Fantastic 4

Ron Osborn thinks the name "Fantastic" is a bit of a stretch.

Much like a good action movie, a good action game relies on impressive visual effects and plenty of, well, action. A Marvel superhero game is an adequate excuse for copious amount of both, but Fantastic 4 just manages to fall short of these expectations.

Based on the movie of the same name, Fantastic 4 puts you in control of the superheroes: The Human Torch, The Invisible Woman, The Thing and Mr. Fantastic whose stretch ability doesn’t exactly justify his name.

Rather than choosing a single character with which to pummel through wave after wave of enemies, in Fantastic 4 you can pummel through wave after wave of enemies with all four heroes, switching between them via the controller D-pad.

When not under your control, your counterparts are smart enough to keep on kicking but if you want some real help there’s always the game’s two player co-op mode.

Though the action element is certainly there, it’s in the visual department that Fantastic 4 looses out. Perhaps it’s a sign of a multiplatform, lowest-common-denominator design, but the blocky graphics hardly do the Xbox justice and combat effects just don’t pack much of a visual punch. Backing into a wall also tends to create some less than flattering camera angles, and though the view can be easily moved, it’s a pain particularly during intense button-mashing fights.

Combat is about standard for a 3D beat-em- up action game. Each character has their own special abilities, with more to unlock as you progress though the game. Team combo maneuvers add some variety to the game play and destructible environments keep things interesting, particularly when playing as The Thing. Though the levels are short, this actually helps the pace of the game and provides a good mix of action and story.

Though the game is based on the movie, it also has an original storyline co-written by Zak Penn (who’s superhero movie co-writing credentials include Electra and X-Men 2). The attention to the story helps drive the game, though the sporadic rendered video sequences are reminiscent of early 90’s ‘multimedia’ CD-ROMs.

The story isn’t the only part of the game to get the Hollywood treatment, the in-game dialogue has been voiced by the cast of the movie and character theme songs have been contributed by the groups: Taking Back Sunday, Jurassic 5, The Explosion and Go Betty Go.

While this kind of tie-in is a good use of the movie licence, unfortunately the theme songs leave a lot to be desired and are thankfully tucked away as extras.

While the team element adds to the gameplay and the story is well told, these factors just aren’t enough to lift Fantastic 4 above the other beat-em-up games out there.