Ultimate Spider-Man

Last year's Spider-Man 2 was a knockout in terms of what the series had done. It had so much going for it: a wide-open environment, amazing web-swinging mechanics, a solid fight system, and impressive visuals. Though the story itself wasn't too impressive, the gameplay more than made up for it. This year, the good folks at Treyarch have given us another impressive entry with Ultimate Spider-Man, but it isn't exactly what you would call "ultimate." First things first, this is the closest a video game has gotten to a comic thus far. Treyarch enlisted the talents of USM scribe, Brian Michael Bendis, whose monthly work on the Spidey comic title rarely (if ever) disappoints; and USM artist Mark Bagley, whose visual style is captured to near-perfection. The story is great -- revolving around Peter and his superhero duties mixed with his teenage woes. Never does it delve into the likes of the soap-opera nonsense found in The O.C., but rather, it focuses on a kid trying to do the right thing with the gifts he was given. Characters from the series pop up -- Nick Fury, Johnny Storm, Silver Sable -- and are an added bonus (if you're a comic nerd like me).

The visuals are so amazing, they astound me every time I play. This is probably the best-looking comic game out there. It's not that it's super-detailed, capturing every last hair on the character as you'd expect from an Ps2 game. Instead, it keeps things simple and maintains the look from the comic. If you took the comic and matched it up against the game, it's surprising how little variation there is. Buildings are simple and blocky, but they fit. The distant New York skyline is the slew of skyscrapers and towers one would expect. Even the characters themselves have the same Mark Bagley detail.

Spidey himself looks spot-on and he moves just like you'd expect him to. When swinging, his legs dangle appropriately; when he's in mid-air between web swings, he performs flips and flourishes that the wall-crawler is known for. His movements and exaggerations on his punches and kicks are taken straight out of his books. It's so much fun just to watch our hero in action.

The voice-acting is also impressive, especially since this is a video game. It's the same quality you'd expect from a movie or TV show. Despite it being a game, there's no bad or over acting going on here. Spidey is a squeaky-voiced teenager in the midst of puberty -- but that doesn't mean his trademark smart-ass quips and banter aren't accounted for. In fact, these are some of the best treats in the game. It's fantastic to hear Spidey say "sweet sassy molasses!" when he's shocked. The banter like "my point being: you truly do very much suck," is great. My personal fluorite is when he first meets the behemoth Rhino "…I'm so scared, I can even finish my lame joke." Good times, that's what that is. Besides, what is Spider-Man without his classic banter?

One of the issues that presented itself is that the combat system isn't as deep as in Spider-Man 2. Gone are the crazy combos that clear out any enemy standing next to you, as well as any purchased upgrade. Now, it's just a very basic button-mashing system. Kicks and punches are accounted for, but they're so basic that they're not as lively as they used to be. Though that change does make sense. This is a kid just starting out in the superhero racket, so he still has a way to go to becoming the icon we all know and love. The fighting system does rely on changing targets and bouncing off walls, which does add to the enjoyment of it. While the more intricate combos have been escorted out of the game, there is still some technique required. After all, Spidey always relied a bit more on his speed and reflexes before his strength.

Another point to touch upon is the web-swinging. In last year's title, collision detection on the web strands themselves were existent. Say you were rounding a corner, the web would catch the building it was attached to and whip Spidey around appropriately. Not so much in USM. If you want an extra boost when coming around a corner, you'll have to jump and shoot another web in the desired direction.

Also done away with is a sprint button. It's not a big deal, especially if you haven't played Spider-Man 2, but it is missed. Spider-Man can't sprint up the side of a building when crawling to make things a bit less tedious. While you can add an extra boost to your swing, that same boost is unavailable while moving along a surface. Charged jumps are also done away with. When climbing up a building, if you try to charge a jump to ascend a bit more quickly, Spidey will actually jump away from the surface he's scaling. Again, it's something that does indeed make sense, but it will be missed.

The biggest drawback of this game is the inclusion of Venom as a playable character. He draaaags. He can't web swing (but he can cover vast distances with his leaps), he relies on brute strength rather than finesse, and you must also devour people in order to keep the suit from killing the man inside. That's right, you are forced to eat people to keep your health up. Um, maybe it's me, but isn't that a bit off course from what's expected from a Spider-Man game? When compared to the swift, agile Spider-man, Venom is a slow, dull galoot. His missions usually consist of chasing a target around the city, which can get to be a real pain. Some chases require you to recharge your health during the pursuit, and in most cases, you simply don't have the time which results in a big ol' "Game Over" screen.

