The Incredibles: Rise of the Underminer
Publisher: THQ
Official Site: http://thq.com/theincredibles/

ESRB Rating: E-10+
Reviewed Platform: Xbox
Available Platforms: Xbox, PS2, GameCube, PC, DS, GameBoy Advance
For up to 2 players.

Overall: B
Violence: B-
Sexual Content: A
Language: A
Alcohol/Drug Use: A

What is this game about?

Rise of the Underminer begins where the Disney/Pixar movie The Incredibles ends, with The Underminer surfacing from beneath the ground, intent on taking over.

If you haven’t seen the film, The Incredibles are a family of superheroes. The dad is Mr. Incredible and he has super strength. Mrs. Incredible can stretch her body into all kinds of shapes. Teenager Violet can turn invisible and can create force fields. Younger son Dash has incredible speed and baby Jack-Jack, well, he’s just discovering his powers.

They have a superhero friend named Frozone, who can freeze things and can create an ice path that he can skate on.

In the game, Mr. Incredible and Frozone head underground to battle the Underminer, who throws wave after wave of nasty robots at our superheroes until they have a climactic battle.

One thing to note: This game doesn’t feature all of the members of The Incredibles. While the entire family appears in the opening sequence, which is actually the ending of the Pixar movie, the game involves only Mr. Incredible and Frozone. The rest of the family don’t get involved in the action that follows.

Is it fun to play?

The first Incredibles video game was a bit of a hybrid in that it featured vastly different character controls since the members of the family each had their own special power. The gameplay also bounced between fighting, exploring and puzzle solving.

In Rise of the Underminer, the game is all about action, with the odd puzzle thrown in. You’ll spend most of your time beating up robots, which can get a bit tedious. Thankfully, the game isn’t very long, the action isn’t difficult and there aren’t many attacks to learn. This isn’t like one of those martial arts games, where you have to memorize strings of six-button combinations in order to unleash some wicked attack. Instead, Mr. Incredible and Frozone have a very simple fighting system, so much so that you really only need to push two buttons most of the time. Oh, there are a few other buttons that can help (the triggers unleash super moves), but the basic punch and throw actions do most of the damage.

It’s pretty obvious this game was designed with young players in mind. The controls are basic, the action straightforward and the game isn’t difficult to beat. While an adult gamer could get some enjoyment out of playing it alone, there’s more fun to be had partnering up with a young gamer and watching them unleash their inner superhero.

What do parents need to know about The Incredibles: Rise of the Underminer?

From a parent’s perspective, the decision of whether or not to let your child play this game breaks down into a rather simple question: Were you comfortable letting your child watch The Incredibles movie?

If you were, there’s nothing in Rise of the Underminer that should give you cause for concern -- save for the beat-’em-up action.

This game is primarily about punching robots, smashing robots and pulverizing robots all of which are attacking you, so the violence is necessitated by the fact there’s a super villain who’s out to kill you and your superhero buddy.

And while Mr. Incredible and Frozone have the odd sarcastic comment to make, which some might see as gloating, while others would write it off as sophomoric trash talking, the fact is that outside of the non-stop fighting (and having to solve the odd puzzle), there’s really nothing objectionable about the plot, action, animation or dialogue. It’s a fun game that stresses the importance of teamwork to defeat a common enemy or overcome a common obstacle.

And that’s the key point to remember here. This game is a perfect vehicle for you and your child, or for your children to play together. Since the game features only two characters, the co-op play mode means only two of you can play at once and that each of you is central to the action unfolding.

This game was designed to be played by two players since so many of the fights and puzzles require both characters to work together. For instance, you’ll repeatedly see Frozone being called upon to use his icy power to freeze something (an enemy or obstacle) and then Mr. Incredible steps in and smashes it to bits. Or, Frozone will have to create an ice bridge so the two characters can advance further along the underground paths.

If you’re going to play this with your child, I’d recommend the parent play the Frozone character. For the most part, the game is focused on Mr. Incredible. His strength is what counts most, so he’s called upon to inflict the most damage and be the most heroic of the two. Frozone is there in more of a supporting role (although he can kick some robotic butt, as well). So, this is a game where you can let your child take the lead while you sit back and aid him or her along the way.

Overall, this is a good game that promotes co-operation and allows both parents and their children to not only enjoy the further adventures of The Incredibles, but also to work together and have a good time playing an above-average game.

Wayne Chamberlain

© 2006 One Voice Communications. All Rights Reserved.