to unlock special codes, collecting power for new combos — collecting is something all kids LOVE.

Oh, mini-games and specials! Once you've flown Appa, you can fly him again and again in the mini-games. And let me tell you, flying Appa through the desert with the psychopathic Azula chasing you on her lizard mount (not a metaphor, that girl is a psychopath) is FUN! You also can replay any of the boss monsters.

Then there's the Arena! After you encounter all of the main characters, you can battle in the Arena. My son was soooo upset that I beat Toth in a double elimination with Aang. AHAHAHA! To be fair, I barely beat him.

The specials are actually worth mentioning. You'll get unlock codes to unlock the mini-games, boss fights, etc. And you can view not only art, but the cutscenes (these really ARE well-done) and the music. The music is straight from the TV show and adds so much to the game. The specials are worth something in this title, and I don't think I've ever written those words before.

I recommend this game, but I recommend it differently depending upon who you are. If you're a fan — GO GET IT. It's so fun to replay Season 2! If the series intrigues you or you're curious for your kids, go get it. If the game or series intrigues you and you're an adult, go rent it. Otherwise, the inconsistencies and difficulty level may make it less enjoyable. Me? I'm quite obviously a fan. I've loved every minute of it.