Although the Marvel Heroes Breakout DVD Game from Brighter Minds Media is not a video game, it is an interesting take on the DVD/Board game combination. The premise of the game is simple: super villains have escaped and are running amok.  Your job is to capture the villains, and return them to jail.

The game offers a number of gameplay options, a quality presentation, and above average video interludes.  These all add up to a quality game that's actually fun to play. 

Gameplay
  The game options permit the players to customize their gameplay.  First, the game allows for one to four players.  Amazingly enough, it remains entertaining with just one player, but the real fun begins when playing with a group.  To ensure the game is fair and balanced, a different skill level (Sidekick (Easy), Hero (Medium), or Superhero (Hard)) can be set for each player.

Secondly, you can choose to play with or without the board.  If you do utilize the game board, each player rolls the die, moves the indicated number of spaces, and plays the DVD challenge indicated by the space landed on.  Without the board, or 'In The Car' play as the instructions call it, players simply take turns playing through each of the DVD mini-games.

Third, you can choose the length of the game.  The 'shorter' version ends when one player wins five of the mini-games, while the 'longer' game ends after seven.  Each time a player wins a mini-game, they take a 'Villain Card', indicating they captured a villain.  The cards are cool, but they are not necessary, as the DVD keeps track of each player's score.

There are seven mini-games on the DVD, each taking place in a different location.

In the Business District, is the Downtown Maze.  In this game you must choose one of five different paths to take after quickly scanning over a maze as the video moves over all the paths.  The video then displays a video of a flyover down the city streets until the player reaches an intersection in the maze, and must make another decision.

The game is okay, and has fun video sequences, but if you've played the game before, and know to watch as the entire maze is scanned, its extremely easy, even at the most difficult skill level.

The Villain Locator is played at the X-Mansion.  Here, the players use Cerebro to find super villains.  The player must identify the super villain as he or she is slowly revealed over the span of ten seconds.  If the player does not shout out the villains name in the time allowed, all players, including the original player, are given five more seconds to shout out the correct name.

At Avengers' Tower, players must watch a video in What Did You See?.  The video is a clip from an animated Marvel production; after viewing, a question related to the clip is asked.  The questions are something specific about the selected clip, so be sure to watch carefully.

On the Waterfront, Marvel Team-Up has one playing a game of Memory.  Players must match heroes with their teammates.  If you pick two super villains – it’s game over.  It’s not bad to play, but far too often, as luck would have it, I would choose two villains on my first move.

At the West Side Rooftop, players perform the Rooftop Jump.  It’s a simple game: a first person video plays that looks as though the player is running toward the edge of a building top.  Press enter on your DVD remote at the appropriate time to jump from one rooftop to another.  That’s it.  Once you figure out the prime spot, it’s easy to repeat.

On the Subway, play Superhero Scramble.  You’ve most likely seen games like this before, but suffice to say it’s akin to a horizontal slot machine.  Match the head, torso, and legs of one hero, and you win.

Finally, at Empire University, you’ll play the Marvel Quiz, a trivia game about the Marvel Universe. Although I am only an occasionally comic reader, I did okay at the Marvel Quiz, at least on the Sidekick level.

Presentation

The packaging and its contents are well made.  The board is sturdy, and although its pictures are redundant (each of the seven different places on the board have but one picture each), I did like it.  The twenty-five villain cards are a nice touch, each including the name, alias, and abilities of a villain, but as I said earlier, they are not necessary so they seem somewhat pointless.  A larger, heavyweight die is included, which is nice to see, but the player tokens are single-sided cardboard and do not come with stands.  It’s somewhat sad to see the superheroes just lying flat on the game board.

Summary – 85%
This game provides some Marvel-knowledge tests, as well as some simple, Marvel-themed games, so everyone can compete.  The DVD is well done, in a comic book style that is both unique and interesting to watch, but the lackluster player tokens and the inclusion of a couple of overly simple games keep this game from being perfect.

Regardless, the game is fun, and a perfect gift for any fan of comics or even board games.  I know it’ll be on my Christmas list this year.

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