Fantastic 4 - Xbox

Created in 1961 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the Fantastic Four was the comic that really made a name for Marvel Comics, before Spider-man, the Hulk or the X-Men even existed. Developed in response to DC’s Justice League, it told the story of four astronauts who were exposed to enormous levels of radiation during the early part of a space voyage. You might expect such a mishap to cause the unlucky quartet to die, or get very ill and then die, or, and this is just an outside chance, get ill and then slowly get a little bit better. But no, Reed Richards, Ben Grimm, Sue and Johnny Storm found on their emergency return to earth that they have developed extraordinary powers. Reed Richards became Mr. Fantastic, with stretchy arms and legs. The Storm siblings transformed into the Invisible Woman and the Human Torch, and Ben Grimm, WWII fighter ace and pilot of the craft, transmogrified into the hideous but incredibly strong Thing.

This venerable franchise is now to be released as a feature film, following where its Marvel stablemates Spider-man, the Hulk and the X-men have already gone. And if there’s one type of action film you can guarantee will be accompanied by an explosion of merchandise, it’s the comic book adaptation. Merchandise, of course, includes video games, and it’s Spider-man publishers Activision that do the honours this time around.

Take control of all four characters and set out to foil the hideously disfigured metal-faced super villain Dr Doom, the alter ego of Victor Von Doom, who condemns himself to an evil life outside society after his strange and forbidden experiments backfire. Locations and characters are all drawn directly from the movie and the voice talent for the game is provided by the same actors. Solve puzzles and battle enemies using your team members’ strengths: Use Mr. Fantastic elastic limbs, or take advantage of his incredible brain to hack into computer systems, over-ride security systems and use knowledge to heal your team mates. Use the Thing’s brute force to smash through walls, and hurl heavy objects. Use Sue Storm’s invisibility for stealth or take to the air shooting flame from your fingertips as the Human Torch. Swap between members of the four dynamically ingame, or play in co-op mode, the Fantastic Four game promises to bring you an interactive experience that recalls the movie.
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