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.
