Spider-Man, Electronic Games

Timed perfectly to tie in with the movie premiere, Spider-Man the game receives a simultaneous release on all five major platforms and, with the exception of the Game Boy Advance version, remains more or less the same game across the board. The plot follows that of the original Marvel comic book in that, bitten by a genetically modified spider, high school student Peter Parker is suddenly empowered with super-human powers, including Spider-Sense, web-slinging and the ability to crawl up walls. In the game, players assume the role of the hero himself as he campaigns to thwart the plans of the evil criminal mastermind the Green Goblin and his cohorts. The game itself requires the player to master Spidey's abilities and negotiate their way around various 3D locales throughout the city, whilst battling with the legions of evil. Every one of the hero's powers is included - making full use of the machine's ample controller - from simple close-combat fighting manoeuvres, through web-slinging, wall-crawling, to the gravity-defying stunts such as web-swinging and zip-lining. The latter two play an important role in the game, giving Spidey the freedom to swing high through the city or slide vast distances across a web line, resulting in an extremely satisfying sense of control. As well as playing host to two extra levels featuring Kraven the Hunter, the Xbox version possesses the smoothest frame rate and most impressive lighting of the console releases. Animation is extremely fluid throughout, accurately recreating the comic book feel as the protagonist throws his weight around the city, itself being well detailed, textured and giving an accurate portrayal of scale. Spider-Man is an example of a Superhero game done well. The past has witnessed a plethora of sub-standard movie cash-ins over the years but, this time, we have a competent 3D action title, made all the more desirable due to the buzz surrounding the release of the movie.

Buy Spider-Man for 7.99 GBP

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