Spider Man 2 on the PS2 is three years old now, but it was one of the best movie tie ins of its day.
It may have gone down the typical God of War style action/ adventure route, but swinging around New York City in tight fitting Lycra was great fun. The graphics were so good you almost felt afraid of heights.
With the sequel now in cinemas, along comes another tie in. The gaming world has moved on, so does Spidey have anything new up his tunic?
They say:
IGN: “Combat is brainless button mashing, the bosses are frustrating and cheap, the visuals are far from spectacular, and although the random crimes aren't the same events over and over, they definitely reuse the same ideas.”
Eurogamer: “As it stands, the total lack of consistency in what the game offers in terms of entertainment gives it the whiff of a game produced under pressure.”
Gamespot: “For everything Spider Man 3 does well, it does something else poorly.”
We say:
The big problem with Spider Man 3 is simple. What was seen as fresh and exciting back in 2004 has been so blown away by two God of War releases, that Spidey 2 may as well been released in the age of disco and flared trousers.
Very little has changed in three years. You still swing around New York City using your Spidey sense to keep an eye out for missions to try your web slinging hand at.
Actually making your way around New York City still proves to be one of the game’s major plus points. Swinging from building to building and getting high enough to get a bird’s eye view of the place is much more fun than beating up the bad guys.
There are tonnes of minor tasks to occupy your time with and you’ll find yourself pleasing hundreds of locals with your Spidey skills. It’s a pity they’re not too varied. There’s only so many bombs you can defuse without getting bored.
It’s the story missions that provide the real meat to Spider Man 3. There’s ten in total and we wonder where the developers dreamed them up as they bear very little resemblance to what actually happens in the film. Still, they’ll last you a good twelve hours or so.
What really lets Spidey 3 down is the graphics engine. Looks wise, the Xbox 360 version doesn’t feel like much of a change from the cheaper PS2 release, plus the frame rate starts to judder every time the action builds.
The camera is appalling too. It gets stuck behind walls and even flicks 180 degrees without any kind of prompting. When missions are incredibly reliant on the accuracy of your web slinging, this is unforgiveable. You’ll find yourself hitting the reset button more than once.
Even the combat feels ancient. The game’s just about stepped into the 21st century with the addition of bullet time, but your basic enemies are so stupid it’s not even the slightest challenge to kick their collective asses.
The boss battles are no better either. Spending half an hour mashing buttons to knock tiny amounts off a health bar may be your idea of fun, but it sure as hell isn’t ours. You’ll need rations for the biggest of them.
Spidey 3 is not as exciting as the film, nor as memorable as the last game in the series. It may have its moments, but the many flaws do a damn good job of hiding them. One rushed out to capitalise on the film we think.
Like this? Try these:
Spider Man 2 – PS2
God of War 2 – PS2
Tomb Raider, Legend – Xbox 360, PS2
FORMAT REVIEWED
Xbox 360
OTHER FORMATS
PS3, Wii, PS2, PSP, PC, DS
POSTED...
Thu 24 May 2007 at 7:19pm
