The not so Fantastic Four

HEADS up True Believers... here comes the game of the movie that's based on the Marvel comic books. The film happened to be better than many fans' expectations so can the game muster the same critical praise?

The Fantastic Four have been around in comic book format since 1961. They were the first Marvel superheroes and set the template for future classics such as Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk and The Avengers.

They differed from other comic heroes of the time because creator Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby placed the emphasis firmly on the personalities of each character rather than the plots.

They acquired their amazing powers after their experimental rocket passed through a cloud of cosmic rays. Reed Richards, their leader and self-proclaimed "world's greatest scientist", became Mr Fantastic due to his ability to stretch like rubber (a power apparently more recently bestowed upon Jim Carey). Sue Storm, Richards' fiance, was able to become invisible and project a force field around herself or others.

The third member of the group was Johnny Storm, Sue's hot-headed younger brother. He was given the name and powers of the Human Torch, a character from an earlier era of Marvel publications.

Ironically the most monstrous of the foursome also became the most popular - Benjamin Grimm otherwise known as The Thing. The deadly rays turned him into an awesome creature with a skin like rocks. His tragic story was all the more poignant because, unlike the others, he only wanted to be a normal human being. Lee felt sorry for him and belatedly gave him a blind girlfriend.

When the four weren't fighting among themselves they needed enemies. Enter Victor von Doom, a former associate of Reed Richards, and now a mad scientist who hid his scarred face behind a steel mask.

Other baddies who appeared in those early issues included the Mole Man and the Sub Mariner.

When the Fantastic Four appeared on the original PlayStation their game was a big standard side scrolling beat 'em up.

This new adventure promises more. It follows the plot of the movie (written by Zak Penn, the fella who also wrote X2) but isn't afraid to branch out into new areas and throw in a range of classic baddies as well as Doc Doom.

There are ten main missions, each one having multiple tasks to accomplish before it is complete.

And while the game is about the Fantastic Four you don't control all of the characters - instead you have to switch between them using the D-pad.

Naturally each one possesses unique powers that can help solve puzzles or defeat enemies but, in order to use them, you have to build up your cosmic energy. This allows the FF to perform special attacks and batter the bad guys more effectively.

The near constant barrage of evil-doers is broken up by the odd mini game - although these sometimes get in the way of the action rather than provide an interesting diversion. Why, for example, do you have to complete a mini-game to see some of the movie set-pieces played out in a cinematic piece of pre-rendered footage?

It certainly looks nice - although some of the locations are confusingly similar - and the main characters are all nicely animated. The soundtrack uses the cast of the movie but the sound effects are occasionally limp.

The game also allows for two players to take on half of the fantastic four and complete the game as buddies.

There have been some great games based on movies this year (including the recent Batman game) but the Fantastic Four isn't one of them. It's fun for a while but too repetitive to be considered anything other than a decent game to rent for a weekend.

Photos on CD & DVD 4

Publisher: Magix

Platform: PC

Price: £29.99

ACCORDING to a recent survey every home in Britain will have a digital camera of some kind within the next five years.

Bizarrely, despite the convenience and ease of use of digital offers over 35mm film, only a tiny proportion of digital snaps are ever printed. Many are archived on CD or a computer hard drive; others are simply deleted.

Photos on CD & DVD 4 from Magix offers a novel way of doing something with those snaps that will otherwise languish on a computer.

It's a brilliantly simple programme that enables you to load pictures into the software, create professional captions and transitions, add your favourite music and burn the resulting masterpiece onto a DVD or a CD.

This edition comes with some nifty extras such as the music editor, a web publisher and even a way of exporting your pics to a mobile phone or PDA. Should you wish, the software also throws in a print utility for hard copies of your favourite images.

I've used the first version of this software for a couple of years and the resultant discs have been sent all over the country to delighted friends and family. A personalised CD of snaps showing grandchildren or pets is a great (and inexpensive) gift idea that couldn't be created any other way. If you are serious about your digital creations then this software is a must have.