Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

(2K Games for PS3, Xbox 360, and Wii)
By Mike Delano

Believe the hype: This game is an ugly, near-disaster that further proves the myth that games based on movies are slapdash cash-ins. But despite the mostly well-deserved beat down it’s received from critics for its laundry list of problems (including poor hit collision, bland graphics, stiff animation, boring levels, nonsensical mission progression, and overall bargain bin feel), FF: ROTSS does have a few bright spots. Some of the set pieces, like battling aliens amidst the debris of an aborted wedding ceremony on the roof of a Manhattan skyscraper or hurling cars at spaceships on the streets below, reveal the framework of an ambitious game, and switching amongst the four distinct characters (or playing up to four player co-op) adds a little more spark to the battles than your average brawler. Buried under the myriad of gameplay and design problems, though, those are just glimmers in an otherwise lifeless experience. It’s barely worth a once-through for fans of the comic who can take advantage of the co-op features, otherwise, it’s strictly for the morbidly curious.
(www.2kgames.com)