N-Philes

Fantastic 4

Posted by Jordan Mammo.

Normally, Fantastic 4 isn't a game I'd consider playing. However, desperate times call for desperate measures. In an attempt to meet N-Philes' strict contribution requirements, I decided I might as well rent something. Of course, my local Blockbuster's game selection was lacking, (unfortunately that's not exactly their fault at this point in the GameCube's life), so my only choices when it came to new releases were Batman Begins and Fantastic 4. Batman was out of stock. I walked out with the Marvel Foursome and some low expectations.

If there's any good news it's that Fantastic 4 doesn't stink as much as I thought it would. The bad news is that still doesn't mean it's any good. While there has been a trickle of movie-licensed titles providing gamers with exciting experiences, Fantastic 4 is stuck in the doldrums of what we've come to expect out of these types of games.

Having not seen the movie, I can only assume that, like Spider-Man 2 before it, the game follows the film's general storyline while adding additional missions to extend the length. The plot is rather boring and if you're a fan of the comics then you know the story anyway, so the real draw is the ability to take control of the four heroes and, well, kick some butt.

Fantastic 4 is set up like any standard beat'em-up: you battle through waves of enemies, pick a fight with some mini-bosses, destroy some more waves of enemies, and eventually take on the main bosses. Unfortunately taking control of our four heroes isn't as fun as it should be. Analog control is loose and since moving The Thing feels exactly like moving around Sue Storm, you never feel like you're actually in control of any of the characters.

The developers did a nice job of incorporating each character's unique abilities in their repertoire of moves, but unfortunately they're almost all based on the same set-up and there are few differences between playing as each character. The Human Torch is the only character that feels a little different to play as, and that's thanks to his ability to shoot fireballs and almost complete inability to hit an enemy that's right in front of him. The lack of real difference between our heroes really comes through in the types of enemies you fight in the game, since the AI is moronic and most all of your opponents can be dispatched with any character. Even in those situations where your powers can really come in handy, you don't actually get to perform the cool moves, but rather you'll stand on a glowing spot on the ground and watch the game carry out the moves for you. This is really where the gameplay falls flat. Instead of having a game based on the Fantastic 4's cool powers, we've got a beat'em-up that's had said cool powers shoved into it. You're basically controlling four characters that are more or less the same while only getting to watch what makes them unique when the game wants you to. Not exactly riveting gameplay.

Boss fights try to spice things up with some tougher patterns to figure out, but for every battle that offers an interesting take on a boss there's one that's essentially you waiting for its invincible shield to go away so you could clobber it. Then of course there's the time where during a fight Mr. Fantastic says that you have to reflect the rays back at the boss, so you try and do just that. You avoid enemies; dodge the red rays while trying to shoot back blue ones, but hey! It's not working! Then off in the background Mr. Fantastic simply starts punching the boss in the face, taking out its life meter faster than the Human Torch can fly (though I guess that's a bad example since in this game he can't fly at all! Woops!)

The biggest threat in Fantastic 4, however, is neither the hordes of enemies you encounter nor the bosses you must topple, but the abysmal camera that you have to contend with throughout the game. This thing zooms, pans, and spins at all the wrong times, and even when you position it manually it never stays where you want it to longer than a few seconds. Simply turning in a hallway can get the camera stuck behind one of the corners, and don't be surprised when you enter another room to see it stay behind in the previous one. And if that's not bad enough, it'll then zoom up the wall and leave you completely clueless as to what the heck is happening and where you're going.

It's the camera alone that makes me glad the developer made this game compatible with only two players and not four. While tackling each mission with a friend is certainly more enjoyable than going alone, the camera just gets worse, and how bad it'd be with three or more players is something I'd rather not think about. Oftentimes it'll catch players in a corner or behind an obstacle and leave them helpless while they're pounded on by three or four enemies.

This game gets an N-Philes score of D.

Simply put, Fantastic 4 is not fantastic at all. It's decent at first until you realize there isn't much of a difference between the characters you're controlling or the enemies you're fighting. And while playing with another person is a little livelier, the atrocious camera will soon make things more frustrating than fun. Even fans of the comic and/or movie, unless young, are likely to be disappointed, as the reason they'd want to play (to use the Fantastic 4's cool abilities) isn't executed very well in the first place.

Posted in: Reviews

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