Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

Before the days of the Marvel Cinematic Universe near-total domination of the world’s box office, Marvel movies were kind of in an awkward phase. One of the films that came out during that period was 2007’s Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, and in those days, every blockbuster movie had to have its videogame adaptation, and this one wasn’t the exception.

What’s going on with the plot?

As a companion piece to the movie, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer expect players to have seen the film (or at least have some knowledge of its plot) before they play the game. The story of the game is presented in a disorganized fashion, throwing players right into the middle of the film’s plot as soon as they begin playing.

Like many other games made from films, this one isn’t a direct adaptation of the movie’s plot. While some elements of the story of the Silver Surfer meeting the Fantastic Four as it happened in the movie remain, some other characters from the comics are also introduced into the mix.

Honestly, the plot of the game might be more interesting than that of the film. If you’re a fan of the Fantastic Four comics, then you’d be surprised to see characters such as the Skrull making an appearance here, even though they were totally absent from the movie.

Fun for the whole family

One of the vital elements of the Fantastic Four is that they’re, well, four. It’s only natural that the game features an entertaining 4 players co-op mode. This turns the game into a beat ‘em up platformer like Marvel Ultimate Alliance, only with a different camera angle and a much smaller roster of characters.

Like their movie and comic book counterparts, each team member has its unique set of abilities. In theory, Mr. Fantastic stretch powers should feel different from Johnny’s Human Torch abilities, but sadly, that’s not exactly the case.

Even though the characters are visually distinctive, they’re nearly identical gameplay-wise. The only exception is The Thing, who feels heavier and slower than the other team members.

If you play the game solo, you can also switch which member of the Fantastic Four you control on the go. Even though they feel virtually identical, some sections require you to use a specific member of the family to solve riddles or evade obstacles.

Not so fantastic graphics

Released in 2007, the game came out in an awkward time for consoles. The seventh generation of consoles was just making its debut, but the sixth-gen wasn’t going to go out as easily. This meant that this Fantastic Four game was a cross-generational release that had to adapt its visuals to a wide array of consoles.

While the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game look ‘okay’ for the time, the PS2 and Wii versions aren’t so lucky. Dull textures and blocky character models sour the entire experience. It’s especially sad to see in the Wii’s case, a console that was capable of great graphics if developers were willing to go the extra mile.

Pros

• Entertaining multiplayer
• Better plot than the movie
• Fun puzzles to solve

Cons

• Graphically unimpressive
• Repetitive levels
• Weak sound design