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THQ capitalizes on the success of The Incredibles with a second title. Pixar’s The Incredibles was wildly successful, just like every Pixar film before it. THQ enjoyed this success with their first wave of The Incredibles titles last year. In the absence of a new movie, THQ took the initiative and made a new title for fans of the series to enjoy. Heavy Iron Studios and THQ have you used the time since the last film wisely since Rise of the Underminer is an overall more enjoyable game than the previous game based on the movie.
The Incredibles: Rise of the Underminer begins after the movie ends, where we saw that the Underminer was getting to the surface from his home in the ground. The plot revolves around the rise of this new character, The Underminer, who threatens to destroy the world. Though the first game let you play as the different members of the Incredibles family, this game focuses on Mr. Incredible and Frozone. While it may seem like there would be a lack variety, the game uses both characters effectively (especially since you can switch on the spot) and provides tighter, more focused gameplay.
In the game, you’ll use both characters to overcome The Underminer. The characters are pretty different. Mr. Incredibles is the stronger of the two, and his attacks include the typical punches but also include a huge slam, a special move, and the ability to throw enemies around. Frozone also has a special attack, and along with the typical punches, can freeze objects and pull a sheet of ice that acts as a hover board. You’ll use both characters to take on the enemies since you can freeze them before finishing them off easily with Mr. Incredible. Frozone provides for a more compelling game, but he lacks the brute strength of Mr. Incredible, which you’ll need.
Though you only control one character at a time, you can issue simple commands like “follow” or “stay” via the dpad. The AI is usually pretty good, though it is sometimes erratic. Sometimes you’ll need to switch to fulfill context-dependent moves, like creating a frozen bridge with Frozone or using Mr. Incredible’s super strength. Aside from the combat, the game includes some light platforming elements as well.
The Incredibles: Rise of the Underminer includes a two player cooperative mode, which is more fun than the singleplayer since you don’t have to deal with the sometimes dimwitted AI.
The game’s visuals are reasonably impressive. The main characters look great; they’re instantly recognize, sport a good amount of detail and animate very well. All of the unique moves look great. The environments are also reasonably good looking, although they are somewhat repetitive since you feel like you’re in the same part of the city the entire time. There are some special effects in there like the blurring that takes place for explosions. Since the game is aimed at younger children, the colors are vibrant. The framerate keeps up with the game well. All four versions of the game look about the same. The PC version is the sharpest, with the Xbox version following (especially if you run it in progressive scan); both versions have crisper textures, as well. The Gamecube and PS2 versions of the game look nearly identical.
The game’s audio is well done. The background music fits the game well though it isn’t particularly memorable. The same can be said about the sound effects; they do their job but don’t do much else. The voice acting isn’t provided by the film’s actors but the soundalikes do a convincing job.
The Incredibles: Rise of the Underminer does of a good job of filling the void left by an absence of a The Incredibles film. The game sports a good story and solid gameplay with unique abilities for the different characters. It’s more enjoyable than the first game and good filler until the second The Incredibles film.
-- Adam Nunez & -- Jose Liz, PGNx Media
---- Nov 30, 2005
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