Like all summer blockbuster films, its inevitable that there will be a computer game released based on the franchise, however this normally causes much dismay to the fans. The problem is the choice the designers have, release the game at the time of the film, make a lot of cash but not a great game, I’m looking at you Hulk, or work hard until the game is ready and release a stunner, check out The Incredible Hulk Ultimate Destruction, the latter example being one of the best game for the PS2 in its later life.

Take Two have taken a gamble and released this title around the film release, and for once it seems that the designers have got the basic premise of the film and made quite a good tie in.

The game follows the film closely, and if you have not seen it yet I will not go into too much detail, but the premise of the game has you chasing after a strange alien that is causing damage to Earth, that turns out to be the Silver Surfer, however you are not the only people that want to harness the powers of this being and some classic Fantastic Four baddies pop up to battle against.

I suppose you would call this a 3D beat-em up, enemies coming from all sides, trying to prevent you from getting to the next door or solve the puzzle to progress through the game. In the game you have the choice to control one of the Fantastic Four, in single player you are able to swap between each character and use their powers to full advantage. Each character has separate abilities, for example, Mr Fantastic is able to stretch and hit higher targets, grab enemies and head-butt them, The Human Torch is able to throw flaming projectiles and fly, The Thing possesses incredible strength and The Invisible Woman can throw up a protective shield around her team mates.

An original touch is the team powers, where your controlling character can partner up with another for a more devastating attack, my favourite being where Mr Fantastic catapults The Thing into the air and smashes him into the ground, causing damage to the surrounding enemies.

Most levels follow a simple process of taking out a bunch of bad guys, move to the next room and repeat, this is normally a bad thing for beat-em ups but the changes of scenery from around the globe, caves to space platforms and a surprisingly large variety of bad guys to beat up gives this game more depth then you normal film tie in. Add to this a few flying levels with The Human Torch chasing the Silver Surfer and you wont be getting too bored with this game to quickly.

The sound of the characters match the film and the music suits the game very well, in fact the music gives the game a very good movie feel as the pace will change as the action heats up. Also for once the in game characters look more realistic than their film counterparts.

Though a glaring omission is the online co-op (probably a sacrifice for the film release date), you are able to grab some mates and have some 4 player fun, each person taking on their favourite characters role.

As a cool addition, there are certain 4 tokens and Doom bots to collect, these will open up secrets, some of the better ones unlocking comic covers and also new costumes based on the Fantastic Fours comic history which alter the characters attributes in game.

Though the film has a very low target age, the game improves on this and makes it more accessible to the comic fans and a more mature audience, through still playable for all ages. There have been a few harsh reviews on this game but I really enjoyed it, however personally I feel the price tag is high, if you are unsure, try a rental first.