More Incredibles

Where Pixar's unforgettable animated feature film left off, The Incredibles: Rise of the Underminer begins. A new villain is rampaging through Metroville's streets, and it's up to you, as dynamic duo Mr. Incredible and Frozone, to put a stop to his nefarious plans.

As the only thing standing between subterranean dweller The Underminer (not to mention his robotic henchmen) and control of the surface world, the fate of humankind rests in your capable hands. So whether going it solo or teaming up with a friend in this frantic brawler, watch where you're swinging … one false move, and it's curtains for civilization as we know it.

Our heroes charge into action.

Starting out, you're standing on the city's ravaged streets while cars rain down and chunks of rock go flying as giant drills bore up through the Earth and out onto the sidewalks. More good news—droids with digging tools for arms are headed in your direction, and the only way to stop them is to pound them into scrap metal.

Thankfully, the two stars are nothing less than superheroes, each capable of eradicating enemies in unique ways. Mr. Incredible is a pure bruiser, who shreds opponents with hyper-powered punches and area-effect Incredi-slam maneuvers (he leaps into the air and smacks the ground, creating a shockwave effect). Frozone's easily the more stylish member of the pair, able to use an ice ray to freeze enemies solid or bowl adversaries over by sliding on chunks of frozen air.

Alone, either is perfectly able to handle themselves on the battlefield—a boon, since you'll be swapping between both on the fly. But teamwork, be it in conjunction with a real life friend or the Xbox® CPU, is where the headliners really shine. Jumping amongst alter-egos, you do more damage (by, for example, freezing a robot as Frozone, then changing over to Mr. Incredible, picking it up and hurling it at its friends). You also have the ability to overcome obstacles that would be impassable were they approached alone.

These new piñatas are awesome!

By way of illustration, in one scene, Frozone must create an ice bridge to span a gap above a yawning chasm. Unless you choose Mr. Incredible and start flinging crates at the distant enemies firing away at him, you'll never buy your buddy enough time to finish before he's interrupted by a bullet.

Another sequence sees Frozone fending off adversaries while Mr. Incredible hoists the gates guarding a machine's internal mechanisms. Once these covers have been raised, Frozone can then gum up the internal mechanisms by freezing them solid while Mr. Incredible runs interference.

Then there's the stage where you're tasked with protecting scientists who're desperately trying to reach a nearby helicopter. The trouble is, waves of enemies—including baddies with saw-like blades that literally tear up the pavement—keep storming the scene. Only by combining forces can you provide cover for the hapless eggheads, giving them the opportunity they need to make it safely to the waiting choppers.

Two superheroes are better than one.

One's ability to issue commands to your computer-controlled ally is just a bonus. Merely flick the D-pad left to make them more aggressive. Nudge it towards the right, and they follow your movements more closely instead. Clever use of tactics, depending on the situation (sometimes you're beating down a set number of opponents, others jumping raging fires or dodging jets of flame) is, of course, key.

As, for that matter, is the occasional employment of limited-use super-moves against rivals. Create earthquakes with a series of punches as Mr. Incredible. Alternately, call down hailstorms as Frozone. Either way, any enemies you destroy (as when they're defeated via normal methods) are converted into experience points.

Your tally—also increased by accomplishing missions and completing sub-goals such as making it through levels undefeated or causing a certain amount of damage while doing so—is directly convertible into character upgrades. Spend these bonuses enhancing the damage your punches do or increasing the speed at which assailants freeze when targeted by Frozone's frosty powers.

Like I said—"chill out!"

Even cooler than the title's feature set and slick, cartoon-style graphical approach though, is its hilarious use of sound. As in The Incredibles movie— which the game functions as an interactive sequel to—our heroes are constantly swapping witty banter back and forth. Take it from me… The first time you hear Frozone tell his pal "At least I fit into my original costume!" you'll find yourself smiling.

Currently scheduled for a November release, I'm already counting the days until The Incredibles: Rise of the Underminer debuts. Anyone with an eye for offbeat comedy and captivating, arcade-style melee antics should be too.

Article by Chris Zimmerman