Home | News | Reviews | Previews | Hardware
The Incredibles
Score: 92%
ESRB: Teen
Publisher: THQ
Developer: Heavy Iron Studios
Media: DVD/1
Players: 1
Genre: Action

Graphics & Sound:
The Incredibles game brings all of the action of the movie to your console, but it also fills in a lot of holes with events that were only hinted at on the big screen.

The graphics of this game stunned me the moment I turned it on. A lot of the cut-scenes are taken straight from the movie (which is to be expected), but what got me were the smooth transitions between the Pixar CG clips and the in-game graphics. There are plenty of times when the cut between the two types (though noticeable) is clean and smooth, helping the game blend in with the movie that much more.

The models also seem to come straight off of the big screen with models that are easily identifiable and just as expressive as their pre-rendered counterparts.

The music from The Incredibles follows the James Bond-esqe style defined in the movie. The voices and sound effects also do a good job of pulling you into the game.


Gameplay:
The Incredibles follows a family of superheroes as they are taken out of their secret suburban life and thrust back into a world of robots, lasers, grenade-lobbing henchmen and explosions. The game takes the premise and events of the movie and fleshes it out. There are plenty of events that are only mentioned in passing in the movie, but become full action-filled levels in the game. An example of this is the burning building that happens early in the movie. In the film, Mr. Incredible and Freezone speed off to the fire; it then cuts to them pulling a few people out. In the game, you must find your way through the blaze taking down Firebugs (the arsonists who are causing all of these problems).

There are a total of 18 levels, taking you from the bank heist at the beginning of the movie to the final showdown with Syndrome and the Omnidroid. You will be able to control Mr. Incredible, Mrs. Incredible/Elasti-Girl, Dash and Violet, and use each of their unique powers to complete mission objectives.

Outside of the story, there isn’t much else to this game. You can collect bonus items while exploring the levels. These items unlock artwork and video clips. Besides a nice assortment of codes that you can enter in the Secret menu and a menu option that remains hidden until unlocked, there isn’t much more to The Incredibles.


Difficulty:
The Incredibles is only mildly difficult. It shouldn’t take extremely long to move through the levels, but there are several locations that can get tedious and a bit frustrating. The first time you control Dash (as he races after the school bus), it takes some work to get a feel for his controls and maneuverability, thus making this level more of a challenge than others.

Game Mechanics:
The Incredibles' control scheme is simple to pick up and makes the transition between the various characters as smooth as possible. The two characters you will play the most as (Mr. and Mrs. Incredible) have very similar controls. You punch with the Square button, grab and throw objects or henchmen with Circle, and activate your Incredi-Attack with Triangle. Mr. Incredible can crouch with the R1 button while Mrs. Incredible uses that button to swing from objects or punch baddies from a long distance.

The Incredibles is a good (if not slightly short) action game that has better than average graphics and enough extra storyline to make it more than just a retelling of the movie.


-J.R. Nip, GameVortex Communications
AKA Chris Meyer

This site best viewed in Internet Explorer 6 or higher or Firefox.