Official Website

Platform: PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, GameBoy Advance, PC

Genre: Action

Number of Players: 1 - 2

It's taken me quite a while to get back into accepting that movie to game tie-in's aren't quite what they used to be, and in a good way. The days of the NES and SNES left a bad taste in my mouth, and anyone who remembers playing games back then knows about the horrendous selection of games that were released based on films. If not, just imagine for a moment about a company producing a game based on a film like Stargate, A Nightmare of Elm Street, or even Home Alone. Those days are long behind us for the most part, and it seems that not only developers but the movie studios themselves are doing things a little bit differently, and giving us titles that have some substance and not just a way to turn a quick buck.

Everyone knew the name Marvel when it came to comic books even before the company decided to turn some of their most popular heroes, and even some that no one knew about, into high grossing films. The vampire hunter Blade actually paved the way for other super-heroes like the X-Men and Spider-Man to make their way to the big screen. Mutants and genetically altered teenagers though aren't the only crime fighters Marvel has at their disposal however, and now one of the most famous teams in Marvel history is making their way to a theater near you, and onto a game console in your living room; the Fantastic Four . . . . errrr . . . . Fantastic 4.

Activision has been doing a magnificent job at developing games that not only tie-in with their big screen counterparts, but taking the action up a level or four and giving you a great game. The console versions of Spider-Man, based on the films of course, not only followed the action of the film, but added in villains that were known by many fans of the comic book, though there are at least two characters from the wall crawlers universe that fans are dying to see, Venom and Carnage, but their day is coming very soon. The Fantastic 4 movie may feature Doctor Doom as the ultimate evil, but the game isn't going to give you simply limit you to one villain, and there are a host of foes ready to make your super-hero career a short lived one.

The action loosely follows the plot of the film itself, though I doubt you're going to get the same male reaction that I experienced when Jessica Alba was first shown on screen in that tight spandex suit. Reed Richards, in both the game and film, has approach Victor Von Doom in hopes of making an expedition into space to study a solar storm, but there are major problems. The storm hits Von Doom's space station sooner that expected and Reed as well as former girlfriend Susan Storm, her brother, and pilot, Johnny Storm, and Reed's best friend Ben Grimm, as well as Von Doom himself are bombarded by radiation.

The result of course is super powers. Reed Richards can now stretch his body like rubber and has been dubbed Mr. Fantastic. Johnny Storm can cover his body in flames, shoot fireballs and even fly and thus has named himself The Human Torch. His sister, Sue, on the other hand can bend light and make herself invisible and has taken on the name The Invisible Girl. Ben Grimm on the other hand now had his body covered in a rock armor and sadly is now called The Thing. Von Doom however is transforming as well and will transform into the Fantastic Four's most notorious villain, Doctor Doom.

There is some creative license taken with The Fantastic 4 however, and were the game to directly follow the film, there really wouldn't be too much action. This has been the case as well with the Spider-Man games, and The Fantastic 4 essentially works off the same engine and same gameplay mechanics. Each section of the game is divided up into a number of stages, each with their own set of objectives as well as a hidden icon. Finding these will help not only with your score, but will also unlock various other aspects of the game. However, unlike Spider-Man, you are dealing with a team, not simply on character, so there are some differences that set the game apart.

The game alternates between having you work solo as a given character and having one or more of them present. Having additional characters available will let you switch to play as any of them, and this is very important during major battles. You will find at times glowing 4's that are strictly for one character. For example, you may be in a heated battle where you are required to use the Invisible Girl at one point and then switch to another character to use their powers in order to make quick work of your foe. The action though can grow frantic as you will find a number of opponents present on the screen at one time, so relying on your team members can be the real key to victory, plus having the ability pick up a few objects and throw them never hurts either. Fantastic 4 has a good deal of objects that can be destroyed, something that just about any gamer loves.

Going back to the Spider-Man method of play though, you will score points based on fighting style and combos. As you amass these, they can in turn to used to improve your current abilities, but remember this isn't just one character. You have four different team members that you will need to work on, so putting everything into The Thing's fighting may not necessarily be the best solution. Each member does have his or her own unique strengths and weaknesses that you will need to take into consideration. The Invisible Girl may have some fantastic combos, but that doesn't beat out the brute strength of The Things. Mr. Fantastic on the other hand has the advantage of distance while The Human Torch is the ideal character to get in some fast attacks and deal with multiple enemies.

The game features a few other fighting styles. Buddy buffs for example will allow you to combine your powers with another of your You can also use your comic powers which will increase your fighting power, but these are limited. Luckily they will build up over time and grabbing blue orbs will increase the level. There are also supers, gained by collecting gold sphere. This will temporarily make you invincible as well as improve your fighting power. These skill will help tremendously as you try and save the world, and thankless job but someone has to do it, and Doctor Doom won't be your only nemesis. You will find other classic FF villains have taken up roost in various locals across the globe. Mole Man, Diablo, and even Annihilus all make an appearance throughout the game, all leading up

There is more to this game however than simply jumping into the game solo. The Fantastic 4 also features a co-op mode, something that really can make some of the stages a little easier to get through. You will also find area battles, a practice room to brush up on your skills, and a cooperative survival mode, which, if you're playing with a friend, will have you battling for highest score. Also, meeting your objectives in the games various stages will unlock even more environments to fight in. You've got all of this, plus the original actors reprising their roles, though I do have to say that the voice acting really could be a little better at times.

Gameplay aside though, the game looks, well . . . . fantastic. There is a great amount of detail in the stages; the enemies don't end up being the same, garden variety in each stage, and seeing the groups' powers onscreen in nothing short of breath taking. There are also some huge bosses at times, and with these combined with the amount of onscreen action, you might think there's going to be a bit of slowdown, but there's none to be found an in fact, it's been rather rare to see that these days with the next generation consoles. Additionally, the game has plenty of great looking cutscenes to give you a break from the action from time to time, and these are all done magnificently.

Activision and developer 7 Studios have given fans the ideal tie-in that gives you not only gives you almost perfect movie to game translation and action, but an insanely fun co-op mode to make things that much more interesting. The only things that could have made this game that much better, and believe me, it's not a bad game at all, would have been a four-player and an online mode. Those are merely minor things however, and Activision has been delivering some outstanding titles based on not only the Marvel films, but also from the Marvel license itself and this is one game that, as the title suggests, is simply fantastic.

-mike-