Though perhaps a hair more respectable than The Avengers, The Fantastic Four has always been kind of at the bottom of Marvel's must-read list. Let's face it, even on his most limber day, Reed Richards can't stretch himself far enough to reach the greatness of Spider-Man or the X-Men. But the irradiated foursome does have some cool moves in their superpower repertoire, giving the game the potential to outdo both the film and comic book. So how does it play? Well, you'd have to ask my PlayStation 2.
Fantastic Four is one of those increasingly common games that lets your console play the best parts. You go through the motions of any beat'-em-up: kicking and punching your way to a highlighted hot spot where you stand, push a button, and watch the game perform some elaborate superpower move you wish you could've done yourself. The game winds up being OK, but far from ... well, you know.
ATELIER IRIS: ETERNAL MANA (T) (3 stars)
NIS America
PlayStation 2
This charming RPG would have been awesome had it come out during the Clinton administration. That would be the first Clinton administration, when RPGs were about random encounters, turn-based battles and character leveling. In glorious 2D. A throwback to the Super Nintendo, Iris has cute characters and an interesting, complex alchemy system that lets you create magical items. But repetitive enemies and a weak story hold the game back. It's no Final Fantasy III.
DEAD TO RIGHTS: RECKONING (M) (2 stars)
Namco
PlayStation Portable
Thank God for Shadow the dog. Sure, the run-and-gun gameplay might have muddy graphics that make it difficult to see. And sure, some weapons feel useless—even at close range. And maybe the game throws in too many disarming animations (where you disarm an enemy in slow motion, leaving yourself vulnerable to his buddies, who somehow shoot you at normal speed). But when you sic that reliable pooch on the bad guys, nothing goes wrong. Good dog. Bad game.
MIDNIGHT CLUB 3: DUB EDITION (T) (3.5 stars)
Rockstar
PlayStation Portable
Rockstar managed to cram every shiny chrome bit of its excellent PS2 street racer into the tiny PSP disc. Consequently, all of that high-speed euphoria is packed in so well, it takes a while to come out. Midnight Club 3 for PSP has some of the most hideous loading times in recent years, but all of the console version's glory is there—if you're willing to wait.
Matthew Scott Hunter has been known to mumble, "Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, start" in his sleep. E-mail him at
[email protected].