Ultimate Spider-Man

"good game to a Spider-man fanboy, but to gamers...?"

Introduction: A sequel, for treyarch, to the previous Spider-man game, Spider-man 2, which was based on the movie, is now based on the best-selling comic book from Marvel comics, Ultimate Spider-man. With the books writer working on the story exclusively for the game, this was a widely anticipated game by both spider-man fans and hardcore gamers alike.

Story: 6/10. Possibly both the best accomplishment and the worst letdown of the game. While the story is both interesting and addictive, where's the rest of it? it ends short, trying to prove the "fact" that a story of good quality does not require very much quantity. I, as a gamer, have not played many games that ended as quickly as this one did. I was looking forward to so much more as far as this story, such as more bosses, at least a couple more Marvel character cameos, and a little more development to great characters such as Nick Fury, Eddie Brock, and the Carnage Symbiote, but I was greatly dissapointed with that. However, seeing Wolverine go toe-to-toe with Venom, Spider-man swing from beams and take down the Beetle, and watch as Venom becomes "complete" finally and...well, I won't spoil, but it was a good story, what was there.

Sound: 8/10. Nothing to really add here, since there wasn't much game or story to even listen to, but the good voice acting was as close to perfected as it could be, nothing wrong with it, and fairly good music. The banter between Spider-man and Johnny Storm (the Human Torch) is humorous, or rather side-splitting, during the first few tries... but when you're going on race #50, it gets pretty old. Props to the voice actors, though.

Gameplay: 9/10. Here's where the game shines. The Gameplay and movement is both fresh and familiar. Close to gameplay in Spider-man 2, but updated. One dissapointment about the game though is Spider-man doesn't swing as fast as in SM2, and he doesn't have as many combos or unlockables in the game. Swing speed only goes up to 4 instead of 8, can't do as many tricks in the air, and combat gets old and frustrating from lack of moves and evasions. Token are back from Spider-man 2, but not nearly as many to find, which is both good and bad. Not as many to find, but harder just to find one, once you get so far. Boss fights aren't anything new. They've pretty much all been the same in Spider-man games since the first Activision SM game for PSone and N-64. But still new tweaks and ideas added to what was once old and boring. Cheers.

Graphics: 10/10. Now there's absolutely nothing wrong, bad, or simplistic about this. Every character model is detailed excellently, you don't see 4 or 5 identical people on the street at once like in SM2, and the lip-synching was perfect. Not much to add here, except that the landmarks were welcome easter eggs, and the unlockable costumes are great, although not in quantity or diversity. And Johnny Storm looks pretty B.A., too.

Replay Value: 7/10. Only reason that a person would want to start over, getting all the tokens, doing all the Johnny Storm races again, and having to start with crappy health, swing speed, and combos (compared to once you complete the game) is to see the way-too-short and not-sweet-enough story, which might be worth looking at a 2nd time, but I promise you'll be ready to trade in the game once you beat it a 3rd time.

Overall: Enjoy what's there, what's good, while you can, because eventually, quickly, the story will be over and all that will be left for you to do are a truck load of distractions from the fact that STORY MODE WAS TOO SHORT! Props on good voice acting, graphics, sound, the couple sweet (okay, one sweet) unlockable costume, and the fact that it was actually written by an ACTUAL COMIC BOOK WRITER! WOW! Catch me, I'm falling, I might pass out. Sorry, but this game is a rip off at $30 or more. Sorry to those of you who had to pay that. I'm just glad they lowered the price quickly to $20.

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