Fantastic 4 – GC – Review

There is a
scene in the upcoming movie, the Fantastic Four, in which Dr. Victor Von Doom
(played by Julian McMahon in full armor-covered splendor) says to Sue Storm
(Jessica Alba): “Oh Sue, let’s not fight.”

Sue’s reply?
“Oh yes, let’s!” Then she nails him with a force blast.

When one
jumps into the Activision/Seven Studios videogame, based on the Fox motion
picture, which is precisely what one gets – plenty of action. Yes, liberties
were taken with the origin of the amazing quartet when compared to the comic
book, and there are some clipping problems and the overall game – per level –
feels rather short, but this is like dipping oneself into the waters of the
‘first family’ of mutated superheroes and getting up close and personal.

The game
‘borrows’ a lot of the feel and combat/leveling treatment from X-Men Legends.
You can switch from one controlled character to another on the fly, and you can
level up the powers and abilities by defeating hordes of bad guys and gaining
experience.


Let’s toss
out the comic book origin of the quartet and instead look at the way the movie
depicts the beginnings and mutation – if for no other reason than the game
follows the course of the movie, but adds to it by throwing in a who’s who from
the Marvel Universe of bad guys.

Reed
Richards and Sue Storm are scientists (different fields of study), given the
opportunity to go aboard a space station owned by Von Doom to study a cosmic
phenomenon heading toward Earth. Ben Grimm and Johnny Storm (Sue’s younger
brother) are both astronauts; the former a grizzled old-timer who’s career may
be winding down while the latter is the hotshot up and comer pilot of the
shuttle that ferries them all the space station. That is when things start to go
awry. The storm is heading for them and the shielding on the station has
malfunctioned and won’t securely fasten shut. Ben is sent outside to try to
manually close the shields, but his efforts come a little too late.

The storm
hits the station and penetrates it through the opened shielding, with rays
penetrating the four, and apparently Von Doom as well.

The quartet
awakens back on Earth, in a secured and well-guarded facility (robot guards, no
less), and discovers that the security system no longer recognizes their DNA
signatures. Not only that, but they are imbued with strange powers, seemingly
stemming from their mutated DNA. Sue has force field powers and the ability to
turn invisible; Reed’s body has taken on incredible elasticity and he can
stretch in and form it into a variety of shapes; Johnny’s body becomes engulfed
in flames, making him lighter than air and giving him the ability to fire fiery
missiles, erect walls of fire, and even do a little “spot wielding” when the
occasion calls for it. But alas, poor Ben. His mutation is the worst of all, for
while he could likely have lived with the incredible strength he was given, his
body has transformed into a orangish rock-golem manner, barely resembling a
human at all.

But Reed,
Johnny and Sue will not abandon their friend in his time of need, and so begins
the adventure of the videogame as the quartet tries to find some way to restore
Ben to his human form. In the movie, the F4 battle Dr. Doom. In the game, they
battle Dr. Doom and a host of other super enemies from the Marvel Universe.


Like X-Men
Legends, the combat system allows players to switch between party members on the
fly, and players also can upgrade each member of the team (by spending
experience points gained during combat) to gain new abilities within their
mutated power structure. Because Reed is a scientist AND inventor, he will use
devices in addition to his ability to assume different shapes.

The game
also features a variety of mini-games, which take advantage of the character’s
special abilities. Reed, for example, will hack computer terminals, aligning the
circuits within a certain time frame to open doors. Others have similar “feats”
that require either pounding on the hot buttons, or rotating the analog stick to
power up enough to accomplish a set task. 

The game
itself is rather linear and each level feels quite short in terms of moving from
one end to the other, beating up and abusing the environment to either defeat
your foes or to look for hidden objects. While there are a lot of levels,
experienced players may be able to work through them in short order. The lure,
apparently, is to replay to find what you may have missed the first time through
or to improve your score and/or time through the level.

Graphically,
this game is a treat. There are a few clipping problems, but the effects are
exquisite. The sound also follows the movie, using the voices of the actors,
which gives this title an excellent feel.

Where the
game really shines, though, is in the co-op mode. There is no online play, but
gamers can plug in an extra controller and take over as a member of the team.
Team combos (and yes, the AI is good enough that non-controlled team members
will help pull them off) can be devastating. 

Fantastic
Four may take liberties with the comic origins, and it may track the course of
the motion picture, but in many regards, this is like a comic book come to life.
It stands apart from other Activision staples like X-Men Legends in that this is
only four members of one team, and you get much more personally involved with
them. Sure, we all have our favorite X-Men, but there is a reason that the F4
team is often referred to as the “first family” of superheroes.

With a host
of arch villains, solid gameplay and sound, and tasty visual elements, there is
a lot of enjoy about this game.  

Review
Scoring Details for Fantastic Four

Gameplay:
8.3

The levels are short, and therein lays the biggest fault of the game. The boss
battles do take some cerebral exercises and persistence to work through – and
there are battles in which minions compound efforts to focus the combined
attacking might of the team on the main bad guy. The game also features
different pairings of the foursome to make for some interesting level
challenges.

Graphics:
8.5

The game’s effects are very good, and the environments are fun to explore and
are destructible – which can be especially fun if you are the rampaging Thing.
The only drawbacks can be the occasional clipping problem.   

Sound:
8.3

Using clips from the movie is very nice, but when compared to the rest of the
game’s presentation, this just seems a little understated.


Difficulty: Medium

The game does feature several difficulty levels, but the AI makes for the
characters not controlled by a player or players work well within the team
concept.

Concept:
8.8

You take a movie-driven plot, then pack in a host of other villains from the
Marvel universe and you have a game that scores well. Toss in some unlockables
and great co-op play and you have a wonderful concept.


Multiplayer: 9.0

Does it get any better than co-op play within the scope of the game? This is a
blast to play with a friend.

Overall:
8.7

The levels may be short, but so in the learning curve. Players will find
themselves pulled through the linear game with anticipation. Sure, there are a
few little setbacks, but those are easily overlooked. Graphically wonderful,
with a great co-op mode, makes for a truly enjoyable gaming experience.