While the latest swell of comic-book adaptations has produced a few inspired and surprisingly personal big-budget spectaculars such as Batman Begins and the Spider-Man movies, others are more concerned with just carrying a franchise past the finish line. With its C-list cast and no-list director, the new Fantastic Four all but announces itself as a competent-yet-forgettable Marvel cash-in, and that spirit carries over into the obligatory video-game spin-off, which seems programmed by a bloodless supercomputer. Mimicking the gameplay of other Marvel/Activision favorites like Spider-Man and X-Men Legends, Fantastic Four feels more like a thin overlay covering pre-tested models than like an original gaming experience. The levels don't clear so much as evaporate, much like the cost of admissions and a bucket of popcorn during the dog days of summer.
When a cosmic storm rips through a space station, four astronauts are transformed into superheroes with special button-mashing abilities: The rock-like Ben Grimm, a.k.a. The Thing, can tear down façades and lift heavy objects (with a little spastic tapping); Sue Storm, a.k.a. The Invisible Girl, can erect a protective shield (with some heavy joystick rotation); the elastic Reed Richards, a.k.a. Mr. Fantastic, can break security codes (through inane ring puzzles); and Johnny Storm, a.k.a. The Human Torch, lights things on fire. Sometimes they go on missions individually, and sometimes in pairs or as a team, giving you the option to fight as any one of them, though it's always best to lean on Grimm's brute force as the default option. After a lackluster start, the game improves as the expected henchmen, monsters, mini-bosses, and supervillains increase in quality and quantity, and the cinematic backdrops become more elaborate. Too bad that it only requires some random, furious button combinations to grind through to the finish, which renders any special flourishes all but meaningless.