Spider-Man 3 Images
Spiderman
3 ties itself into the new Spidey film by including some of the key
story arcs from the movie. You'll see Peter Parker get his black suit as
well as run into villains like Sandman, New Goblin, and Venom. But much
like Spider-Man 2, the roster of villains doesn't end there. Scorpion,
Lizard, Kingpin, and others all pop up in spots. While it makes sense
for the developers to extend the scope of the story beyond that of the
film, trouble arises when you realize that the film's plot is
practically glossed over. There are 10 individual storylines to play
through, but none of them are paced well, nor do they ever build up or
deliver enough of a story to pull it all together into one cohesive
plot. It's almost like a hastily cobbled together Spider-Man mixtape.
You get all the villains, and none of the story exposition. There's
about as much character depth and story perspective here as is in the
film's trailer. If you played any of the recent movie-licensed Spidey
games, you'll feel right at home
with Spiderman 3 from the get-go. Like the previous games, Spiderman 3
presents you with an open-world version of New York City to swing around
in to your heart's content. Swinging works much as it did in Spider-Man
2, letting you latch onto nearby buildings and launch quick webs to zip
around as you please. Swinging through the city is easily the best
aspect of the entire game. The city isn't gigantic, but there's enough
familiar scenery around to make you want to explore, and that the city
looks excellent is a big plus. Buildings are nicely detailed, the
streets are jam-packed with cars and pedestrians, and the game uses some
nice lighting effects to give the sky, as well as reflections of the
sun off buildings, a rather pretty glow.
One other change to the game
is the addition of contextual minigames. Clearly inspired by the
gameplay of God of War, Spider-Man will now engage in scripted events of
acrobatic and combative heroism, and all you have to do is press a few
buttons in time with the icons that appear onscreen. One example is
Spider-Man having to leap through an impossibly
complex series of lasers that will trigger an alarm if hit. Just hit
the buttons or analog stick movements that pop up, and you're good to
go. These new sequences aren't a bad addition, though they could have
been implemented better. There's often very little warning as to when
one of these situations is about to pop up, so there tends to be a
trial-and-error aspect to them. The icons can occasionally be difficult
to discern, as well, specifically if the game is using analog stick
icons. If there's a lot of crazy action happening onscreen, it can be
tough to see exactly which direction the game wants you to go, let alone
act quickly enough to pull off the move. Fortunately, the game almost
never starts you back any further than the beginning of the minigame
sequence you just started, so the punishment for failure is minor.
The
game's audio is mostly predictable, though it's decent enough for what
the game requires. The biggest draw here is the involvement of the
film's cast. Kirsten Dunst is nowhere to be found, but Tobey Maguire,
James Franco, Thomas Hayden Church, Topher Grace, and J.K. Simmons all
make appearances. Simmons seems to be the only one that's enthusiastic
about reprising his role as J. Jonah Jameson. Maguire gives an OK, but
generally, sleepy performance as Spider-Man/Peter Parker, and the
remaining cast all seem like they'd rather be somewhere else. Bruce
Campbell shows up yet again to play the narrator, though he generally
comes across as superfluous and out of place. Sound effects and music
are both solid, though once again, swinging through the city seems oddly
silent. You get some nice whooshes of wind as you swing about, but the
soundtrack either cuts out entirely or stays very quiet and understated
as you swing. At least the music is good during fights. In the end,
Spiderman 3 has its moments. Swinging through New York is as fun as it's
ever been, and some of the new contextual action sequences are pretty
cool. But for everything Spiderman 3 does well, it does something else
poorly. The camera and presentation
issues, as well as the clumsy combat, all conspire to drag the
experience down significantly. Spiderman 3 isn't without merit, but
unless you're one of those diehard Spider-Man fans that can't get enough
of the swinging superhero, there's probably not enough to Spiderman 3
to make it worth your time.
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