Being a Spiderman fan and comic collector, I was slightly dubious when Marvel announced that they would be releasing yet another Spider title that would redo the whole origin story. This comic was not to be based in the Marvel Universe but an Ultimate Marvel Universe where everything is the same but not the same. (You know what I mean). Ultimate Spiderman (USM) is all about Peter Parker the teenager, high school and every other adolescence problem with constant introductions of familiar heroes and villains but all slightly twisted to incorporate this more up-to-date feel. USM the game picks up the Venom storyline where the comic book left off.

Gameplay:

The game starts with a short history lesson on how Peter became Spiderman followed by the discovery of a black suit with his friend Eddie Brock, which in turn transforms Eddie into Venom. Continuing straight after this event you are taught your first lessons in fighting and how to rely on your spidy-sense. Excellent tutorial if you are like me who can not be bothered to read the instructions. The fight is brief which in turn allows the tutorial to continue with it’s lessons on how to web swing, jump and crawl up walls. The first thing you will notice is that New York and Queens are free-roaming environments with a small map in the bottom corner as a guide. This guide can be blown up to help you locate the many task icons. Many of these icons are races (60 in total) whilst the others are combat tours (36 in total). Your first introduced to the race scenario when you are challenged by ‘The Human Torch’ who believes he is faster than you. Navigating through the streets in the races are indicated by arrows which you must follow whilst web swinging. These arrows are quite helpful but can be a little confusing on some occasions due to the camera angle and web swinging.

Combat tours are basically you beating up and webbing several groups of thugs in a row. Even though these mini tasks seem optional, they are in fact compulsory because once completed they will unlock the next part of the story mode. At the end of each story/chapter you end up fighting a big boss. These fights are outstanding and you must learn quickly what the enemies weakness is and than exploit it to conquer them. It’s also another reason to throw in some well know villains like the Rhino and Green Goblin or when controlling Venom, some heroes such as Wolverine and Silver Sable. As well as the tasks and story mode, several different random events occur whilst you swing around the neighbourhood ranging from bank robberies to car chases. If you thought that was all, there are many icons littered around the map which will unlock comic artwork.

Now for the main difference that sets this game apart from any of the other Spider titles, you get to play as Venom in several of the story chapters. Even though most Marvel fans will know that Venom can shoot webs and swing, in this game he can’t but he does jump far like the Incredible Hulk. Other differences between Spidey and Venom would be the way they regain their health. Spidey is given health tokens after each fight unlike Venom who must eat, yes…eat any bystanders by sucking them into themselves. Venom also uses itself by extending the suit into a whip-like weapon, an excellent weapon for attacking enemies at long range.

Graphics:

When a comic character is made into a game, the actual comic feel seems to be lost in the translation, much like when a book is made into a film, so how do you combat this? You bring in the artists who make the comic – Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley. With Bendis creating the storyline and dialogue whilst Bagley pencils the characters, you get one of the most authentic comic-book games ever. You actually feel like you are playing inside a comic with animated comic book panels used to move the story along. Spiderman, Venom and all the other characters have been animated perfectly and drawn in great detail. The city might not look as big, as seen in previous Spider titles but the way it has been created once again makes you feel like you are playing a comic with shading and colour. Known comic locations found in the Marvel New York Universe such as Empire State University, Daily Bugle and the Baxter Building are all here.

Sound:

No known celebrities are doing the voices for these wonderful characters but who needs them when you have such an excellent dialogue to bring Spiderman and Co. to life. Spiderman is known for his wisecracks when battling against the odds and you won’t be let down in this game. Apart from the vocals, the usual array of city noises can be heard to give the game some atmosphere. The soundtrack is nothing to write home about but you don’t seem to notice it when it is playing or not.

Longevity:

If you concentrated only on finishing the story mode, than this game won’t last very long but if you are going to try and find all the secret tokens to unlock the artwork, than it might take you a little bit longer. The only problem is, apart from the big boss fights, most of the action is very repetitive and the novelty will soon wear off.

Overall:

This is truly a benchmark game for all future comic adaptations. The slick comic style is superb with a fantastic storyline making this game a must-buy/rent for any Spiderman fans. From a gamers point of view, I recommend renting this game out as you might finish this before you need to take it back.

Pros:

• Storyline & Graphics.
  
• Fighting as Venom.
  

  Cons:
  

  • Short story mode.
    
  • Some awkward camera angles.