First off, I am a die-hard Spidey fanatic! The greatest Super Hero in comic book history (Sorry Superman.) Spidey has always been successful when it comes to videogames. Even dating back to the Spidey title for the Super Nintendo. That was a great game! The films are flawless as are the games bouncing off the films. But, I am sad to announce that Tobey Maguire is not present in Ultimate Spider-Man providing his voice for his greatest role in his career. But, do not fear! The acting is great in the game! Peter is more of a 15 year old in this version. Graphically, it goes back to the comics. (Ultimate Graphic Novels.) The gameplay is phenomenal! It's more simple than Spider-Man 2 but, it's a lot of fun! Swinging around the city has never been so much fun! OK, OK, I love Swinging in Spider-Man 2 as well. (Sorry, Tobey.) The combat system is awesome! Very fast and fluid. The story is straight from the Ultimate comics. (Remember, this is not the original comicbook storyline material, this is two years before the first Spider-Man movie.) The boss battles are actually quite humorous! This game is worth a rent for gamers, for die hard Spidey fans, this game is WORTH a purchase!!

When it comes to a Spiderman videogame there are certain aspects you genuinely expect to see. Open world, great swinging mechanics and a wide array of familiar characters from the comics. Ultimate Spiderman delivers on all fronts here.

Created in the style of a living breathing comic book complete with transitions it's the best Spiderman game that I've played thus far (Though I'm told the 2018 offering will likely change that).

With plenty to do in the open world, a great fighting system that makes you feel rather overpowered and the best swinging mechanics to date Ultimate Spiderman is a fantastic superhero game.

I'm not keen on the animation style and I think the story is considerably too short (Like really really short) but it makes up for it in side content and never ending nods to fans of the original comic book.

Much of it can get a tad repetitive and I was left wishing there were maybe alternate suits, characters, more unlockables in general but I couldn't take away what they accomplished here.

The Good:

Solid mechanics

Lots of content

Web swinging is near flawless

Great comic book style

The Bad:

Graphical style doesn't suit me

More unlockables would have been nice

Story is far too short

This is one of the most awesome Spider-Man games that has ever been made. There are so many good features that they have put into this piece of work that you almost lose yourself in the game. But everything, alas, comes at a price.

First, there's the good stuff, which is like, 99.9% of the game. The story is is understandable, which is a must for any game. The story basically revolves around the time where Peter Parker meets his childhood friend Eddie Brock. The game starts off with Peter against Venom for the first time. As the story develops, Spider-Man unlocks different attacks and Venom becomes harder.

The game play is very cool as well. The controls are easy to use. The swinging as Spider-Man is very good and so is the controls for Venom.

There is a variety of different villains that you face. They include Green Goblin, Rhino and Electro. There is a few more.

The only bad thing about this is some of the levels. In a few Spider-Man missions you have to prove your strength and lift or move heavy items using the triggers on your controller. Pretty difficult, but nowhere near the mission where you play as Venom against Carnage. You have to open some doors, and those doors are hard to open.

But overall, the acting, the story, the game play and the characters in this all add up to a really enjoyable game.

I had did a little research up on Ultimate Spider-man before I went out and bought this game. I didn't care much for the story of the Ultimate storyline Spider-man series with what I had read.

Now I wasn't expecting much when I bought this game. What I got surprised me. The whole thing is done is a artsy comic book style. Think Hulk movie 2003 with the panels showing some action and stuff like that.

The story pretty much follows the Ultimate comics from my understanding. I actually found the story to be one of the most interesting parts about the game. I still like the Amazing Spiderman story better, but the Ultimate storyline isn't as bad as I once thought once I got done with this game.

The gameplay was layed out fine. Spider-man's web swinging from building to building is done perfect in my opinion. Everything flows smoothly with it. Unfortunately the camera can get in the way of the fights sometimes. The boss fights are evenly difficult. Some of the bosses can be a pain sometimes.

The game also throws out a lot of side quest for you to do. Races around the city and combat tours. They can get repetitive and boring fast in my opinion. There are tons of tokens, comic book covers, and other stuff around the city to collect.

Overall this was well above average, but still has it's flaws that can't be easily ignored. Such as the annoying camera and the repetitive side missions. Great lengthy game though. Especially if you're wanting to do everything. It's worth a buy