Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

Though comic-based games like Marvel Ultimate Alliance can be quite, well, marvellous, comic-based movie games remain mysteriously average. Could a super-villain be draining all the fun to power his latest world-conquering super-cannon? Perhaps. Still, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer benefited from my low expectations and I was surprised to find myself entertained for some time. I dig flying around as the Human Torch in Marvel UA and it’s a blast here, too. Also, I enjoyed the Thing saying "It’s clobberin’ time” followed by some serious clobbering. But the game is nonetheless a repetitive, Marvel-skinned beat-’em-up that suffers from a lack of ambition endemic to the movie series and, it must be noted, the superheroes themselves. If you’re into Fantastic Four, though, then you’ll love flipping between the cosmic quartet. Their powers are pretty well-realised and they team up for some cool combo moves, even if said moves are unleashed on wave after wave of boring old Skrulls and even lamer space apes. However, the biggest flaw is that the cosmic wave-riding Silver Surfer should be the coolest character to play, but you don’t get a chance. Reducing Galactus’s herald, the metallic alien astronomer Norrin Radd of Zenn-La (oh yes, I am just that geeky) to a non-playable character is the opposite of fantastic.