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The game starts with a very good introduction movie which leads you straight into the game. You start by learning about each of the individual characters and what powers they possess as they learn themselves. One by one you complete missions to get all four to find each other and learn the basics of they are capable of. The game starts slowly but gives you enough action to keep you interested and learn the basics. Be sure to read the hints and advice that is given throughout the first few missions. You will find it comes in handy later on.

The environments are great. You have the ability to do plenty of destruction to your surroundings and are even encouraged to do so in order to gain bonuses. The Thing can do some awesome fighting with a light pole in his hands. I wish I had his swing for softball. The only complaint I had was that some of the environments I found to be very dark and hard to tell exactly where or what you were supposed to do next. The sewers were hard to navigate and fully understand what was supposed to happen. In one level you are supposed to go across the top of the pumps or generators but it wasn't readily obvious. The `O' button, which allows you to perform a particular action to continue to the next part, was highlighted even while I was standing on the ground next to the generator and not on the top. After running around for a while I finally figured out that I needed to jump to the first generator top from the catwalk and utilize the `O' button to get from top to top and continue on.

Luckily the save feature is offered after every stage is completed and you are allowed to retry any of them. I found this was necessary since there were a few stages that I was unable to complete quick enough or complete enough to earn the bonus and find everything. It also made the fact that some of the stages were extremely dark and hard to navigate not quite so frustrating. After running in circles for a while and finally figuring out where I needed to go, I was able to retry the level and improve my score and earn all of the available bonuses.

Switching between characters is easy and very clear as to which character you are controlling. Some of the stages force you to utilize each character at different parts of the stage. It also allows you to switch to the character whose powers you are best able to control. One nice thing is that the characters are always fighting even if you are not controlling them at the time. You don't have to worry about the characters that you are not controlling just standing around waiting for you to finish the job. I would have to say my favorite 2 characters are Mr. Fantastic and the Thing. There is nothing like being able to do a long distance punch or windmill maneuver with rubbery arms and legs. It is also a lot of fun to just utilize the brute force of the Thing. Being that I like softball so much it is also fun being able to swing light posts like a bat and hit some villains right out of the park.

The background music and sound effects are very good. The music does a good job of setting the mood and the sound effects let you know exactly what is going on around you along with how close it is to you. The character voices very realistic and are combined very well with the animation. The intro movie is actually fun to watch and leads you straight into the game.

Along with solid sound effects and music, Activision has also included solid graphics. The characters powers and abilities are very well represented within the graphics engine. The environments are very detailed and the damage that you inflict on the creatures as well as the environment is very good. You can break windows, crush cars, destroy garbage cans, as well as many other items throughout the game. Again the only complaint I have regarding some of the graphics is that there are some environments that are just a little too dark to fully see and understand where or how to get to the next section of the stage. Fortunately the save and retry feature helps with this since I found myself running in circles on a few stages trying to figure out where I had to go next.

Overall I would have to say that Activision has come out with a very good game in the Fantastic 4. The gameplay is a lot of fun which combines well with the graphics and sound effects. If you are looking for an intriguing game based on the summer blockbuster, then this is the game for you. With so many licensed games only looking to cash in on their namesake, I have to give Kudos to Activision for coming out with a game that has some chops.