Ultimate Spider-Man

"An excellent Spider-man game"

I had no interest in Ultimate Spiderman. It just didn't look good and the reviews were far from good. Well, I found the limited edition on clearance days after Spiderman 3 hit theaters and I was in a kick for some Venom action so I grabbed the last copy. Is it worth playing though? Read on!

This game is based on the Ultimate Spiderman comic series. This of it as a retelling of the series. Also, this game takes place around comic #13 and ends around #30 or so I believe. That's not important because the opening of the game explains everything for you. Classic Spiderman fans may become annoyed with this teen version but I liked the way it was told and while characters and motives have changed it works for this content when thought of it as it is.

Graphic wise this game uses a cell shading technique and it looks slick. The cut scenes are amazing to watch as it really does look like a living comic book. Character models look good and I must admit that Venom looks awesome. Not a big fan on the deformed Spiderman but it kind of grew on me by the end. My only graphic problem is NYC itself. The draw distance is poor and the depth perception seems weird at times. Causing things to look bigger or smaller than they really are.

The sound in the game is good. Really good. The voice work is very fitting. Brought back my fond memories of the classic 90's cartoon (why isn't that on DVD yet???) Not saying the voice actors sound the same but it just reminded me of the old cartoon. Sound effects are really good with the smashing, zipping, explosions and all of that. I must admit that I only noticed music for a few seconds at one time and it was weird because it dawned on me that wow, there is music and then I never noticed it again.

Control in the game is simple to get the hang of. Two attack buttons, a jump button and swinging is done via the shoulder buttons. The game really gives some great tutorials that don't feel like tutorials and it explains everything as well as it can. Never ran into problems remembering what did what. The camera is the only thing that gave me some problems. It seemed a bit iffy and sickening at times but I got use to it after a while.

Grand Theft Auto meets a Super Hero game is what you get with Ultimate Spiderman's game play. Run around New York City and fight crime. It sounds simple and it is but the games mission structure works differently than most sand box titles.

In your pause menu you will see a list of activities and a? /? Beside them. You need to do that many of each activity to advance the game and open up the next story mission. I like this structure as it extends the game and has you doing the side quests to do so but without forcing too many so it doesn't feel too tedious either. It's as if it's all part of a normal day for Spidey until the story mission kicks in.

The different missions are all fairly basic. Races around a block or so or on top of roofs. Or save people from accidents. They may need to go to the hospital within a time limit, you may need to save someone from some thugs, someone may be falling and need your help. It's really simple. The other thing is to sop gang groups which is also easy. You can also hunt for hidden icons and stuff which are required as well but you can easily find enough to keep the plot going.

The combat is very fun in this game. It's a bit hyper and it bounces around but it looks cool and it's easy to do. If you're looking for something deep you need to look else where. You also need to tie up the gang remembers when their health hits the red.

Besides that you can play as Venom. If you've played the newer Prince of Persia games with the Dark prince then Venom works like that. Your life is always draining. Meaning you need to feed on random people or the enemies. Venom is more about blowing stuff apart and killing. It's a nice contrast with the way Spiderman plays so it keeps things moving nicely.

Besides that I will sadly say the game is very short. It does offer a lot of side stuff to do so if that is your thing then you'll get enjoyment out of the game. I paid $15 for the Limited Edition and I felt like I got my monies worth.

It's a perfect rental as it can easily be completed in a weekend. On the other hand it offers enough for fans to really get some post game enjoyment out of it. I'd recommend it as a buy since it's so cheap but if you're not a Spiderman fan then maybe you should rent the game.

Story - 9/10
Graphics - 9/10
Sound - 8/10
Control - 8/10
Game Play - 8/10
Replay value - 7/10

Final Score - 8/10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 07/12/07