The Xbox box art for The Incredibles: Rise of the Underminer (a big improvement to a brilliant franchise).
The Incredibles: Rise of the Underminer is a game released in 2005 as the sequel to the video game The Incredibles, based on the movie of the same name. In fact, it picks up where the movie left off, with the threat of the Underminer arising and the Incredibles preparing to fight him. Frozone and Mr. Incredible end up going below the surface to pursue the Underminer himself while the rest of the family handles the minions above ground.
I love the fact that this game features co-operative play. It's something that wasn't featured in the first game because of conforming to the actual plot, but it's something that the franchise really needed. It's done very well to boot. Dropping in and out is simple, and beyond that, you can earn enough points to eventually upgrade your characters' attributes.
I do kind of wish, however, that there were more playable characters; this game only allows you to play as Mr. Incredible and Frozone as they go underground. I know, I know, that's all well and good, but it would have been cool if the rest of the Incredibles had been featured, perhaps by shifting between the underground and the surface to see what's happening in both places.
But that doesn't mean that the game isn't an enormous step up. Not only is the co-op present, but it has better controls, better moves, better puzzles, more advanced enemies, and most of all, gorgeous graphics for the age.
Plus, I seriously like the ability to play as Frozone. You could never play as him in the first video game, but now you can play as him for the entire game if you want. Not only that, but you can just see how powerful he is. He has awesome ice slides, ice blasts that he can freeze things with, and just an all-around superhero mojo that you look for but sometimes don't realize it.
Actually, Mr. Incredible is pretty much a destructive dynamo in this game, too. My dad would always play as him along with me, and while he isn't as skilled a gamer as me, he was just as good as me when playing as Mr. Incredible.
Now if you have ample experience with movie-based games, you probably know that they can be really darn limited. You usually just play through it and then never come back to it. This one, however, has unlockable material in it that can be found in capsules within certain areas. If you go back to try to get 100% completion, you could add many hours on to the gameplay.
This game is extraordinary. The only bad aspect I can think of is that it was so limited with Frozone and Mr. Incredible, but that didn't stop me and my dad from really enjoying it. If you have a system that supports this game, absolutely get it if you like the Incredibles, or superheroes, or just want to play something with a friend. I guarantee you will love it.