Ultimate Spider-Man

"Ultimate, not quite but a great game anyway"

I dont get the negative reviews about this game, to me part 1 and 2 were just clumsy and bordering on corny and watered down.

I will say this, the combat options are limited but overall the game is so fun that I just dont mind. One thing that is cool is you cannot sling webs up in the sky in the middle of nowherem and you cannot web-zip unless there is something around for Spidey to attatch his web to - I thought this was a nice touch.

The graphics are awesome and this cell-shading approach seems to give games a much more smooth fluid feel as opposed to when they try to make it look life-like - to me resident evil 4 is the only game to succeed in lifelike detail. I think this has a much more user freindly vibe than either of the first 2 spiderman games, those games were OK but this game makes me feel that Im closer to what Stan-Lee envisioned with SpiderMan than the other 2.

You will play through and unlock new story lines which is the core of the game, as well as spend time helping citezens in trouble: sometimes you have to tend to the bullies and sometimes you are lifting cars off of people and then taking them to the nearby ambulance or getting them to the hospital before time runs out.

The story part of the game is really cool - again I dont understand the low scores. This game was made to be enjoyed and give you a look at what SpiderMans life is like. The comedy is a nice plus - not always funny but I did catch myself laughing out loud and I just dont get to do that often with most video games. The voice acting was done well, it seems like they took thier time with this one. If you didnt like the feel of the first 2 games do yourself a favor and check this one out - it is what I hoped the first 2 would be. Aside from being able to double-jump the physics are closer to real like I mentioned with web-swinging and zipping.

The boss battles are interesting and some can border on very tough until you get a feel for what you are supposed to do. One note -venom seems a little clumsy but very powerful which makes sense, I like it that he "feels" alot heavier and less acrobatic than SpiderMan.

I guess what Im trying to say is dont let the bad reviews fool you, at least give it a chance because I feel it is 10 times the game the first 2 SpiderMan games were, simply because it looks and feels as though you are playing in a comic book, yet somehow they made the world inside seem accessible and lifelike. If someone beat this game in an hour they have way too much time on thier hands....Im not saying its hard (i think its got a nice learning curve to it) but as Ive gotten older (almost 30) I try to not sit and play games for hours on end....its fun when you are young enough to have your parents keep buying them but when you are on your own its no fun to pay $20-$30 for a game only to get a few hours enjoyment out of it.

I payed $20 new for this title and I think its well worth it. With the first 2 games I played through each most of the way and just didnt feel it did Spidermans character justice so I gave both to my 4 year old nephew. He is not getting this one until I wear out my interest!

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 05/06/06