Boy, has the Marvel licensing deal paid off for Activision. Not only has it been financially successful for both parties involved, but we've seen some of the best comic-book based games ever made as a result. Spider-Man 2 went leaps and bounds above other web slinger based products with its free-roaming engine, X-Men Legends positively put the heroes into an action/RPG format, with a sequel currently on the way, and now we have Fantastic Four, based on the 20th Century Fox movie of the same name that puts Marvel's latest heroes to work.

The Four were definitely in need of a good game. The only respect they were paid in digital form was the disgraceful PS1 effort from Acclaim, a side-scrolling beat-em-up so lacking in quality that even Marvel themselves were quick to brush it aside. Activision's take on the legacy isn't half bad, placing the four heroes in the middle of numerous scenarios and against enemies from both the film and the comic book legacy. It certainly brings it back to respectable status, although there's still something that's holding it back from joining the aforementioned games in terms of "must-have" status.

The game follows the movie's storyline pretty closely. A team of five astronauts take off to space to examine the events of a cosmic storm from a nearby space station, but the station is overwhelmed by the storm, altering their DNA and giving them unique abilities. One of them becomes so engulfed in his power that he becomes the nefarious Doctor Doom, focusing on destruction and chaos. The other four make it a mission to stop him using their superpowers, and find more than they bargained for when more evil faces pop up and get in their way.

Each of the four characters in the game seems unique, even if they play about the same. You've got Mr. Fantastic, who can stretch his limbs with a rubber-band like effect. the Invisible Woman, who can use invisibility at will and also project force fields for both protection and attacks, the Human Torch, a walking fireball that can use projectiles as well as up-close fighting moves with flaming ability, and The Thing, a huge orange-crusted being with power unmatched, especially when it comes to throwing cars or viscerally pounding the ground. You'll be introduced to each of these characters as the game begins, and then eventually be able to switch between them on-the-fly as it progresses, as each of their abilities will come in handy during specific points.

It's good to be able to switch around with the characters and see what the effect is, but the gameplay somewhat limits them to about the same thing. They each have distant and up-close combo attacks to help them dispatch enemies, ranging from typical thugs to defensive robots to larger boss enemies, but the whole thing gets repetitive a few stages in. Sure, you can upgrade your heroes with new attacks, which is a nice touch, but they too suffer from repetitiveness, and eventually some people may get bored by the lack of true expansion or team attacks. It helps that Activision threw in a couple of co-op modes to help mix things up, including an Arena mode where players can just beat up thug after thug and see what maneuvers work best, but limitations are still limitations. It's wham-wham-wham, move along, and repeat.

The game's graphics won't amaze, but they are decent and fit the look of the movie just fine. Some of the animations are impressive, especially on the Human Torch and Mr. Fantastic, with their diverse movements and detail. It also should be noted that the level design has its moments of greatness as well, especially when you're facing off against larger enemies and eventually Doctor Doom, but the camera is seriously lacking. Like in other games, it sometimes doesn't show you all the dangers and eventually leaves you hanging at points where you're stuck. This may frustrate some of you who just want to move ahead and make sure the coast is clear before you find yourself heavily ambushed.

As for the sound, it delivers. There's a score similar to that of the film that keeps up on a heroic pace, and the sound effects do the trick. What I was really impressed by, however, was the use of the actors from the film to handle the voiceovers in the game, and they're not half bad. Michael Chiklis can be somewhat hilarious as The Thing, delivering raw energy yet keeping things purely tongue-in-cheek. Julian McMahon pours on the menace as Doom, and, of course, Jessica Alba's easy on the ears.

The game's relatively easy to beat, but there are a few unlock able items that may motivate you to come back. Activision's thrown in some informative behind-the-scenes interviews to check out, as well as some comic art and bonus levels that are worth looking over at least once.

So Fantastic Four isn't quite fantastic. It lacks the push that made other Activision/Marvel products so amazing. Maybe it's the way Seven Studios made it so simple, but the game is still leagues above Acclaim's travesty, and should be given a rent if only to check out the impressive extras and the fun co-op modes. See if you're up for this kind of clubberin' time.