Official Website

Platform: Nintendo Wii, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, PSP, Nintendo DS, GameBoy Advance, Xbox 360, PC

Genre: Action

Number of Players: 1

Spider-Man has never been one of my favorite super heroes. I think that perhaps this has something to do with “The Amazing Spider Man”, a television series that ran for a couple of seasons starting in 1978. Even as a six year old, watching these episodes was an exercise in hilarity as the campy nature of the writing and the horrid character design of Spidey himself was just a little too much to be taken seriously. His non-stop one-liners in the comics was another point of contention with me and when Toby “Soft Spoken” McGuire tried to fill his shoes in the theatrical films it was the last straw.

So the web-slinger has always had a connotation of silliness to him in my opinion, but I will admit that the thought of using my Wii Remote to physically sling webs and swing through a city full of skyscrapers appealed to me very much; and this is JUST what Spider-Man 3 for the Wii promises. While the claims of total Spidey control are true, there are quite a few failings here as well, and I am not sure that the enhanced interactive action of controlling this super hero is enough to win me over. Have no fears, swinging through skyscrapers and over streets teeming with traffic and pedestrians is a blast and Spider-man’s unique fighting style is a great way to beat up some street trash...but there is more to a game like this than just zooming around and punching bad guys. Right? Well...maybe...

The cool thing about Spider-Man 3 for the Wii is the fact that it was designed specifically for the unique controller interface of the Wii system and separate from the other next-gen console versions. Since the majority of games winding up on the Wii were designed for those other guys and then hastily and sometimes lamely translated for the Wii’s control scheme, fellow Nintendo owners like myself have frequently gotten the short end of the stick when it comes to seamless game play. The fact that Wii’s Remote and Nunchuck combo allows you to sling webs and dole out a beating to the baddies while using both right and left hands in real time, adds an immense amount of realism and activity to the experience.

Following loosely the action and characters of the third film, you will be pitted against not only some new faces like The Sandman and The Lizard but also go hand to hand with a slew of faceless turf warriors from the cities rival gangs. Venom is also a major part of the game’s story-arc, but I am going to save that for the end so I know you’ll keep reading! Keeping the streets clean isn’t going to be easy as a veritable never-ending onslaught of criminal acts keeps you jumping from one heroic action to another. Unfortunately, the web slinging travel between these events is where nearly all the enjoyment comes into play, as the encounters you have with any of the protagonists is generically routine and rushed.

Been sent to investigate gang activity? Simply follow the pointer to a conveniently highlighted gang member on the street and beat him up. Sent to recover stolen property? Simply follow the pointer to a conveniently highlighted gang member and beat him up...then swing to the conveniently highlighted policeman to turn it in. You get the idea. Heck, when a gang threatens to blow up “random” buildings around the city, the buildings are highlighted for you, and to defend them...you beat some guys up. My favorite is when multiple gang members, each holding a BOMB, are running through the city streets trying to get to the building to blow it up after you have saved it. During this of course, none of the vehicles or pedestrians around seem to care or even notice the bomb-wielding maniacs being smacked around by a guy in a body-suit.

The moment you achieve one of these goals, you are instantly sent on another; each and every one of them consisting of a little web-slinging followed by beating someone up. There is no investigation, no problem solving, and nothing to justify the truly inspiring size of the city which has been programmed into this game. It seems the only reason that it was created so large is to capitalize on the one inspired element...the web-swinging. With a finger on the respective Wii Remote or Nunchuck trigger and a flick of either wrist, your Spider-man will shoot a web and start the fun. Controlling the direction and angle of swing with the analog stick, you will soon be leaping from building tops, webbing a wall and flinging around corners on your way across town.

Speaking of town, the scale is massive. But perhaps due to this very fact and the necessary load times and frame rates, the graphics are held back to the point of embarrassment for any of the new consoles. Buildings are less than detailed, the characters have no discernable features of note and map pieces simply fall away when they are too far into the distance. All of this would be noteworthy enough without the added insult to injury that is the poor camera work. Your camera is almost always at a poor angle for whatever it happens to be you are doing...I nearly shut down the whole show during a frustrating “picture taking” mission. The camera can be manually controlled by tilting the Wii’s Nunchuck attachment side to side...which could be a decent way to handle it. Unfortunately, the whole process takes so long that you will be more tempted to deal with the view you are given than attempt to change it and be defeated before it responds.

Spider-man starts things out with a decent fighting ability, but not nearly enough to get through the rest of the game. In fact, many of your skills will need to be enhanced as you progress through the story if you want to be able t dole out the serious punishment. Everything from wall-crawling to better attack combos to swinging techniques can be purchased with skill points you earn in the completion of tasks. While this gives the story an added twist, I found it much ore beneficial in breaking up the monotony of the basic game play. When I would upgrade an ability, I could spend time playing with the new skill instead of punching bad guys over and over...

...and over, and over. Punch, punch, kick, web, punch, punch, web, kick, punch, punch. Every enemy the same, every battle the same. All the while, you will be given vocal coaching from a very witty voice over by Bruce Campbell. While this was an added surprise (who doesn’t love Bruce Campbell?) and a nice treat at first, it too became poison to my ears after it suffered the same flaw as everything else in this game...redundancy and overuse. I can only hear the same wisecrack about my inability to dodge so many times before I want to test my televisions ability to dodge my foot.

Now, I know the real reason you want to play this game is because you can be Venom! Funny how a change in suit color and a little back story can essentially make a tired character SO MUCH COOLER! And trust me, Venom is much cooler. The flip to the black suit changes more than looks, as the alien symbiotic suit makes you stronger, faster and generally more bad-ass than that other Peter Parker in pajamas. Of course, everything comes at a price and you will not earn experience points for actions performed as Venom; without these points, the red suit cannot be upgraded, which will eventually make for a better overall suit. There is also the threat that the Venom suit will take over, and if you wear it too long you will be knocked unconscious and made to start over from the last save point.

Regrettably, the fun of the new web-shooting setup and the awesomeness of the Venom suit are just not enough to convince me to overlook the repetitive nature of the gameplay, the poor visuals and rather juvenile storyline. I’d say that for the casual fan, Spider-Man 3 is worth a rental for the Wii system, solely to enjoy the fun of swinging around town. For the other systems, I can’t even imagine that this idea would be as rewarding. If you are a die hard Spider-man fan, you will certainly enjoy another chance to virtually slip on the costume...just don’t go expecting too much.

-aaron-