Gamernode: Reviews - Spider-Man 3

Spider-Man 3

• Spider-Man 3
• Xbox 360
• Activision
• Activision
• May 04th, 2007

I'm a huge comics fan. To say everything Spider-Man 3 related has been a letdown for me would be an understatement. (Don't even get me started on Peter Parker's Panic at the Disco! Music video...)

Now, don't misunderstand me: Spider-Man 3 the game isn't a horrible game. Rather, it's a game that disappoints when you realize what could have been, and what actually is. Fans of Spider-Man 2 were treated to what remains, in my opinion, the best movie tie-in game of all time, and early versions of Spider-Man 3 looked to top that experience. Well, it doesn't. It's almost like a tiny step backwards.

If you've played Spider-Man 2 (or Spider-Man 1 to a lesser extent) you already know what you're going to get in Spider-Man 3, because not much has changed. The web-swinging is incredibly fun, the characters are cool, and the new combat system is fairly genetic.

Much like previous Spider-Man titles, Spider-Man 3 has a large sandbox-like portion which allows you to swing around NYC and do what you want, when you want, rather than just stick to the storyline. However, there really isn't a lot of variety in the activities you can pursue. You'll stop the occasional minor crime, take some photos, and participate in a few races, but compared to other next-gen sandbox titles, it seems rather bland and dated, unless you enjoy destroying newspaper stands.

To be fair, there's never a real lack of things to do, and the game can last you a while if you're a completionist -- it just won't remain very entertaining. When you start off you'll have a lot of fun swinging around and stopping crimes or furthering the story, but as you get further in the game and face harder enemies, the game turns into a button-masher with a large reliance on timed presses for the harder fights. In games like God of War, that isn't really a problem. Spider-Man 3, however, is unrelentingly difficult when it comes to the boss fights and harder enemies. You can hit the boss for minutes and barely take a chunk of life away, and one five-hit combo later you're dead. Outside of the bosses, there are sections of the game similar to Dragon's Lair, where suddenly you'll need to hit a certain button or you die and restart. Without any warning, though, it's very difficult to get these in time, and chances are most of them will take two or three tries to get past.

Other than the tendency to turn into a button-masher, the game also relies too heavily on the "dodge, counter, hit" idea when it comes to boss fights thanks to the new This makes most boss fights a test of patience rather than skill, and really hurts when compared to the last few Spider-Man titles.

While the combat can be stale, repetitive and frustrating, the biggest problem in Spider-Man 3 is the graphics. I'm not joking when I say that I've seen PS2 games which look more impressive graphically. With the Xbox 360 being out for over a year, and the PS3 being out for around half of a year, there's really no good reason why the development team couldn't boost the visuals considerably. Going through the city you'll be faced with overused bloom, jaggies everywhere, textures which become considerably worse at a distance, and laughable collision detection. To be fair, a lot of the issues affect the NPCs and not Spidey, but that just makes it all the more obvious, when Spidey's model is decent and the rest is crap. (Don't even get me started on the Wii's graphical issues, which I'm sure Frank will rant about in his review.)

Sadly, Spider-Man 3's camera is another huge issue in the game. You can't look around and adjust the camera because it self-centers, and sudden (and frequent) camera shifts will leave you disoriented in the middle of a big fight.

In the end, the thing Spider-Man 3 does right is exploring the city and web-swinging. It captures the feel perfectly, and really is a blast to swing around Manhattan as your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Unfortunately, everything else is a mixed bag, and often the worst parts rise to the surface of the game. I thought we were done seeing games which were coined next-gen yet remain obviously last-gen, but I guess I was wrong. If you're a fan of Spider-Man and enjoyed the previous titles, give it a shot. If you haven't played any of the other Spider-Man games yet, though, you're better off picking up Ultimate Spider-Man or Spider-Man 2 for a much cheaper price.

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