Topic: Thunderbirds Shipping Soon on GBA

[Jonnyboy117]

Vivendi Universal is poised to release its handheld game based on the new kid movie.

VIVENDI UNIVERSAL GAMES SHIPS THUNDERBIRDS FOR GAME BOY® ADVANCE

High-Flying Adventure Inspired by Universal Pictures' and Working Title Films' Family Film, THUNDERBIRDS, in Theaters July 30th

LOS ANGELES (July 27, 2004) - Vivendi Universal Games (VU Games) announced today that Thunderbirds™ for the Game Boy® Advance video game system is shipping to retail stores nationwide August 4th. Kids ages six and older take command of the Thunderbirds fleet on a heroic mission to save members of International Rescue … and the world! This exciting handheld game is based upon Universal Pictures' and Working Title Films' live-action feature film, Thunderbirds. Directed by Jonathan Frakes (Star Trek: Insurrection, Star Trek: First Contact, Clockstoppers), the film adaptation of the classic 1960s TV series stars Bill Paxton and Sir Ben Kingsley and is scheduled for release July 30, 2004.  

"We're pleased to collaborate once again with Universal Consumer Products Group on our latest theatrical-based game," said Philip O'Neil, President, Vivendi Universal Games. "This summer we're delivering the excitement of the Thunderbirds movie experience into young gamers' hands for more action-packed fun."

Kids join aspiring International Rescue member Alan Tracy, and his friends Fermat and Tin Tin, on a quest to capture renegade master criminal, The Hood, in this new action/adventure game. Players take control of the Thunderbirds fleet of highly-advanced vehicles to travel across the globe and into outer space. Kids must also test their rescue skills by completing thrilling missions and solving puzzles to undo the havoc created by The Hood.

Key product features include:

Play as three different characters:

Alan - Youngest Tracy who dreams of joining his family's top-secret organization International Rescue. Although his intentions are always good, he tends to not think before he acts, which gets him into trouble at times.

Fermat - Alan's best friend and confidant. He's the brains -- not brawn -- in this group of heroic friends.  

Tin Tin - The third member of their trio and an extremely adventurous girl who knows Tracy island like the back of her hand.  

Visit International Rescue's secret island base, battle an oil well fire in Alaska, blast off to the Thunderbirds space station, explore the bottom of the sea, and more.

Race through dangerous terrain in Flight mode and complete missions and solve puzzles in Adventure mode.

Features the entire Thunderbirds fleet:

Thunderbird 1 - International Rescue's high-speed reconnaissance rocket designed to reach disaster zones quickly. This awesome silver gray spearhead craft is extremely maneuverable with top speeds exceeding 15,000 miles per hour.

Thunderbird 2 - Renowned for its power and strength, this massive green leviathan carries International Rescue's vital heavy-duty engineering and life-saving equipment, including the versatile mini-sub, Thunderbird 4.

Thunderbird 3 - This bright red inter-stellar rescue rocket of the International Rescue organization is used for extra-orbital missions and also transports supplies to Thunderbird 5.

Thunderbird 4 - The smallest of the International Rescue vehicles, this versatile mini-sub is primarily used for underwater emergencies and is discreetly carried aboard Thunderbird 2. Whether removing obstacles from the ocean floor or gathering deep sea eco-samples it's the ultimate underwater reconnaissance craft.

Thunderbird 5 - This Massive communications satellite in permanent geo-stationary orbit is vital to International Rescue's operations. The heart of the organization's communications network, it provides immediate data on all rescue situations and keeps constant vigil over the earth and all four remaining Thunderbirds.  

Complete nine challenging levels packed with obstacles and enemies.

Availability and Pricing
Thunderbirds will be available in August 2004 on the Game Boy® Advance for a suggested retail price of $29.99, with an ESRB "E" rating. For sales and ordering information, customers can visit www.vugames.com.

[Bartman3010]

Its not exactly a Thunderbirds movie if its starring some nameless kid instead of the Thunderbirds...

[Radiostorm]

I look forward to seeing Thunderbirds stashed in the back of my local EB next to unsold copies of the Deer Hunter, the Dukes of Hazard game and Shaq-fu.

[Jale]

The main thing I have against this movie is the music. I loathe Busted. They are not even a band. They are just album fillers. And this is the worst line in history: (from the song 'Thunderbirds are Go', from the movie)

'It really is so cool
When spaceships come out of the pool'

Now not only is this a desperate rhyme, it is false. I used to like thunderbirds when I was little. Thunderbird 1 comes out of the pool, but is incapable of space travel. Thunderbird 3, the spaceship, comes out of the library.

Busted, I fart in your general direction.

[theRPGFreak]

WHY DO PEOPLE MAKE THIS FREAKIN CRAP ALL TOGETHER?! We will never know.............

[Ian Sane]

What I always hate about games like this is that they make games based on any movie.  It doesn't matter if it's a good movie or a movie that lends itself well to games it gets made no matter what.  They don't even wait to see if the movie gets a decent fanbase.  If this movie bombs the game is going to bomb.

Notice how Star Wars games have a pretty good track record regarding quality?  Part of that is because the games were all made years after the movie.  No rush to match the film release.  The movies already had a fanbase so there was actual DEMAND for a game.  Most of the games came out after the trilogy was established thus giving more material to inspire the game.  And it was a movie that lent itself well to game design.

See here there really isn't a fanbase that's demanding a Thunderbirds Movie game so this game is just sheer product designed to hype up the movie.  This problem happens with all sorts of licenced stuff.  Some merchandise appeals to fans and makes sense (Star Wars action figures) but a lot of it (Shrek bubblebath?) has no reason to exist other than a quick buck.  Games based on licences should only exist if it really makes sense from a creative standpoint.  If there's no creative reason for a game to exist 90% of the time it f*cking sucks.

This is why Dukes of Hazzard and Shaq-Fu are unsold at EB.  No one wants a game based off of a long dead TV show that doesn't lend itself really to games or a fighting game staring a basketball player.