Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer Preview
June 4,2007 - Despite 2005’s Fantastic Four game being met with mostly mediocre reviews (as did the film, which still managed to be a box office hit), 2K Games turned to everybody’s favorite silver-bodied surfer and more for some help to follow Activision’s initial lead. With somewhat of a fresh start, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer appears to be making strides in the right direction.
The game will follow the film’s basic story line, seeing as how, well, it’s based on the movie. The Fantastic Four have grown more accustomed to their powers and have become quite the fighting force. However, the arrival of a strange out-of-world being—the Silver Surfer—has posed a new threat to the quartet. Also, to their surprise, the evil Dr. Doom has mysteriously returned, and the Fantastic Four must once again fight to save the world—because this is what they’re paid to do.
But it just wouldn’t feel like a legit licensed game if other villains weren’t randomly thrown into the mix. Be prepared to step outside and have words with Terrax (a former herald to Galactus, the Surfer’s master), the Red Ghost, Super Skrull, and a few other secret villains. In regards to the as-of-now-secret villain, we’ll go out on a limb here and make the assumption that it’s Dr. Doom—surprise! Players experienced with the last title may remember that they squared off against the Skrull villains before. However, this time around the Skrulls are looking to gather as much energy as they can in a mine and are lead by a monstrous Skrull who can replicate all of the Fantastic Four’s powers. Can’t be called Super Skrull for nothing, right? Fighting your own powers should be quite the experience, so hopefully that doesn’t disappoint. The other villains should be interesting to fight as well, seeing as how Terrax has powers vaguely similar to the Surfer (but without the Power Cosmic) and the Red Ghost can vaporize through material objects. Not only that, but players will also have to deal with Ghost’s Super Apes, which are super strong and as intelligent as humans.
FF’s gameplay also seems to be shaping up very nicely, mostly because of the team’s bigger focus on unity. That said, players will be able to fight as a fearsome foursome more often. In the first title, most of the player’s time was spent solo or in a duo. Fighting with all four teammates will also allow players to combine their different powers for more vicious attacks. One thing we’re not sure of, however, is whether or not players can fuse together powers the way the FF will in the movie. In one of the movie trailers, Johnny Storm can be seen flying through the air on fire, but with his arm stretched out like Mr. Fantastic and his fist huge like Thing’s.
Now, some players will be irked by the announced system exclusives (as some were for the Spider-Man 3 game, where New Goblin was only playable on the PlayStation 3). DS owners appear to have the coolest exclusive: players will be able to joyride in the Fantasticar—a flying car with detachable parts for each of the FF—and even play as the Silver Surfer himself. FF: ROTSS will also be taking advantage of the PS3’s SIXAXIS controller and Nintendo’s Wii Remote. For each respective controller, players will be able to perform “mega boost attacks.” Xbox 360 owners appear to be getting no love, save for the expansive destructible environment (also found on the PS3), but fret not— there might, after all, be something hidden for you, but that’s for time to tell.
The graphics have also seen a big improvement over the last game. The last installment was decent at best, but nothing next-gen worthy. Now, the characters look more like the actors in the movie. It’s good to see movie based games like this putting more focus on replicating the character’s faces. After all, who wants their actors to look terrible, right? Just don’t expect any miracles. We all know how licensed games can end up when we keep our toes crossed.
So will Rise of the Silver Surfer truly be a marked improvement over its predecessor? 2K Games is surely hoping so, and as mentioned earlier, it seems to be going in the right direction. The more dynamic fighting system alone could take the game down the right path. If you want proof, go check out our collection of video content and be sure to look out for Gamer 2.0’s impending review. Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer will be out on store shelves June 15th, 2007.
Written By: Alex Quevedo | Tags: Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Playstation 2, Take-Two Interactive, 7 Studios
The game will follow the film’s basic story line, seeing as how, well, it’s based on the movie. The Fantastic Four have grown more accustomed to their powers and have become quite the fighting force. However, the arrival of a strange out-of-world being—the Silver Surfer—has posed a new threat to the quartet. Also, to their surprise, the evil Dr. Doom has mysteriously returned, and the Fantastic Four must once again fight to save the world—because this is what they’re paid to do.
But it just wouldn’t feel like a legit licensed game if other villains weren’t randomly thrown into the mix. Be prepared to step outside and have words with Terrax (a former herald to Galactus, the Surfer’s master), the Red Ghost, Super Skrull, and a few other secret villains. In regards to the as-of-now-secret villain, we’ll go out on a limb here and make the assumption that it’s Dr. Doom—surprise! Players experienced with the last title may remember that they squared off against the Skrull villains before. However, this time around the Skrulls are looking to gather as much energy as they can in a mine and are lead by a monstrous Skrull who can replicate all of the Fantastic Four’s powers. Can’t be called Super Skrull for nothing, right? Fighting your own powers should be quite the experience, so hopefully that doesn’t disappoint. The other villains should be interesting to fight as well, seeing as how Terrax has powers vaguely similar to the Surfer (but without the Power Cosmic) and the Red Ghost can vaporize through material objects. Not only that, but players will also have to deal with Ghost’s Super Apes, which are super strong and as intelligent as humans.
FF’s gameplay also seems to be shaping up very nicely, mostly because of the team’s bigger focus on unity. That said, players will be able to fight as a fearsome foursome more often. In the first title, most of the player’s time was spent solo or in a duo. Fighting with all four teammates will also allow players to combine their different powers for more vicious attacks. One thing we’re not sure of, however, is whether or not players can fuse together powers the way the FF will in the movie. In one of the movie trailers, Johnny Storm can be seen flying through the air on fire, but with his arm stretched out like Mr. Fantastic and his fist huge like Thing’s.
Now, some players will be irked by the announced system exclusives (as some were for the Spider-Man 3 game, where New Goblin was only playable on the PlayStation 3). DS owners appear to have the coolest exclusive: players will be able to joyride in the Fantasticar—a flying car with detachable parts for each of the FF—and even play as the Silver Surfer himself. FF: ROTSS will also be taking advantage of the PS3’s SIXAXIS controller and Nintendo’s Wii Remote. For each respective controller, players will be able to perform “mega boost attacks.” Xbox 360 owners appear to be getting no love, save for the expansive destructible environment (also found on the PS3), but fret not— there might, after all, be something hidden for you, but that’s for time to tell.
The graphics have also seen a big improvement over the last game. The last installment was decent at best, but nothing next-gen worthy. Now, the characters look more like the actors in the movie. It’s good to see movie based games like this putting more focus on replicating the character’s faces. After all, who wants their actors to look terrible, right? Just don’t expect any miracles. We all know how licensed games can end up when we keep our toes crossed.
So will Rise of the Silver Surfer truly be a marked improvement over its predecessor? 2K Games is surely hoping so, and as mentioned earlier, it seems to be going in the right direction. The more dynamic fighting system alone could take the game down the right path. If you want proof, go check out our collection of video content and be sure to look out for Gamer 2.0’s impending review. Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer will be out on store shelves June 15th, 2007.
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| Published by: | Take-Two Interactive |
| Developed by: | 7 Studios |
| Genre: | Action |
| # of Players: | 1 |
| ESRB Rating: | Teen |
| Release Date: | US: June 15th, 2007 |
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Gamer 2.0 Rating: N/A | User Rating: N/A
Gamer 2.0 Rating: N/A | User Rating: N/A
Gamer 2.0 Rating: N/A | User Rating: N/A
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