Official Website

Platform: PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox, Nintendo DS, GameBoy Advance, PC CD-ROM

Genre: Action

Number of Players: 1

Before the millennium was upon us, the late 90's were abuzz with a rumor that Marvel Comics had plans to completely wipe out the Marvel Universe and start over from square one. Characters needed updated origins, the continuity in many instances was completely lost, and with many of Marvel's titles becoming blockbuster films, most people simply couldn't afford to go out and buy back issues to get more in touch with their favorite hero. The Marvel Universe was spared however, and instead they came up with a new plan; the Ultimate Universe.

Yes, this is a game review, but it's important to get some of the facts straight here before jumping into things. Ultimate Spider-Man was the flagship title in Marvel's new universe, and unlike some of their previous attempts to create something like this, the 2099 titles or the failed New Universe, the Ultimate Universe has been going strong, probably because its familiar territory. Ultimate Spider-Man still features Peter Parker, he's still be bitten by a radioactive spider and gained super-powers, but this Spider-Man is more up to date, more hip, and quite a bit different than what you might already know about everyone's favorite wall crawler. Activision has done very well for themselves with their games based of Marvel's popular heroes. The Spider-Man games based off the movies have been instant hits, the X-Men Legends series is the talk of any fan, and now the pages of Ultimate Spider-Man are coming to your video game console.

The origins of Peter Parker and his rise from super nerd to super hero remain the same, but here's the change. Back when his father was still alive, he worked with Eddie Brock Sr. to develop a suit that they hoped would cure cancer. Years later, Eddie Brock Jr., a close friend of Peter's comes back into town and they learn of their fathers' work and eventually uncover the suit. However, this creation, Venom, takes over Peter until he's ultimately able to get rid of it, but Eddie has found out what Peter has been up to and isn't pleased. Brock tried to take the suit for himself and instead is transformed into the powerful and deadly Venom; and he's got a hunger for a certain little spider.

Before long time Spider-Man fanatics start screaming foul, recalling how Venom was a symbiotic entity brought to Earth by Peter after the Secret Wars, blah-blah, Eddie fired, blah, found suit, yada yada, later created Carnage . . . . . this is Ultimate Spider-Man, not Amazing, Spectacular or Web of, and Venom can't come into existence in the same fashion. The thing that I know all of you are most interested in though isn't that this is a Spider-Man game so much as the fact that, as you all know from the pre-release hype, you can play as Venom, and that's what we've all be waiting for . . . . . but you'll be playing as both hero and villain in Ultimate Spider-Man.

As Spidey, you'll have all of the abilities that you might hope to have. You can swing from the highest building, but this isn't going to be some easy thing like holding a button, and while R2 lets you web swing, you will need to hit it again to swing to the next area, and the next, and the next. You can however swing back and forth if you'd like, you can climb, or by using L2 and R2, you can web zip, a quick way to climb buildings. You can jump and cling to any surface, and you can fight. Spidey can throw both punches and kicks, and there are combo moves as well. You can even web up your opponents, swing them around, and hang them from light poles if you're feeling really creative. I really do love how the web swinging is designed in this game though, and you actually need to have a building or something else nearby to have your webs stick onto. You can't just blindly shot webs up into the sky and hope that they are going to hit something, and this can certainly make things a little trickier.

There is a lot of crime for you to fight in NYC, and I'm not just talking about those costumed and super-powered jokers that want to make life a hassle. Spider-Man is going to have a lot to take on, but remember, with great power comes great responsibility. In order to move to the next phase of the story, you will have a number of city goals that you need to accomplish, and checking the menu will let you know what you need to get. Ultimate Spider-Man is more of a free flowing game, so you can web shoot wherever you need to, but always keep an eye on the map in the bottom corner. A red icon means that something is going on, and people need your help. Sometimes you'll be taking on thugs, other times you may need to save someone before they meet a horrible death, and don't think you have all day either. A heroes work is never done, and Spidey has a limited amount of time to accomplish his mission.

There are a number of icons to be watching for as well. Race icons will put you in, what else, a race, and it will be from point A to point B in as little time as you can muster. Complete the race and you'll earn yourself a medal. There are also thug icons that will put you on a combat tour. In this mode, you just need to follow the arrows and stop those low ranking criminals before they can do too much damage. Aside from these, there are also Landmark tokens as well as comic covers that will unlock special features and costumes for the game.

The other side, the dark side, is none other than Venom, and his moves are a little different. He doesn't have any webbing, but he does have that handy suit, and you can attack with your tentacles, make massive jumps, or just get into hand-to-hand combat with anyone and everyone. Venom can also grab and throw items, or people, to cause even more damage. Unlike Spider-Man though, he can't just grab a handy health icon to bring him back up to par, and to gain health; Venom needs to feed. This is probably one of my favorite features in the game. Grab an enemy and stuff them into your mouth and then chew until you spit them out. Sure, it's a bit nasty, but it works so well. As Venom is the polar opposite of Spider-Man, his missions generally involve creating chaos of some sort, or simply trying to get rid of those annoying armed individuals that are trying to capture him.

The balance in Ultimate Spider-Man is near perfect, though there does tend to be a bit more attention paid to our hero, though that's expected, but having the ability to control one of the deadliest and most popular foes Spidey has ever faced is the real icing on the cake here. Plus, you have a number of other villains, as well as heroes, from the Ultimate Universe showing. I was overjoyed to give a character that I despise, Wolverine, a sound trashing. Sorry, bub. The tentacles are more powerful than the claws; deal with it. The controls are also very easy to get used to, and the game will walk you through everything that you need to know. Once you've got it down, getting around, fighting, and of course eating, become second nature.

Prior to receiving the game for review, I did a little checking up online to see what others though, not reviewers mind you, but the fans. I was a little surprised to see people complaining about the fact that this is a cel-shaded game. First off, this sets it apart from the movie based games, letting you know that this isn't the same Spider-Man that you know, and let's not forget that this is s game that's based on a comic book. The cel shading lends perfectly t the title, and the cut scenes are fantastic. Each of them is designed in a way that it certainly tells the story, but it also appears as through you're reading (or looking at) a comic book. There are panels that will slide in and out of frame, actions that are carried over from one frame to the next, and overall, it's a great way to present the game. The graphics between these scenes and those in game don't differ too much, so it has a nice flow. I also really love the animations, such as Spider-Man's "swan dive" when he's falling from heights or swinging thugs around with your webbing.

The only complaint I have is with the progress of the story mode. Checking your menu will show what you need to do, but often times it also involves racing and going on a thug hunt. The races get a bit boring much of the time, and there's not really a way to distinguish which icons are which, just that the blue dots would be what you need to head for. I spent a lot of time trying to find combat tours to finish up a story portion and found instead a race token. Well, off to the next blue dot it is then. However, this really is the only thing I didn't like about the game.

I've never read any of the titles in the Ultimate Universe, but I really hope that Ultimate Spider-Man is just the beginning of the games that we'll see. Ultimate X-Men or Ultimate Fantastic Four couldn't be too far in the future. Ultimate Spider-Man truly is an interactive comic book and everything you love about Spidey, everything that you crave about Venom, is all right here in one game. Swing on down to the store, grab yourself a copy, and then prepare to be a highflying hero and then embrace the dark side all at the same time. Ultimate Spider-Man is the ultimate must have game.

 -mike-