The Incredibles: Rise of the Underminer

The Incredibles are back!  Though we may never get the sequel we desire (Disney has the legal right to make it, but Pixar is unlikely to have anything to do with it), the games are going to keep on coming.

Up next is The Incredibles: Rise of the Underminer, the DS adaptation of the console button-masher released earlier this fall. The Nintendo DS is capable of running 3D games, but why do a straight port when you could create a different game that uses the same characters, same scenarios, and is just as repetitive? "You tricked me! You said repetitive!" Yes gamers, I do that sometimes. I suck players in, enticing them with the promise of good gaming, and then crush their dreams with the cold reality of rehashed gameplay. Actually, that's what movie-based games often do.

Rise of the Underminer is not to be underestimated. There are elements here that gamers will like, whether a fan of the movie or merely someone in search of an exciting action game. The powerhouse Mr. Incredible and ice-creating Frozone are the stars of this adventure. They used to fight crime and save lives like it was nobody's business. Fear and lawsuits shut them down; a crazy villain brought them out of hiding and back into action.

At the end of their big-screen adventure, a new threat appeared that set the stage for a sequel. Not a movie sequel unfortunately, but it gave developers something to work with. That villain was The Underminer, a hardhat-wearing lunatic who loves to dig as much as a golden retriever. He's not hiding bones though; he's making a secret lair! Tearing up the earth, destroying our cities, and threatening world domination (as any good super villain does).

Mr. Incredible and Frozone will do whatever it takes to stop The Underminer from undermining our world. Their families could've helped out, but I'm willing to bet that market research showed that if gamers could only choose between two characters, they'd pick Mr. Incredible and Frozone. Smart thinking, but that doesn't stop me from wondering where Dash is (winning race competitions, I hope).

Playing as Mr. Incredible means having great strength. Controlling Frozone gives you an icy edge in level navigation and object destruction. Both are necessary in beating the game and both may be controlled at any time.

Mr. Incredible's strength advantage lets him lift barriers that are twice his size and several times his weight. Players will frequently encounter various objects that need to be removed or destroyed to progress - Mr. Incredible is the primary character for solving these problems. Barriers that can't be lifted can most certainly be destroyed. Even laser beams are no match for him, at least not in scenarios where he is able to locate the machine powering the laser. Wow, that gray box sure looks sturdy. Let's test its ability to withstand immense damage. Darn, it failed our product evaluation. Mr. Incredible has once again sent another product back to the drawing board.

Just think of how safe our cars would be if he were in charge of testing them. SUVs would then stand for "Super Utility Vehicles."

In other instances you'll need to rely on Frozone to progress. His ability to freeze enemies is helpful in battle. However, it's his ability to freeze platforms that make him so cool. (Get it? He can freeze stuff and he's cool. I know it's cheesy but I couldn't resist.) Frozone's freeze shot is two-directional; he shoots forward or up at an angle that's not quite 90 degrees. It wasn't always easy to line him up with the transparent platform (it's see-through until it's frozen. Once frozen it turns solid and can be walked on).

Frozone's coolest ability comes straight from the movie: ice-slide. This stellar move lets him spray a strip of ice that he can slide on to cruise over large gaps and reach valuable items.

Enemies come in all sizes, but they don't differ much in shape. They look like they were made from scrap metal and junkyard parts. That seems to be intentional, but the fact that you fight the same few enemies repeatedly throughout the course of the game - intentional or not that aspect doesn't work. Has it ever? I can't think of a single time where I played a game and thought, "I just beat Enemy A for the 100th time. Here comes Enemy B. Oh look, there's Enemy A again!"

The controls are a little stiff, making it impossible to go from fighting one enemy to the next without a brief pause. Mr. Incredible likes to pummel his opponents with a three-hit combo. That's great. But if I'm hitting one enemy and another approached from behind, I want to stop and attack the other before I get hit. Likewise, if I'm combo-ing an enemy and he's about to fight back, I want to stop my combo and escape the hit. Neither of these evasions are possible.

The story, not surprisingly, is devoid of depth, comedy, or anything else that made the movie great, and only takes up a few seconds of your time. Its primitive presentation is anything but incredible: voice-less stills and generic pictures of the three leading characters (Mr. Incredible, Frozone, and The Underminer).

You won't know it until you've finished the game, but those items you spend time collecting are a total waste. Health is necessary to maintain your character. Life replacement items are also out there and add extra lives to your game. The other items you collect add points to your point total. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this 2005? Gamers lost interest in beating the high score back in the 80s. Games have gotten better than that. They're deeper and more intelligent. The reward for beating them and for performing well should be about something more than a number.

Which brings me to a point I wish I didn't have to make: Rise of the Underminer isn't just repetitive, it's also very short. A few levels, a couple hundred enemies - you're in, you're out, you're done. Only one boss battle exists. The final level. And then it's onto the credits, back to the title screen, and back to Blockbuster for this game. Honestly, at $30-$40 for a new DS game I expect more than 90 minutes of sub-par entertainment.

Gameplay: 6.0
Good at first, flawed in the first 10 minutes, repetitive by the first 20, and boring before the end. The Incredibles: Rise of the Underminer could’ve been the rise of a great new series. It falls flat on its face by asking the player to do the same thing 20 times. I like to jump on platforms, freeze enemies, and punch and kick them as much as any gamer. I don’t, however, like doing it and only it for 90 minutes.

Graphics: 7.0
Bland, poorly detailed characters set in a 2D world with 3D environments. The backgrounds are fairly detailed and move in and out of the foreground to create an effect similar to games like Klonoa and Pandemonium. The result, however, is not as effective as either of those PSone titles.

Sound: 3.0
I hate to say it, but The Incredibles video games are making me hate the movie soundtrack. They’ve taken a masterpiece and butchered it with repetition and horrible sound effects. These are some of the worst I’ve heard on a handheld this year.

Difficulty: Easy

Concept: 6.0
The developers tried to get a little creative by cramming every function into the touch screen. I see where they were going and I like the idea, but without a clear indication of where to tap the stylus, there’s no point in using it. You’ll fumble, die a few times, and go back to using the face buttons, the tried-and-true (and anything but innovative) way of controlling a character.

Multiplayer: 5.0
The only thing that’s worse than playing a repetitive game by yourself is playing it with a friend.

Overall: 6.0
The Incredibles: Rise of the Underminer isn’t worth your attention. As a budget game I’d consider it but still have the 90-minute conundrum and lack of replay value to contend with. It’s one of the most repetitive games I have ever played. It is one of the shortest DS titles available. It has its high point, but it’s really hard to explore it when the game is too busy dishing out metallic beasts that you’ve already beaten and puzzles that you’ve already solved. You’ll see environments that you’ve already seen, and when the end is finally reached, have only one measly boss battle to remember.