Spider-Man 3

"Fallen short of expectations, but still a good ride"

Spider-Man 3 is the continuation of both the game and movie series. There's been lots of hype for it, especially seeing as how the Wii held potentially good controls for this game. Unfortunately, seeing as how this version of the game was created by different developers, it falls a little short of what it could be, but is still nice in many aspects.

Story - 8/10

Pretty much what the movie is, with a few other tidbits thrown in. In the beginning, Peter briefly recaps his past battles with Green Goblin and Dr. Octopus, and, while he narrates the few current troubles of his life, we're introduced to the characters. The game is close enough to the movie to appreciate, which has many different plot lines, though not enough to cram into the 2 and a half hours it is. The game, however, manages to fit more than enough room for it; you're only seeing Peter's side of the story, so you don't really have to sit through many of the other occurences, and you get chances to tackle events of interest outside the film plot too.

Graphics/Sound - 8/10

The graphics have significantly improved from Spider-Man 3, though sometimes the lighting gives an odd, shiny glow feel from the characters depending on the camera angle. However, animation is fluid and smooth, though the Havok ragdoll physics are to be sorely missed. Spider-Man's acrobatic feats are pulled off with grace and precision, and the witless thugs he battles are filled with clear aggression and intent to harm. However, if there's one thing SM2 beats it's sequel in on this department, it's sound effects and music. The sound Spidey's web makes isn't as smooth and cool as the one in the past game, which is also the same sound used in the movie, and the music isn't really as catchy as it was, while some tunes, such as Sandman's theme, are really overused, for practically almost every battle you're going to have with common street thugs. Thankfully, though, one thing is MUCH better; voice acting. Tobey actually sounds like a Spider-Man this time, and says much more clever lines, too, ones that really made me laugh. Bruce Campbell also returns as narrator, and always has something hilarious to pitch in. The other characters also sound generally more convincing and real, where SM2's actors were quite plain and fake. While the graphics don't go anywhere near comparing to it's 360/PS3 brothers, it's still acceptable for a game, and good enough to consider pretty.

Gameplay - 8/10

The Wii controls are the real highlight of this game. Swinging is very, very tough at first, but once you get the hang of it, it never gets old. Other than that, the controls are very friendly to gamers of all kinds and ages, incorporating both buttons and movements flawlessly, and respecting whatever amount of effort you put in what you do with precise response. It even has a setting for left-handed gamers! Spider-Man has many moves at his disposal, though some aren't introduced until progression through the game, but they can be upgraded with experience you earn from fighting crime. It also incorporates freeroam, and the option to interfere with a crime that springs up. You can also talk to gang informants and police officers to get the lowdown on what's going on. Though I was hoping for saving people from fires, SM3 doesn't entirely deliver on Spider-Man-like activity, though it has removed some of the more mediocre SM2 missions (balloon-chasing, saving people from sinking boats). In it's place, there's bringing lost children back to their parents, rescuing kidnapped people, snagging evidence on gang activity, saving people from laughing gas and the like. Some missions from SM2 return, like aiding those who need medical attention by giving them a free ride to the hospital, though somehow this one in particular has become so much damn harder than the SM2 one... Aside from that, there's the new stuff; the black suit. Whenever you put this thing on, all your abilities are upgraded to the next level, you hit harder, crack the ground when landing from a high jump, swing faster, fight like you're pissed, and crack one-liners with attitude. However, Spidey can only wear it for a certain amount of time before blacking out; the longer you wear it, the harder it is to take off. Spidey faces the three movie villains this time around (Green Goblin II AKA "New Goblin", Sandman, Venom) and his enemies from the comics, the Lizard, Kraven the Hunter, Morbius, Shriek, and Carlyle (who, in my opinion, is a worthless villain, not even a supervillain, who could easily have been replaced by someone like Mysterio or the Kingpin). The boss fights generally use some sort of strategy pattern, but instead of being some lame, repetitive gimmick, they're challenging and very interactive.

Replay - 10/10

I cannot stress how addicting swinging gets. If you're a fan of Spider-Man, you'll definitely love this game and want to keep fighting off gang and crime activity. While not as delivering as Spider-Man 2, keeping the gangs at bay is truly challenging, as they can take over different areas of territory at any time, and given how the area was widely expanded from the sequel, you could spend hours trying to clean up New York until it's crime-free.

Rent Or Buy - You may want to rent it to see if you like it since it's a little restrictive on the parts that made SM2 so good. If you want to buy, wait a little until the price dies down, but if you're a diehard Spidey fan with just a Wii, go get it - I did. I haven't played either the 360/PS3 versions, but I hear they deliver deeper gameplay, and know that they have some of the better villains that could have filled in for the Wii/PS2 exclusive Morbius and Shriek (Scorpion, Rhino, Kingpin, etc.)

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 06/19/07