Metacritic Games

Fantastic Four (GameCube)

Fantastic Four game players are be able to harness the Marvel Super Heroes' unique and amazing powers through a compelling single-player or two-player co-operative team based gameplay experience. Authored by Zak Penn, who co-wrote the story for "X2," the game follows the Fantastic Four film's storyline and expands the adventures by letting players stretch, control fire and use invisibility and brute force to defeat evil Super Villains in new environments and familiar comic book locales. Challenged to master the individual powers of each Super Hero and combine them to level even more devastating attacks, players must battle some of Marvel's most notorious Super Villains, including, the ultimate evil - Doctor Doom -- to save the human race from disaster. [Activision]

Activision Value
Third-Person Action, Adventure
Players: 2
T (Teen)
Developer: 7 Studios
Released June 28, 2005

Overall Metascore

This is a weighted, normalized average of all individual scores given by critics, on a scale of 0 (worst) to 100 (best).

61 / 100

Critic Reviews

87 GameZone
The levels may be short, but so in the learning curve. Players will find themselves pulled through the linear game with anticipation.
80 PGNx Media
Fantastic 4 offers four characters, a repertoire of moves, and compelling level design that culminate in an engaging game. The production values are good, thanks in no small part to the authentic voice acting. The bonuses are a cool addition to the game as well.
79 Game Chronicles
The graphics may be hit and miss, but they are solid where it counts; in the gameplay, and the sound effects again, are merely average, but the two-player co-op mode is awesomely fun for gamers that are fans of the famed comic book series or action fans in general.
75 Nintendojo
An amusing adventure, but it is clearly lacking polish.
75 Game Informer
In what seems like a profoundly misguided step, four players can't play as the Fantastic Four. [Sept 2005, p.101]
72 Inside Gamer Online
It's not polished enough to join its high-quality brethren in the superhero game hall of fame-- but even amidst a plague of poor design blunders and bland production values, it succeeds at offering some mindless controller wrangling in spite of itself.
71 Gaming Target
Issues such as the camera, the short length and repetitive nature of the game keep it from being a game to remember.
70 eToychest
The game is limited to two players, maximum, and that's a crying shame.
70 GameSpy
The game's presentation is easily worth the attention of even the most hardcore comic fans. The graphics are all fairly well defined, with the GameCube version just edging out the PS2 in visual quality.
67 BonusStage
I can’t say the game is all bad, as the teamwork aspect does offer up some unique gameplay, but with senseless enemy AI and a small amount of non-repetitive action, this game isn’t something I could really recommend without getting a cramp in my stomach.
65 Stuff
It’s decent, mindless fun…until you realize how little freedom your four heroes actually have.
65 IGN
A straightforward action brawler with some interesting ideas. Very limited sense of freedom and wonky camera hurt the experience.
65 Play Magazine
The models up close are unsightly, the cinemas grainy and the music has all the luster of a Tide commercial, but the game on the whole is entertaining by game standards. [Aug 2005, p.50]
64 Worth Playing
The highest praise due to Fantastic Four is that it occasionally trades with some success on the universal truth that breaking things is fun.
61 Jolt Online Gaming UK
It’s really the co-op mode that saves the game from utter mediocrity. Nevertheless, the abject blandness of pretty much every other facet of the game holds it back from being decent enough to purchase.
60 G4 TV
Co-op also makes the bad camera even worse. It's better included than not, but if you want great multiplayer, play the deeper and more fulfilling X-Men Legends or one of the Baldur's Gate games.
60 Total Video Games
Whilst not the worst film tie-in, Fantastic 4 still feels heavily watered down and certainly comes across as a weaker version of "X-Men Legends."
60 Eurogamer
But more importantly, you do get to 'be' the Fantastic 4 and experiment with some really rather excellent superpowers, and the game isn't so bad that a serious fan couldn't overlook its flaws.
60 Sydney Morning Herald
The action can get intense, highlighting one of the game's main issues: the unwieldy camera angle that requires constant attention.
60 Next Level Gaming
Frustrating controls and fighting engine, and really lackluster fun-factor keep this game on the store shelf.
60 Nintendo Power
The drawbacks are that the gameplay is basic button-mashing, and you can get past most enemies (in Medium difficulty) with standard attacks. [Aug 2005, p.81]
60 GamerFeed
The biggest part about Fantastic Four that makes it enjoyable is the multiplayer collaboration. Two players can work together side-by-side in the game's story mode, or can simply go at it in an Arena Battle against endless minions. It may be just the ticket for those eager to team up for clobberin' time.
58 GameSpot
The game suffers from imprecise controls, a lackluster presentation, a few bugs, and other issues that make it difficult to recommend.
57 Electronic Gaming Monthly
But it's mostly mediocre. Fantastic 4 desperately tries to break up the button mashing with lame minigames, like hacking a door by doing preschool puzzles, which just made the game feel like a fantastic chore. [Sept 2005]
55 Gamers' Temple
A game that did not need to be made. Check out "X-Men Legends" instead. You’ll thank me later.
50 NintendoWorldReport
It's a dry, repetitive game with glaring design flaws and even some programming bugs.
50 Cheat Code Central
Playing Fantastic Four I felt more like a fifth wheel on an ATV than one of the gang. It just wasn't fantastic.
50 AceGamez
Unless you're a huge Fantastic Four nut I would recommend you play a different beat 'em up game, as this one is feels absolutely ancient and offers nothing new that we haven't seen before and many things we shouldn't see anymore.
45 WHAM! Gaming
This lack of dynamism renders Fantastic Four feeling rather impotent. And unfortunately all that's left is a decidedly average button basher wrapped up in a blockbuster license.
42 GameShark
Overall, Fantastic 4 continues the proud tradition of mediocrity set by the majority of both movie-based and superhero games.
42 Game Revolution
Even though kicking enemy butt can be satisfying and there are a lot of big, menacing monsters to face, Fantastic Four is merchandising at its finest, a hollow game that's beatable in eight hours and isn't replayable at all. We don’t expect you to enjoy it.
25 Nintendophiles
And while playing with another person is a little livelier, the atrocious camera will soon make things more frustrating than fun.

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