The Incredibles: Rise of the Underminer

10/11/05

Anyone who’s seen Pixar’s “The Incredibles” (and who hasn’t) will easily remember the final scene of the film. The family walks out of a school track meet, only to see a huge drill burst from the ground, and a new villain, The Underminer, unearths himself and declare war on man. It’s from this moment that THQ’s The Incredibles: Rise of the Underminer uses to launch the player into the game. As the name implies, Rise of the Underminer uses two of the most beloved characters from the movie - Frozone and Mr. Incredible. Both have basic set of skills (such as punching and jumping) enhanced by their specific traits – Frozone’s frozen punch, Mr.Incredible’s smashing punch and the like. However, lest you think the characters are all dupes of one another in different costumes – they each are balanced with special powers, character-specific powers and their normal skills (such as punching) do varying damage depending upon the character. Both characters are on-screen at all times, with the AI controlling one while the player takes the other. To switch characters, it’s just a quick flick of the D-pad, and as the missions continue, you’ll need to quickly jump between the two – as Frozone builds ice bridges and Mr. Incredible throws bad guys through doors. From what I’ve played, Frozone is decidedly the most enjoyable of the two characters, since he packs a solid mix of ranged and close quarters attack, and has the very cool Frozone iceboard that he can sail around on. Even if you do end up preferring one character, you’ll still need to play the other at times to get through specific sections of a level. The level design is pretty much what you’d expect for a game of this type, lots of smashing and bashing and plenty of platform jumping. It’s fun for kids, that’s for certain, and adults looking to be a superhero for a bit might also find a challenge in the game. The levels are enhanced by great visuals, which may not be movie-quality, but are certainly no slouch. Developer Heavy Iron Studios has taken time to detail the backgrounds with plenty of debris, drills, robot parts and the obligatory crates. So far, the only real gripe with the game is the voice acting, which isn’t bad from a dialog standpoint, it’s just that it isn’t the actors from the movies. So it seems odd to hear Frozone, the character Samuel L. Jackson brought to life in the film sound so generic. The Incredibles: Rise of the Underminer is set for a November 1 release, and looks like it should be a fun game in a family household. Or for anyone looking to freeze, bash, smash and fly their way through a fun mini-movie.
Send News to N4G | |