Spider-Man: Web of Shadows

"Yet another boring Spiderman game..."

There have been thirteen Spider-Man games in the past eight years, counting this latest release, Web of Shadows (and not counting games like Marvel: Ultimate Alliance where Spider Man has a co-starring role). I know it's dull to open a review with a statistic such as this, but I do have a point: of those thirteen, how many really stick in the mind? How many were even faintly memorable? Perhaps this is a little unfair to ask, as the earlier games were limited by the technology that was available at the time, and of course three of those games had the rather unfortunate stigma of the films to deal with, but it's odd that none of them could really be considered genuinely memorable. Spider-Man games have always had at least one big flaw, whether it be a bad plot, dodgy controls, ropey presentation or voice acting that made you want to punch yourself in the ears. So, I'm delighted to tell you that Web of Shadows has rectified this problem and finally delivered a memorable experience that's worthy of the web-slinging wonder.

Spider-Man: Web of Shadows is a standalone title that isn't connected to any of the films or previous games and this separation is paramount, as it enables the game to distance itself tonally from everything that has come before. For example, the beautifully rendered opening sequence is set to the first movement of the Moonlight Sonata, rather than emulating the soundtrack of one of the movies. The game also makes the admirable assumption that you already know that Venom's other name is Eddie Brock, that Peter Parker loves Mary Jane and has had a previous relationship with the Black Cat, and so on. Not having these well-known facts explained to me for the umpteenth time warmed my heart, because it's surely a given that if you've bought a Spider-Man game then you know at least a little about Spidey's world, yet every other game has forced us to sit through contrived exposition dialogue that clumsily explains every single character's motivation.

The story of this particular game centres around Spider-Man's continuing battle with Venom. Not only is Venom terrorising the city but a piece of the symbiote has infected Spider-Man, allowing him to switch from his usual red and blue togs into a darker, black-suited form at will. Spidey has to figure out Venom's plan, as well as dealing with several old foes that have allied themselves with the black tentacled one. As a concept it's not startlingly original but there's only so much you can do when working with such a well-established fictional world and the plot twists and turns so much that you often have no idea where it's heading - and it's a rare thing to be able to say about a Spider-Man storyline.

Over the course of your adventure, you encounter various Spider-Man staples such as the Black Cat (who is voiced brilliantly by Tricia Helfer, Number 6 from the recent Battlestar Galactica series), Wolverine and Moon Knight. These characters dish out your objectives, as well as various optional side quests. While these side quests tend to be fairly pointless, usually only consisting of hunting down a set number of certain enemies; the extra content doesn't hurt, it's just a shame that it isn't a bit more imaginative. A nice amount of humour has been injected into Web of Shadows too, and not just through Spider-Man's traditional quips; for example, at one point there's a delightful piece of verbal sparring where Wolverine accuses Spidey of being an emo, and we find out that Wolverine has a Myspace page.

In terms of gameplay, Web of Shadows is thoroughly enjoyable. There are two main aspects to the experience; that of web-swinging around the city and beating the stuffing out of an assortment of bad guys. The web-swinging feels effortless; whilst in the air, depressing the right trigger causes Spidey to shoot out a web that automatically locks on to the nearest building. Letting go of the trigger then detaches the web, necessitating that you ensnare another skyscraper. Three things make this more than a simple gameplay mechanic. The first is the sense of speed; it feels like you gain real momentum as you hurtle between skyscrapers and chaining together a perfect series of swings is monumentally satisfying. Secondly, the animation is perfect; if you release the web at the peak of your swing then Spidey performs a gymnastic flip in mid air, and if you don't fire out the next web then enters an elegant swan dive towards the tarmac, landing effortlessly if you don't initiate the next swing in time.

The third reason has to do with the location: the city of New York. Yes, I know that New York is one of the most overused environments in games these days, but it is Spidey's home after all. Places like Time Square and the Chrysler building have been intricately recreated, as you'd expect, but the rest of the city feels just as authentic as the more famous parts. I've only been to New York once, but the feel of the city has been translated beautifully - there are districts consisting of nothing but skyscrapers, as well as the smaller, more elegant buildings of Little Italy. It's remarkable how varied the landscape is and how pleasant this makes swinging around the city.

There is one issue with the web-swinging, though; whilst Web of Shadows does a great job of streaming New York's buildings so they don't just magically pop into existence three feet from your face, the billboards and adverts on the sides of skyscrapers are not so fortunate. The draw distance issues aren't terrible by any means and they only affect a few areas of the city but it does break your immersion occasionally.

