Ultimate Spider-Man

"Spidey ultimately swings back onto the DS!"

Synopsis: Spidey comes back to the DS and makes up for a lot of past mistakes. Not only that but he brings a Friend/!....err, Foe!

Gameplay: 8 - Whereas last years Spider-Man game featured some pretty decent punch and kick side scrolling action, this games does that, and then some. First off, the horrible and redundant level design done away with. No longer will you find yourself getting lost looking for those last few thugs to beat up of last bomb difuse, only to lose because you 'ran out of time'....yea, no more of that. Instead we have a lot more structured and well paced missions. In one mission, you have to stop bank robbers but the trick is to not let them see you or they may kill the other hostages throughout the stage. This can be a lot harder than it sounds. The touch screen is generally used to show action panels of Spider-Mans punches and Kicks. It also serves as a menu for selecting special moves. Also the touch screen is sometimes used to open stuck doors or pinned down object by swiping across the screen in certain directions. As you can see a lot of variety goes into these missions , most evidently in the last missions with Spidey and Venom.

"Venom"? "who's that you say?" Well before I beat you over the head with a DS stylus (Oh yes, I'm a brutal one) I'll tell you. He's Spidey's arch nemesis of sorts. You see, he kinda has similar powers as Spidey. He can leap really high, stick to surfaces, and has these huge and really strong tentacles that he can control. Doc Ock. he is not. He's MUCH Eviler (is that a real word?). In these gameplay segment with Venom, you must use the touch screen to control his tentacles. They are VERY responsive and can move just about anything they interact with. It's fun to just pick up some guys and knock them over and over into the ground . Also, you must constantly "feed" you Venom souit so that involves getting people with you tentacles and bringing them towards you for a quick snack. Because Venom's suit drains his life, this can be really challenging during some levels and boss fights. Expect to retreat as you look for "snacks" to keep from dying.

All in all this is some very solid 2d side scrolling action, esp with the inclusion of Venom and his tentacles.

Graphics: 8 - The graphics have gotten a major overhaul. The game now sports a very nice and slick cell shading type of style. The games has a very fluid look and feel to it. Though it's "2d" it's really 2.5D since all of the models and even backgrounds are in full 3d, just like in Spider-Man 2. However, b/c this game tries to resemble a comic book, there are much more little graphical bells and whistles. For instance when you shoot your webs you'll see a little "Thwipp" (you know, the sound the webs shooters makes) writing next to Spidey. Also, on the bottom panel, cool, well drawn action pieces of Spider-Mans arsenal of Attacks are displayed. With Venom, these same cool art panels will be seen on the top screen instead. They are very cool, and add to the comic book theme. The cutscenes all feature great artwork and really do shout high production.

Sound: 9 - I gave this such a high score because for a DS game this is amazing. This game has some great music that sounds really appropriate for every stage. The sound effects all do their job and all sound great. However, it's the voice acting that really steals the show. In all of the cutscenes, there's voice acting that has superb quality. Even during in-game sequences there will be some added banter, whether from Spidey, Venom, or the Bosses/Mercenaries/thugs. It's the story that really drives this game, and it's the wonderful use of dual screens, high quality artwork and excellent voice overs which drive the story.

Replayability: 7 - Well, this game won't take you forever to beat but because of some of the well thought out and designed missions, you might find yourself replaying some of them, or maybe even replaying the whole game over. There are a couple of times in the game where you get to choose which missions to go to first and will lead to slightly different approaches to the story but don't expect anything major. Also, there is a multiplayer fighting game that includes about five different people to choose from. After beating the game there are several characters that are unlocked. I have yet to play this mode myself but I'm sure it could add some level of longevity.

Final Score: 8.0

Buy/Rent : Well, I'd say Buy this is you're a huge Spidey fan like me. You could rent it, beat it and return it and have no regrets as well, but if you can get it for less than 40 then I'd say go ahead and buy. However with so many great DS games out and nearing release it's going to be hard to find enough money for them all. In the end it's really up to you.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 10/06/05