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Spider-Man 3 (PS3)

• Developer:
• Publisher: Activision
• Genre: Action
• Official Website: http://www.sm3thgame.com
• Score: 3 of 5: Bargain Bin

As multi-platform games go, Spider-Man 3 does a lot of things right, but just doesn't completely feel comfortable on the PS3 with its sub-par graphics and weighty fighting. It helps that this version of the game was designed for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, rather than being built with the earlier generation's hardware in mind, but the game still feels hamstrung by having to play to the strengths of two current generation consoles rather than simply embracing the strengths of one over the other. But as mass marketing dictates, Activation has to take a popular movie and make it as viable on all systems as possible; I'm just surprised they didn't release an Atari Jaguar version as well.

Hey, it could have sold a couple of units.

By now, it's almost rote to milk every market possible by mimicking blockbuster movie plotlines while actually just trying to sell an action/adventure game. Fortunately for this game, it isn't based on Shrek the 3rd; instead, it's based on a mature and action-packed thrill-ride which features a talented cast of actors who blessedly perform vocal duties in the game. Nothing beats Bruce Campbell as my humble narrator, navigating me through tutorials and giving hilarious color commentary to my less-than-perfect gameplay with pearls of wisdom like, "You sure do get hit a lot".

But having the majority of the cast reprising their roles, including Tobey Maguire as the eponymous Web-Head, lends extreme credence to this being a viable movie vehicle. Needless to say, if you have seen the movie or at least seen the commercials for the same, then you know the plot of the game with the addition of some other baddies to round it out.

The gameplay is almost a rehashing of Spider-Man 2 with a few tweaks to fighting and soaring through the city. I have heard a lot of people complain that it's too close to its predecessor, but while I acknowledge that, I can't help but wonder what they are complaining about. That entry in the series was duly ahead of its time, and accurately works as it is presented here. So I say rather than a detractor, gameplay is one of the best things about the title.

I particularly enjoyed the varying degrees of missions available; whether playing through the storyline events, working over various upstart gangs, trying to best my time during trial events, or just swinging through the city zones stopping random crimes, there always seems to be a welcome distraction just waiting to be discovered.

Unfortunately, some of these events just led me to my first ding against the game: fighting.

Fighting becomes very repetitive and almost comical, as it is difficult to find a good balance between button-mashing and calculated strategy. Boss fights especially prove frustrating, as it becomes a game of using spidey-sense to counter the boss moves while fending off attacks while waiting for the spidey meter to fill up again. Rinse, repeat, for what ends up being agonizing minutes on end. Fortunately, timed button prompts help alleviate some of the monotony a la God Of War, but ultimately the fighting becomes increasingly annoying and repetitive with little to no satisfaction at the end.

Graphics prove harder to qualify: on the one hand you have the in-game graphics which are attractive and sharp, although they never really attain the level many have come to expect from the PS3. On the other hand though, you have the cutscene graphics which are misplaced and on many occasions outright ugly, oftentimes looking more akin to PS2 quality than something belonging on a current gen platform.

You know it's bad when you are silently praying for the cutscene to end so you can get back to the beautifully rendered cityscape.

One of the benefits of the Collector's Edition of the game is the additional capability of playing as the New Goblin. Now, maybe I got my hopes up a little, but once you beat the New Goblin (roughly 2 hours into the game) and got the opportunity to slip into his shoes, the experience is limiting and basically a let down. While you do get to fly around the city and run races with the Sixaxis controller, you don't get to have any access to any of Spider-Man's missions, past or current. I wish I would have known that going into it, because thanks to my high expectations, it was just another smaller distraction. Worth the extra 10 dollars at the store? Well that would be a matter of opinion, but my opinion would be no.

While Spider-Man 3 is in no way a bad game, it isn't a great game either. The graphics could stand some polish, and the fighting could have been tweaked to a more user-friendly balance of complexity and fun. Compared with the other console versions of the game, this is probably the best for the ‘wow' factor, but whether you want to really play as the limited New Goblin, that might depend upon how deep your pockets really are.

Jun 27, 2007 | 0 comments
Paul Bishop