Pixar's The Incredibles is an amazing film for multiple reasons, but as for the THQ published game that accompanied it, nyeh. It's not that it's bad per se, but it definitely wasn't as good as it could have been, so I kept this in mind as I prepared myself for the sequel, The Incredibles: Rise of the Underminer. But you can't put a bad label onto a new game just because it's predecessor didn't propel you to digital nirvana, and I found this out when I ran through the preview build's three short levels. This game is chock full of action, super fun, and I can't get enough. Please THQ, may I have some more?

Not only is Rise of the Underminer a sequel to the game but the movie as well. Picking up right where the film concluded, you must thwart the evil Underminer's twisted schemes. Playing as both Mr. Incredible and his good buddy Frozone (you can switch characters on the fly by pressing up on the digital pad), you'll explore the vast metropolis known as Metroville, smashing the heck out just about everything and using their super powers to annihilate wave after wave of menacing robots. There are lots of explosions, things to throw, people to save, and powers to check out.

Both Mr. Incredible and Frozone excel at certain things, so if you need to freeze enemies, contraptions, or create an ice bridge then you'll switch to Frozone and your pal will watch your back as you complete those tasks. Conversely, Mr. Incredible excels at lifting heavy objects (including enemies), opening heavy doors, and delivering a metal bending elbow drop. Actually, in order to complete some objectives you'll need to perform one act with one character and then complete what you're supposed to do with the other. For example, while underground Frozone needed to create an ice bridge so they could clear a gap, but there were robots on the other side firing weapons at him, so what I did was (as Frozone) freeze the energy blasts, then used Mr. Incredible to pick them up and hurl them back to sender. With them eliminated, I was free to go back to using Frozone and create that bridge.

In another example, there's this gigantic drill that's busted through the street and there's six mini drills surrounding it. The drills are protected by a heavy door, so as Mr. Incredible I need to lift those doors, and then as Frozone freeze them until they break.

The coolest thing about Rise of the Underminer is you can play cooperatively with someone else. Alone, the AI put up an impressive fight, but nothing beats working together with a friend, and the good news is (for all you adults out there), the co-op play is just as satisfying as it is in Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks. There's lots of baddies to smash, light puzzles to solve, and the controls are spot on.

Speaking of controls, both characters have the usual assortment of punches and you can combine the jump button (X) with some of the other face buttons (Square, Circle) to perform additional moves such as Mr. Incredible's aforementioned elbow drop and Frozone's ice surfing maneuver. There are also special attacks that can be unleashed, and you'll earn them by defeating enemies that have glowing orbs above their heads. It appears that both characters can carry up to three of these powerful moves, and to use one all you need to do is press L1 and R1 at the same time.

Keeping with the times, Rise of the Underminer allows you to earn experience points and use them to upgrade character abilities. You can boost Mr. Incredible's Health, Power Punch, Incredi-Slam, Throw, and Super Move, while Frozone's Health, Ice Punch, Ice Glide, Freeze Ray, and Super Move can receive a boost. Unfortunately, I was able to max out all of their stats within those three demo levels, but I'm hoping that's because the game was but a mere sliver of the final version and not representative of the retail copy.

I'd love to say that Heavy Iron Studios has perfectly recreated the visuals from the film but I'd be a dirty rotten liar. However, this game is still very attractive. All of the characters move and animate extremely well, the engine can pump quite a few robots on screen at once, and the environments are well detailed and feature many destructible objects. In all, it's a very pretty PS2 title that stays true to the source material.

I wish I could tell you how this game is overall but those three brief levels forbid me from making such statements. But I definitely enjoyed this game and I'm very much looking forward to checking out review code. The Incredibles: Rise of the Underminer appears to be a quality beat-em-up that both children and adults will enjoy, and I recommend playing it after its November 1 release.