Ultimate Spider-Man

Ultimate is very entertaining, and the addition of Nemesis creates some interesting new situations, but over all there isn't a lot of variety; you fight, you race, you ramble around the city, and then you do it all again.

The PC version of Ultimate Spider-Man finally gives Activision a chance to make up for Spider-Man 2, but it doesn’t quite live up to it’s ‘Ultimate’ moniker.

The blockbuster production values make this one of the best comic book to videogame adaptations ever made. The control is equally as impressive which may not be apparent initially as I mentioned. The only things holding this game back from absolute greatness are basically the same flaws that held SM2 back from greatness: repetitive random missions, relentless chase missions, relatively short story mode and the lack of imagination in terms of game structure.

Serious webheads will get something positive out of Ultimate Spider-Man, but they should do so with one of the console versions, as the PC version of the game isn't the ideal one.

It’s best to go at these extra missions and goals in moderation though, as playing them for an extended amount of time can get boring.

Fans of the comic-book series certainly won't want to miss it as the game's brilliant art design and voiceover work come as close as any game ever has to putting the player inside a comic-book world.

The controls become significantly easier when there is a gamepad installed, as opposed to strictly using the keyboard and mouse. The camera issues can be frustrating at times, but do not ruin the game.

It's too easy, it's too short, and the overall gameplay is repetitive and highly derivative from what had come before.

So, there are short bursts of charm, interspersed with long sections of tedium. [Dec 2005 p.89]

Did a purse-holder at Activision one day grapple fruitlessly with the last game's control system and scrawl in their subsequent notes “Make the next one so that I can play it”? Speculation aside, someone sure messed-up Spider-Man. [Dec 2005, p.108]