Title Spider-Man 3 Date 05.16.2007 Genre Action Platform Wii Developer Treyarch Publisher Activision

The Spiderman franchise has been gold since the 2002 blockbuster film. Of course, with every big budget movie comes the onslaught of movie merchandise, including video games. The first accompanying game was a great action game that delivered more than expected, considering it was a licensed game.

The sequel retained the same level of quality and expanded upon the game's design. Instead of playing copy-cat with the basic action level-to-level design, the second game incorporated a mission-based sandbox style of play. Most remarkably, the dynamics of the web-swinging were given a facelift for the better.

Now the third film has finally been released, garnering almost 150 million dollars on the opening weekend. Of course, following suit is another licensed game under the same moniker. Due to the number of versions produced for each system, the Wii version will be reviewed in this examination. Have we as Spidey fans been granted another great game experience? Do the Wii controls allow further immersion as swinging around New York City as your friendly, neighborhood Spiderman? Or has the once mighty film-franchise game finally caved to throwing out a hack-job for a guaranteed quick buck?

Story
In a word, disappointing. The game has 5 separate storylines, during which you follow a string of missions to eventually combat a certain, relevant boss. This is a detestable number, considering the 360 and PS3 versions have about 10 storylines. The villains available to fight in the Wii version are The Lizard, Kraven, The Mad Bomber, Morbeus, Shriek, Venom, New Goblin, and Sandman.

These storylines, however, are quite short. A single storyline can be completed in about half an hour to an hour, depending on your skill level. The movie's storyline is extremely rushed, and hardly reflects on the actual movie's story. The game's ending is also rather anti-climactic. Sadly, story-telling takes, not a backseat, but a bottom-of-the-trunk seat.

Design
Another saddening feature of the game, it makes the random crime generation of the previous game a likeable aspect. The game's main storyline can be completed in less than 5 hours. Considering you buy this game new, you are paying about 10 dollars an hour. This is insulting, a likening to the charge rate for early MMO's in the early 90's.

The game keeps 2's sandbox style and random crime, but with a slight twist. Every portion of New York is controlled by any of five gangs or the cops, similar to Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. However, it is flawed. Half the time, when a gang makes a move against someone, you will be on the other side of New York, forcing you to hurry to the action. In order to take control of an area, you must do a Crime Sweep of the area, a series of quick missions against the controlling gang. Anyone will recognize this as just a speed run of 2's missions.

To put it bluntly, the game was designed poorly. It may be that the game wasn't even finished. The game was most likely only halfway through development when it left the warehouse.

Gameplay
While decent, the gameplay has its share of suffering. The web swinging still has the same basic dynamics, except swinging is performed by flicking the Wii remote or the nunchuck while holding a button. While briefly amusing, the joy from this gimmick quickly disappears once you realize you keep slamming into a building. Either that or the joy from the swinging is overshadowed by the game's numerous other problems.

Combat isn't much improved over the last game either. One might even argue that it has devolved. Attacking is performed by shaking the Wii remote. Combos can be achieved by continuously shaking and following up with the push of the A button. Webbing during combat is extremely lackluster. You are no longer allowed to actually web up enemies, or do the many other nifty tricks from 2. The Black suit is neat, but is usually best saved for boss battles or large groups, as prolonged use of it can cause you to black out and fail a mission.

Some boss battles incorporate God of War reminiscent sequences, which may be the best part about the gameplay. Unfortunately, the actions usually end up being the same; either you are shaking the remote and nunchuck up and down, or you make a few flicks with them.

This game isn't much fun to play. The combat quickly becomes stale, and the webslinging is only a minor entertainment. Overall, the gameplay feels unpolished and lackluster.

Graphics
This may be the worst aspect of the game. The game looks like an early PS2 game, with bad lighting and poor framerate. It being on the Wii is no excuse, as better-looking games have been seen on the Gamecube. The civilians look robotic and poorly animated. Even cut-scenes are underwhelming, suffering the worst from slow framerate.

Calling this game “current-gen” is an insult to almost any other game on the Wii.

Music
Not much can be said for the music, as it borrows mostly from the film's score. The sound effects are decent at least. About the best audio feature is Bruce Campbell's witty commentary, which may be about the only thing from which any joy could be derived from this videogame.

Closing
Spiderman 3: The Videogame is an abject and utter failure. Not because it is a licensed game. We usually expect film-franchised games to be bad, just throwing out a quick action game for a quicker buck. However, the first two games were great enough to raise our expectations for this game. The obvious rush job is the main reason for the failure. The best you could expect from this game is a short weekend rental. I would not recommend anyone, even Spidey fans, to buy this game, as it is a pure waste of money, plain and simple.

Game Score

D

Reviewed By: Contributed