"Should I be bitten by a radioactive spider or consumed by a black piece of alien mulch?"

It isn't an 'ultimate' platformer, but amongst the array of Spider-Man games that have flooded nearly every gaming system for the past decade, it's one of the most enjoyable. Ultimate Spider-Man for the DS uses the same cel-shaded comic-book style graphics that graced the home console versions, and for all intents and purposes it succeeds in capturing that vibrant feel of actually being inside a beautifully hand-drawn world. But we all know that graphics don't make a good game by itself.

Visuals - 8
Sound & Music - 8
Gameplay - 6
Controls - B
Longevity - B (3-4 hours)
Replayability - C
Difficulty - Fairly Easy

Presentation - 8
VERDICT - 6.5/10

Straight out of the comics
Our friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man starts off the story with a bang, facing off against his arch-nemesis, Venom, in an ultimate confrontation on a football field on a dark, rainy night. The battle is a simple button-mashing affair, but the atmosphere is intense and there are many moments like this to follow over the course of the game's 20 levels. There are plenty of villains to keep you occupied while you help out the many innocent civilians who find themselves in critical predicaments all over town. From start to finish it's an enjoyable fast-paced ride, but unfortunately everything is over way too quick.

From point A to B to C to...
Ultimate Spider-Man is very linear with no deviations from the set path. You can bypass about half of the standard goons that litter the place by deftly swinging past them, but should your Spidey-radar point towards gangster no. 301, you have no choice but to take care of him before moving onto the next section. These forced encounters restrict Spidey's freedom and just when you're having fun swinging around at the speed of a superhero, you've got to stop, drop and bash some buttons. There are times when you'll have to whip out the stylus to diffuse a bomb or lift a car off a stuck victim, and these instances can come at very awkward times. However they aren't a major part of the game and as such don't come across as very intrusive most of the time.

Each level plays out in nearly the exact same manner (as detailed above), just in a different environment. You start off in a lovely park setting and eventually make your way through to less appealing sewers and factories. The comic-book art that pervades each area still looks great wherever you are though, and it's this cool visual look that keeps the game from getting too boring.

Bad guys never learn
With a great number of villains comes great responsibility to kick some ass. From Rhino to Shocker to Venom, all the encounters are exciting and it requires a bit more lateral thinking than usual to take them down. Some have specific weak spots that must be targeted whilst others require you to perform split duties, for example there's a battle where you have to prevent a bus from falling off the edge of a bridge whilst some maniac pesters you with constant energy beams. These levels also help to break the monotony of a superhero's usual tasks (saving people of course!) so it's a good thing that there are plenty of these live punching bags to go around!

It's not all about goody good Spider-Man here, despite the title; Ultimate is split equal parts between the web-head himself and his ultimate rival, Venom! After you knock on him in the opening level, you will have the chance to play both sides of the story. Venom can't swing around the city here, but he more than makes up for it by being able to suck the lifeforce of anyone he comes across, be it a mobster or a runaway bride! You can attack using either traditional or stylus controls, but the latter is surprisingly the best of the two. Melee strikes, wide-arcing snaps, zip-lines and tendril sucking - it's all very easy to perform. Although the touch-screen controls are optional here, they are much more intuitive than the compulsory set-up of the latest Spider-Man 3 for the DS. They both come from the same developer so I'm stumped as to why this is the case.

Comic-Zone
In between each mission there are heaps of voiced cutscenes that both look and sound superlative. An original story was penned specifically for the game and it really shows through in the excellent story-telling. While it makes getting through the game the first time very worthwhile, it isn't that riveting enough to want to go through these scenes again. And because there are no unlockables or alternative difficulties to play through, there's really no reason to replay the game while the linear memory is still fresh in your mind. The high quality sound is also transferred from the cutscenes to in-game as well. Sound effects are spot-on and when playing as Venom it's pretty cool to see the corresponding onomatopoeia on the secondary screen as he lays a beating to anyone and anything he feels like. The Peter Parker of Ultimate is definitely a pleasure to listen to compared with the wimpy portrayal in the recent films and their associated tie-ins.

Ultimate Spider-Man is a decent platformer that can have a lot going on at times, especially during the many boss fights, but it is spaced out with a tad too many ho-hum moments. Cheap restarts are a problem here again, but the near-end losses don't occur as much as in the other DS Spidey games. But this then results in the game finishing mighty fast; without artificial length, you'll be able to come out the other end in a single sitting easily. And then this game will ultimately be stored away in the corner of your room for an indefinite period of time. However it's still the best Spidey offering on a portable system out of them all so if you're hankering for some web-slinging on the go, stick it up.

6.5/10 - Good for 1 round

My Score System – a score of 7 from me denotes a good, solid game. Excellence earns a higher grade, whilst 4-6 reflects a below average product; glitchy, unplayable games deserve less.

10/05/07

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 05/10/07