The Incredibles PS2 Review

The template set out by many others is often what a big branded title will employ, with not even a single attempt at innovation. It’s clear that these titles will sell on the strength of the name alone and how it plays comes secondary to many eager buyers bitten by the movie bug. This isn’t to say that such titles always have to be complete and utter rubbish as The Incredibles showcases worthy use of the material.

The plot of the game follows that of the movie and may very well puzzle the uninitiated. It details the superhero family’s return to their heroic deeds after a little time off due to certain pressures. It all basically feels thrown together here and we feel that watching the movie first will probably be a better idea for any potential fans.

The game is primarily a platform title with an “incredible” amount of variation, which should keep the interest of those who grow tired of repetitiveness. Taking control of Mr Incredible (who is incredibly strong), the title commences in the city skyline in which there is plenty of jumping, climbing and fighting to be done. The fighting system is functional enough, but the heart is in the level design, which makes the progress all the more interesting.

It’s no one-man show though as Mr Incredible’s family is also along for the ride to make any villains life a living hell. The second character you take control of is Elastigirl who possesses some rather stretchy and nifty limbs. Obviously she is able to attack from quite a range, besides that she is also able to hang on certain objects, which all means that she is basically a female version of Stretch Armstrong.

The controllable kids of the family include the aptly named Dash (the son), who is as speedy as his name suggests and then there’s Violet (the daughter) who prefers sneaking around. Dash’s levels are hugely entertaining and you’ll soon find out that missing the school bus isn’t too much of a problem for the young lad as you take control of him and zoom along the road avoiding all the obstacles in your path. Violet on the other hand can turn invisible for a short period of time, which assures that the obligatory (or overused) sneaking around sections have not been forgotten.

Those expecting a non-linear experience will be disappointed though as like the movie itself, the game is already basically written for you, this means no choice of character at the beginning of each level, each instead having their own suitable stages. These stages are also very linear and hark back to the days of platforming past, but it’s the neat design of the levels that give it the nod up from us.

As for quibbles, these include the camera, which can be frequently annoying at the worst of times. The view can be manually altered, but is still a pain during desperate times. Then there’s the erratic difficulty level, which is sometimes as easy as pie and at the next instance rather infuriating to say the least.

The Incredibles isn’t the best platforming experience that money can buy, but it’s certainly a mostly successful use of the Pixar movie licence. We found the amount of variation and the level design to be worthy of applause and if you have any interest in the movie of the same name or the platform genre, then we recommend that you should don those brightly coloured tights.

7/10