Xbox

The Incredibles

This has been a memorable year in many ways, the most relevant of which is that this is the year that movie tie-in games decided to cease to suck. There were a few that still did, of course; witness Catwoman. Chronicles of Riddick, on the other hand, did a lot all by itself to change the blatant expectation of the sucking. By not merely not sucking, but actually being pretty cool, it actually reversed the suck effect caused by several other games, such as Elf on the GBA.

The Incredibles is THQ’s latest game based on a Pixar movie. THQ has brought us such great as The Spongebob Squarepants Movie, which is actually a very good little platform game based on the movie. Last year they did Finding Nemo, and the game was a success. THQ has been slapping out platforms left and right. The Incredibles is still raking in some big cash (200 million + to date) at the Box Office even as I write this review. Kids and their parents are still flocking to movie theatres to see it. Now my six year old daughter loves these kinds of films.

The Incredibles is the latest theatrical treat to come from the creative minds of Pixar Studios. If there was ever a movie license perfectly suited to make the jump from big screen to the realm of video gaming, this tale of superheroes and the world they live in is it. THQ and Heavy Iron Studios agreed and have given gamers the chance to relive their favorite moments from the movie with the release of The Incredibles on the Xbox. That begs the question, "How well does the game stack up to the movie?"

Wenn in den USA ein neuer Film in die Kinos kommt, gehört es mittlerweile fast schon zum guten Ton, eine gigantische Merchendising-Lawine ins Rollen zu bringen. Dazu gehört in den meisten Fällen auch eine Umsetzung für PC und Konsolen. Auch bei dem neusten Meisterwerk der Animationsschmiede Pixar - „The Incredibles: Die Unglaublichen“ - gibt es wiederum ein Machwerk für alle Konsoleros.

The Incredibles, the latest Pixar flick to make the jump from theater screen to TV screen, has the makings of a solid action game. It features a nuclear family brimming with fantastic super powers, all sorts of maniacal contraptions and Pixar's unique brand of stylistic humor.

For all the critical acclaim Pixar's many computer-animated films have received over the years, there has yet to be a great game based on any of them. Rather, nearly every game to bear the license of a Pixar film has been a fairly run-of-the-mill and problematic affair, capturing little if any of the charm and whimsy that makes the studio's characters and stories so captivating. The Incredibles is the studio's latest film effort, and even though the film itself has not yet reached theaters, the game version of the movie has. Unfortunately, the game doesn't buck the trend of mediocrity, offering a fairly unremarkable experience that puts you through the motions of the film's plot without capturing any of its essence.

Petit jeu d'action sans grande envergure, Les Indestructibles parvient tout de même à nous distraire quelques instants. Cependant, on regrette vraiment que le film d'animation n'ait pas bénéficié d'une meilleure adaptation vidéoludique. En effet, le jeu n'est qu'un enchaînement de niveaux sans véritable lien entre eux. Le scénario est quasi-inexistant. Et le gameplay n'est pas assez riche et intéressant pour relever la sauce, si bien qu'on s'ennuie ferme. Non, décidément, on est encore en présence d'une licence cinématographique mal exploitée.

Everyone wants a sure thing, to get all of the reward without taking any of the risk. In the gaming world that means one of two things: a sequel or a movie license. Just look at a short list of this year’s crop of top games: Halo 2, Metal Gear Solid 3, The Sims 2, GTA: San Andreas, Doom 3, Metroid Prime 2. It’s not that these aren’t high-quality games; it’s just that original, creative, innovative titles are scarce. Few publishers are willing to risk millions in development costs just to make Katamari Damacy.