360's Spider-Man game disappoints
Platform: Xbox 360
Studio: Activision
Rating: 5.5/10
THE CORPORATE LINE: This is Spider-Man™ like you've never seen him before.
BOLDER. Feel the rush of protecting New York as the heroic Spider-Man™, plus feel the thrill of becoming the more aggressive Black-Suited Spider-Man™ — unleashing your powers while struggling against the darkness that threatens to tear your world apart.
BIGGER. Explore the most massive, most detailed New York City ever in a Spider-Man™ game, roaming from skyscraper to subway and beyond.
BETTER. Not only does next-gen technology raise the bar in gameplay, a unique combat system and unprecedented freedom to call the shots make this the most fun and exciting Spider-Man™ gaming experience ever.
More freedom than ever. More city than ever. For the first time, enjoy unprecedented freedom — choosing what you want to do, when you want to do it. There's no checklist to complete in order to progress. You set your own next goal, roaming anywhere you want — including subterranean areas such as subways, sewers and villains' lairs — in the most massive, detailed New York City ever seen in a Spider-Man™ game.
THE REVIEW
THE GAMEPLAY: Contrary to the corporate hype, Spider-Man hasn't changed much in its third incarnation. The attempt at making "Spider-Man 3" a cross between old Spider-Man games and "God of War" didn't succeed. Following a path of buttons to execute an action isn't enough to be proclaimed a "God of War" clone.
Video games based on movies usually hurt themselves by following the movie script to closely. A movie shouldn't have to be an excuse to make a Spider-Man game nor should the script be the only path to follow. "Spider-Man 3" tries to have the best of both worlds — follow the script and then create a new sub-plot only to lose any sense of cohesion.
The combat system isn't unique to "Spider-Man 3." It's far too similar to the original Spider-Man games and the ability to hold down the left shoulder button to dodge attacks makes an already easy game easier. When you hold down the shoulder button Spider-Man goes into a near "Matrix" style slow-motion fight sequence. It's not a bad feature — if it were limited in some way to make it more of a privilege rather than an automatic way to beat every enemy, including bosses. "Spider-Man 3" lends itself to button-mashing. The bosses don't add much joy to the game, either. It's a lot of running around, hitting a boss once or twice, hiding and repeating the same sequence a few dozen times.
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