Gaming Target - Xbox: Spider-Man: The Movie

Written by Nick Doukas on April 23, 2002

Full Review: Meet your friendly neighborhood Spider-manЕ

If there's one hero I admire most from a childhood filled with comic book and film heroes, it's Spider-man. As far back as I can remember, I've loved the character and, at one time, I collected every Spidey comic on the market. I remember how I couldn't wait to rush to Fantasy Kingdom (the local hole in the wall comic shop, where my friends and I spent every possible spare moment -- yes, I understand that your nerd radar must be deafening you at the moment) after school to see if the new issues were in yet. Ever since then, I've wondered what it would be like to have those incredible powers. Thanks to the new Spider-Man title from developer Treyarch, I'm finally able to find out. This is the game that truly lets you be Spider-man. With the upcoming Sam Raimi directed Spidey film due in theaters May 3rd, it's a good time to get your websling on!

Published by Activision (the original 3rd party developer), Spider-Man puts you in control of the webhead like never before. Following the plot of the film (and comics) closely, the game recounts the origin of Spiderman: High school student Peter Parker is bitten by a genetically altered spider (comic fans will note that this breaks slightly with the source material, as the books featured a radioactive spider) while on a class field trip. Within days, Peter is changing in astonishing ways. After an attempt to use his new powers (super human strength, speed and agility) as a wrestler of all things, Peter allows a thug, who robs the fight promoter, to get away. Soon after, Peter's Uncle Ben is murdered, ironically by the same scum Peter let escape. Spider-man is born. The game opens with Spider-man (still in Peter's old wrestling outfit) high above the city, hot on the trail of Uncle Ben's killer. This is where you'll be scraping your jaw off of the floor initially. Leap from the building (accomplished by pressing the A button) pull the right trigger (hold to engage accelerated swing) and you're web slinging around a beautifully modeled city!! Traffic streams along the streets below, windows reflect sunlight and police helicopters roar past you. Graphically the game is fantastic, with strict attention paid to every detail. Spider-man's character model is stunningly rendered, and everything looks just as it should. Little details like planes and dirigibles in the sky and the sound of traffic getting fainter as you make your way to the tops of the tallest buildings immerse you in the game very well. The game engine is solid and there's no fog or draw in to speak of. You can look out over the river and see the Jersey shore or swing over to the Met Life building and cling to the wall.

Spider-man can wall crawl, zip line rapidly up the face of buildings, and perform all manner of acrobatic moves and combos. The game offers Classic or Enhanced control schemes, with Enhanced requiring use of the left trigger to map web attacks to the face buttons. Spidey's movement is controlled via the left Analog stick, and the camera with the right (tap down on the stick to center the camera behind the character). Click in the right thumbstick to enter view mode. Punch/Action is mapped to the X button and kicks are performed with B. Throughout the adventure Spidey will find gold spider icons. These power ups will unlock new, more powerful combo strings. Ziplining is performed with the black button and the white button is used for camera lock, which centers the view on the enemy, so Spider-man can flip and swing all around the target without ever losing sight of it. This is crucial for the various aerial battles of the game. You'll take on the Green Goblin, Vulture and various Oscorp robots in dizzying, high altitude brawls (the game provides you with a compass and altimeter). These are highlight moments, with Spidey swinging past the adversary and cutting weblines to drop hundreds of feet, connecting with mid-air punches and kicks. Battling his foes, careening wildly around the cityЕ locked in epic, superhuman combat. Additional boss battles will have you up against the likes of Shocker (who's thick, New York accent is perfect) and the Scorpion. Other missions will pit you against gangs of thugs in Grand Central Station, sweeping hostages from harm's way.

The missions must be completed in full before you can save, however, they're short (but extremely intense) so it never gets too frustrating. Objectives are varied and you'll need to use all of Spidey's powers to defeat the bad guys. Combat is right out of the comics, with Spider-man taking on a roomful of thugs by bouncing off the walls and landing on enemies with bone breaking force. Spidey has a full range of web attacks such as webdome, web gloves (for added punching power) and the ability to tie gunmen up with webbing or yank foes closer with the web pull. It's all there for you, so put it to good use. While the team has done an excellent job of bringing the character to life, the camera can be troublesome at times, particularly in enclosed spaces (sewers and warehouses). However, diligent manipulation of the controls will have you performing admirably in no time. The game features various training modes, all of which are implemented well. The basic tutorial features voice work by actor Bruce Campbell (a long time Raimi collaborator) and is very funny. Tobey Maguire and Willem Dafoe also reprise their film roles, ably voice acting Spidey and the Goblin. All the classic one-liners are here, with Spider-man wisecracking his way through battles and deflecting the humorous comments of civilians as he swings by at low altitudes (УIt's just Spider-man, there's no the.Ф). All of the in game sound is well done, as is the music, which was composed by Michael McCuistion, and features prominent synthesizer work. Fans of the webhead will be thrilled, and if you're an action gamer, you'll definitely want to check this one out. Believe me, it feels good to be the hero sometimes, particularly one with the proportionate abilities of a man sized spider. Thanks Treyarch, job well done.