Reviewed: October 23, 2005
Reviewed by: Tyler Whitney

Publisher
Activision

Developer
Treyarch
Beenox

Released: September 22, 2005
Genre: Action
Players: 1
ESRB: Teen

9
9
8
7
8.6

System Requirements

Ahem, well, needless to say, I grew up surrounded by Spider –Man, comics, a horrible live action movie (omg ropes??!), tv series and a plethora of action figures. My favorite thing had to be the Amazing Spider-Man comic, very clean look, great characters etc. Now with the news that Marvel would start an alternate line called Ultimate Spider-Man, recasting venerable characters with different looks and alliances, I was ecstatic. And then I realized how dang expensive comics are these days.

Luckily, the people at Treyarch and Activision brought us this excellent title for multiple platforms. Seriously though, does Activision have Spider-Man stock? I recall back to the mid-90s with a lot of Spider-Man/Marvel games being produced by them, and it continues into the millennium. Bringing on talented USM creator Brian Michael Bendis to handle the storyline, as well as the pencil of Mark Bagely, it stays true to the series.

Hidden throughout the levels are goodies, like comic covers, new costumes, character models and more. Sadly, the random encounters, from stopping getaway cars, to rescuing slippery footed construction workers, becomes plain boring after a few times, due mainly to lack of variety. Worse yet, you have to complete some of these in order to progress further into the story.

As a bonus, you will also get to throw-down as Spidey’s nemesis-Venom. Spread out throughout the game, you will get to control Venom and wreak havoc upon the populace of NYC, as you flee from agent’s of S.H.I.E.L.D., Nick Fury and Silver Sable. (It’s interesting to note that Nick Fury is African-American in this retelling, but he still has his eye patch!).

This Jekyll and Hyde mix of gameplay styles, from saving innocents in one passage, to tossing cars into crowded intersections, really helps spice up the gameplay. Unlike Spider-Man, Venom’s costume is a living entity, that can spread out and form tendrils, pretty handy in wreaking havoc, and replenishing your health by snacking on people. I have to say though, compared to the Spidey levels, Venom doesn’t really match up well, and it just seems too dumbed down. The levels won’t win any awards for creativity, and neither will the limited moves of Venom, but it’s still solid fun.

The controls are pretty decent, but it seems like they still haven’t captured the smoothness of the console version. Web swinging is especially static, and the physics just aren’t as wild as past versions. The combat is intense as ever, though. I found the use of the mouse and keyboard as serviceable, but sometimes you may throw off your aim, as the mouse is tied into the camera control.

Thankfully, your arsenal of moves isn’t as vast as past games, and essentially “he who masheth the mostest, winnneth.” I almost preferred to use the basic set-up over a controller, as anything outside a PS2 controller, with it’s dual-analog-sticks-of-sexiness, just feels wonky. Enemies are pretty dumb, although in packs they may cause you some issues. I did find some of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents a bit tiring due to their overwhelming numbers at times, but overall you should be fine. And as I mentioned before, the boss battles are trial and error, and mastering your timing is key.

The animations are equally amazing. You can tell Peter Parker isn’t used to his powers yet, after all, he is just 15 years old in this retelling. He may look a bit awkward leaping and swinging around on occasion, and wildly flails at targets, much like a kid in a schoolyard brawl would. However, things get a tad murky at longer distance. This may be the fog technique, used to save CPU power, while still showing a good amount of detail up close-it’s all about draw distance. It’s too bad too, because in Ultimate Spider-Man, you are web slinging along, staring at the horizon for a long time, only to be greeted by giant rectangles, instead of skyscrapers.

The game is a bit of a hog on the system, but if you can handle most of the mid-high end stuff these days, like Doom 3, Half Life-2, F.E.A.R. and the like, you should be fine.

With such a classic setting as the Big Apple (and Queens), there are still plenty of memorable areas to explore in this title. From the Fantastic’s 4 Baxter Building, Empire State University, Dr. Strange’s House and a plethora of other hotspots. Treyarch also put together some sharp cut scenes, set-up like onscreen comics, that spring to life with action bouncing from panel to panel.

I always envisioned Spider-Man as being manlier, but of course, when I was reading the comics, he was in his 30s- not teens. The same can be said for the nasal pitch of Tobey Maguire, who makes a good fit overall, but I just can’t stand his voice. Stan Lee, the creator of Spider-Man, and general comic GOD, was a genius for applying this aspect to our “friendly neighborhood Spidey.” Think how different he would be if he was more serious, or even brutal, a la the Punisher. Kudos to you Stan Lee, an all who came before, and after. Other voices include Bolivar Trask, Electro and many other recognizable folks from the Marvel universe.

Couple this with the excellent kapows!, whams! , grunts and general ambience of NYC, and you have a stellar collection of sound.