Ultimate Spider-Man: The Game

[Craig Reade]

Ultimate Spider-Man The Game Activision - $49.99

UltimateSpiderManGame.com Rated T

Review:
Written by Craig Reade

---

Most of us are comic readers, at least those who frequent this site. And whenever a game based on those comic properties we know and love comes out, it is always a mixed bag. Great to be able to play our favorite characters, but rarely do the games ever capture what it is to be the superheroes in question. The old Danger Girl game came close (but game-play was an issue), but still missed the mark. Then the Spider-Man 2 movie game hit, and for the first time fans got a game that was not only fun to play, but captured the essence of what it is to be Spider-Man. It set a new standard for comic games, and the industry was better for it.

Ultimate Spider-Man is the very first Spider-Man game to be released since the wild success of the movie game, and it is only natural that comparisons are going to be drawn between the two. Will Ultimate Spider-Man be as good? Will it be little more than a clone?

Being the groundbreaking game that Spider-Man 2 was, it would be impossible for the developers of the Ultimate Spider-Man to not to utilize certain aspects of that game. And they didn’t miss any of the essentials. Ultimate Spider-Man incorporates the free roaming city environments with some tall buildings for exciting web-slinging, random challenge events like muggings that you can either take on or ignore, exploration tokens, and on-demand chapter advancement – all the very best parts of the previous game are here, intact. But the rest – for better or worse, the designers of this game made their own. As a whole, it made this game much more than a clone, and all the better for it.

Graphic wise, this game has its own unique look. The game is cell shaded – a somewhat controversial graphic look, described in this game as “3D Comic Inking Technology.” Personally I have been a fan of the graphic style since my first real exposure to it in the Wind Waker. As divided as gamers are on the topic, some will find this to be a drawback. But do keep in mind that this is a game based on a comic book. And under the direction of Ultimate Spider-Man artist Mark Bagley, the developers have managed to capture a look that makes the game feel just like it came right out of the comic book. Even if you are not a fan of the cell shading graphics, you have to admit that this is an important accomplishment. Yes the game looks cartoonish – it was based on a comic book. And since the game feels like a 3D rendering of the book itself, I think they managed to give this game exactly the look it needed.

Of course, this isn’t the only aspect of the comic creative team involved in this game. The contribution of Brian Michael Bendis to the script of this game completes its comic-like experience. Let’s start with introduction – who could forget the rainy fight between a costume-less Peter Parker and Venom on his high school football field? This fight is recreated for the sake of introducing the first meeting between Peter Parker and Venom. And it is quite literally pulled directly from the pages of the comic book. Everything about Venom’s origin, the work of Eddie and Peter’s fathers to create a cure for cancer, all of it is included right at the start of the game as a means of introducing Venom to the player. Of course, this intro fight quickly becomes YOUR fight, as you take over control of Peter Parker and go through a bit of an introductory combat course in fighting Venom. This was a story worthy of the comic book, and the story itself is one of the areas that this game is vastly superior to Spider-Man 2.

The story continues from there, marking the return of Venom three months down the line. You eventually get the opportunity to play as Venom as well, taking things from his perspective when the story demands it. Venom’s control style is pretty different from Spider-Man’s, with different moves, strengths, and weaknesses – the ability to feed on people to sustain his life is a pretty neat addition. Venom propels himself primarily through a really fast and extremely powerful jump – a move accomplished by pulling the right trigger. This might seem an unusual thing to note, but when comparing it to the difficulty in traveling by jumping in the Hulk: Ultimate Destruction game, the comparison makes itself. I couldn’t help but think that this is how the Hulk should have been built in that game, as fun as it was. Slightly off topic I know, but it was a real positive to this game that had to be mentioned. As fun as web-slinging is as Spider-Man, jumping is fun as Venom. I can’t say the same about the Hulk game, and that is where you SHOULD find that plus.

Of course, as the story progresses, you are treated to several cameos from mainstays of the Ultimate Marvel Universe. As Venom, you go head to head with Wolverine. As both, you will confront the new Ultimate Silver Sable. Race against Johnny Storm in some of the toughest obstacle courses you can imagine. Several Ultimate Spider-Man villains make appearances, from the Green Goblin, Rhino, and Electro, all the way down to Boomerang and Shocker. Mary Jane is present, of course, as is Nick Fury. There are even little tidbits from throughout the Ultimate Universe scattered through out this New York. Dr. Strange’s Sanctum and Mid-Town High. The Baxter Building, The Daily Bugle, The Latverian Embassy – all can be found by simply exploring the city. Simply reading the signs can be a treat as well, especially as you pass the Reed Richards Research Center, or swing by a movie poster for the upcoming Arachnoman movie, or Dazzler’s latest album. This game leapt right off the pages of the comic in every possible visual aspect.

Those familiar with Spider-Man 2 will find some serious changes to game-play that might hinder their experience with this one – at first. First off is the environment itself. Though Queens has been added as an accessible borough, the city itself just doesn’t seem as vast a playground as the movie game’s Manhattan. Everything seems just a bit smaller. There is still plenty of room to play, but you can’t really get lost for hours swinging through this city. The websliging tools are also streamlined a bit – down to the basics. Essential for the character really, and a decent idea, but it will come as a shock to those expecting to pick up the controller and swing like a veteran. The fighting is also simplified, and that is something I found to be more enjoyable. Spider-Man isn’t a martial artist – he is a kid basically flailing around, counting on his powers to get him through. If you try to fight head-to-head in this game as Spider-Man, you will have a tough time of it. But of you bounce around, heed your Spider-sense, bounce off walls, use your webbing and hit and run, you will go a lot farther. That is the way that Spider-Man fights in the comic, and it is a good thing that they force you to take that approach in the game.

The city events – muggings and the like, are considerably less frequent, and the side-quests are virtually gone. No pizza deliveries or Mary Jane errands in this one! There is the new “Combat tours” which are a great addition, but not really enough to make up for the lack of other things to do when you really aren’t in the mood for advancing the story. As such, the game flies by frighteningly fast. I polished this game off in under ten hours. While there is still a lot to go back and do (the game does have a decent replay value), it would have been great to have a few more things in there to delay that ultimate conclusion.

In short – a damned good game. A game for comic readers too, something that you don’t really see all that often. Ultimate Spider-Man earned its name.

Ultimate Spider-Man is available on all three major consoles for $49.99, the PC for $29.99, the Nintendo DS for $39.99, and the Gameboy Advance for $29.99. It is rated T(for Teen) on all systems exept for the handhelds, where it is rated E10+(Everyone 10+).

---

Rating(out of 5):

[zl592hihi092]

使得汤唯闻名海内外华语影坛，影片色戒也引起了西方影视界的关注,但成人电影正是因为该片中几段全裸出演的激情戏使得汤唯和男主角梁朝伟倍感压力，尤其作为初出茅庐的女演员，免费电影中汤唯更是由于中国传统文化中对女性的态度而. 中国铁道博客中国铁路博客网是最大的爱人遗憾的是，这部影片最令人关注的还是情色二字。当初李安导演慧眼识珠，看中了刘亦菲的气质，快播...
_________________
免费电影