Of course, you're swinging around the city to get somewhere - and usually it's to teach some nefarious types a lesson. At first you have just a few basic combos with which to despatch the villains, with left and right punches, the occasional kick and web attacks, along with an amusing chain of attacks where Spidey grabs people from mid air and then jumps on them. You unlock more moves as you go by completing primary and secondary objectives, and whilst they're all beautifully animated and quite satisfying to use, there is something missing. It's slightly regrettable that Web of Shadows has emerged so soon after Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, which has a very similar combat system but one that is slightly more sophisticated than the one on offer here. Web of Shadows does have a few tricks up its sleeve though and the aforementioned animations are one; Spider-Man's evidently been learning Capoeira and whilst that may appal martial arts geeks such as me, it does provide some spectacular visual treats. Then of course, there's the introduction of Spidey's alternate suit.

When wearing the traditional red and blue outfit, you're light and agile, dropping to one hand and delivering devastating kicks to an opponent's head, incapacitating enemies with webbing and generally playing the likable acrobat that Spider-Man is known as. However, you have a second suit and it's far more than just a fashion accessory, as it has been altered by the parasite that created Venom; when adorned in black, you swing wild punches that pulverise enemies in seconds. Also, instead of merely incapacitating your enemies with webbing, you use a web rope that grabs your foes and whips them in towards you. The suit doesn't just affect your combat, either; you are often called to make moral decisions that will add points to your 'red' and 'black' personalities. Saving civilians from wrecked cars (of which there are an anomalous amount in this city, I'm sure the citizens of New York can drive better than this!) earns you red points but accidentally clobber a civilian with a poorly thrown car and points are added to your black persona. You are also given choices such as making mischief with the Black Cat or turning her in to the police, the end result of your actions influencing the plot and delivering dramatically different ending sequences.

The joy of Web of Shadows is that you can blitz through the main plot in a few hours by swinging around the city at breakneck speed from objective to objective and fight to fight. If you slow down and spend a bit more time at street level, you find small skirmishes between gangs popping up everywhere (which you earn experience points for resolving) civilians needing to be transported to hospital because of all these gangs, and other incidental events that lend weight to the impression that New York is a city on the brink of the very meltdown that you are desperately trying to prevent. You're never really in danger of being killed by these human baddies, but it's nice to be able to drop out of the sky onto an unsuspecting goon's head and dispense some justice, Spidey style.

While you're fairly safe from human opponents, the real challenge comes from the iconic boss battles, which feel truly special and provide some excellent variety, ranging from throwing cars at an enormous robot sent by the Kingpin, to a dazzling aerial fight against the Vulture, where you must jump from one airborne enemy to the next, until you finally reach the geriatric winged one himself. Special mention must also go to a fight against Wolverine, which occurs when he is certain that you have been consumed by the Venom symbiote. To convince him that you haven't, you must team up with him against an assortment of foes that periodically interrupt the more ordinary brawling, as well as answering questions about Peter Parker's life (such as the names of his parents). It's very, very geeky and designed to make Spider-Man fans proud of themselves for knowing bits of inane trivia - and if you don't know the answers then don't worry, as some inspired guesswork should see you though.

However, whilst the plot is genuinely intriguing and well acted, the first section of the game is terrible. You are wrenched away from your fight against Venom to prevent a very small-scale gang war between two factions of brightly dressed hoodlums. This disappointment, combined with an unnecessarily draconian training sequence, almost kills the game - but if you can work through it then the plot soon picks up and your objectives feel less like grind quests and more like you're actually making a difference.

The RPG elements feel slightly clunky as well; you aren't forced to level up as you gain experience, so it's easy to forget to do it. I occasionally found myself massively outclassed during some of the more spectacular boss battles before remembering that I hadn't unlocked anything for a few hours and should probably take a trip to the character screen. Whilst I'm complaining, other than the brilliant use of the Moonlight Sonata, the game's soundtrack is pretty average. You never really notice it and whilst this could be seen as a good thing, it's also a bit of a missed opportunity.

Spider-Man: Web of Shadows isn't a perfect game; there's too much grind and the first act is badly realised. It does succeed where the other games failed though; the web swinging is a joy, the plot is original and intriguing, the animations are flawless, the voice acting is excellent for a game of this type, the graphics are superb and it puts a huge smile on your face. Weighing all this up, Web of Shadows is the best Spider-Man game we're likely to see for a long time to come.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 01/16/09

Game Release: Spider-Man: Web of Shadows (EU, 10/24/08)