Fantastic 4 stretches into stores

Comic book aficionados who can't wait for the theatrical release of 20th Century Fox's Fantastic 4 or next month's Comic-Con can head to their local game retailer to get a digital fix. Activision today announced that the multiplatform action game based on the film has shipped to retail.

The Xbox, PlayStation 2, and GameCube versions were developed by 7 Studios (Defender and the upcoming Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow); Beenox (Madagascar) handled the PC version; and Torus (Doom II and Dead to Rights) put together the Game Boy Advance version.

Gamers will play as the titular quartet--Mr. Fantastic, The Invisible Woman, The Human Torch, and The Thing--as they fight through a story penned by Zak Penn, the screenwriter of X2 and the upcoming Spy Hunter. The superheroes will use their unique powers to battle their nemesis, Dr. Doom. Both a single-player game and a two-player cooperative mode allow gamers to take the role of any of the Fantastic 4 and switch freely between them throughout the game.

Fantastic 4 is rated T for Teen, except the GBA version, which is rated E10+. The Xbox, PS2, and GameCube versions retail for $49.99, and the PC and GBA versions sell for $29.99.

For more information on the game, head over to GameSpot's previous coverage, or check back later this week for a full review.