"Comic book characters never grow old;
Evergreen heroes whose stories are told."
- Elton John, “Roy Rogers” (1973)

It just wouldn’t be a fiscal year without a new video game based on Spider-Man and his amazing friends. Since there isn’t a new Spider-Man feature film in theaters this year, that must mean that the latest iteration of the web-slinging wall-crawler is based on the comic books and not the films. Ripped from the pages of Ultimate Spider-Man (the “modern era” reboot of the original character), Peter Parker lives an amazing double life as both a fifteen-year-old high school student and a spider-enhanced superhero. Developed by Treyarch and published by Activision, Ultimate Spider-Man is the continuation of a storyline from the comics, the Ultimate Venom arc. As such, not only are players cast as Spider-Man himself, but also Venom when the plot calls for a switch. The whole thing takes place in a rippled-from-the-comics animated New York, complete with inset panels, dialog, and artwork crafted from the creative staff from the comic book.

Spider-Man is about whom you’d expect in this adventure: he jumps, he swings from webs, and he has a mean punch. All of New York is his playground (well, Manhattan and Queens), as the sandbox-style game allows for free roaming in between specific plot missions. As a fighter Spider-Man is much more aerobatic this time around; the confined spaces of past games based on the character are minimized in favor of large, open areas where our hero can move freely and quickly. Treyarch has promised new moves in addition to the range of attacks from Spider-Man 2. Spider-Man’s strength is the focus here for the most part, as he’ll be required to lift heavy vehicles, large objects, and massive obstacles in order to advance through areas and save people from being crushed under said large objects. New attacks and maneuvers are not purchased with points, but are instead unlocked according to the needs of the storyline.

Venom, on the other hand, is initially only playable during missions and not in wide open New York. He’s a little larger, a bit slower, but a much more effective fighter. His close combat moves are integral to his missions, and his special tentacles are a unique ability. Plus, he’s a leaper and not a swinger. As in the comics, the black Venom costume constantly drains host body Eddie Brock’s energy; for Venom even just existing drains his life meter. Fortunately it’s possible to approach any of the helpless and hapless bystanders and suck their energy for Venom’s own use. Of course, while Spider-Man lifts large objects to help the helpless, Venom is more interested in lifting large objects to smash things, because smashing is fun.

As mentioned earlier, the tales of Spider-Man and Venom cross occasionally, evoking memories of the 16-bit era’s Maximum Carnage. At one point Spider-Man has been captured by the villainous and sparky Electro and he plans to finish the spiderish meddler off for good. Venom is not pleased by this; if anyone is going to kill Spider-Man once and for all, it’s going to be him! At this point players take control of Venom in a battle against Electro in which the winner will have the honor of slaying Spider-Man. Venom’s weakness in electricity, something that Electro controls in spades. He also draws power from the bright lights of nearby Times Square, so anytime Venom manages to inflict a little damage, Electro regenerates instantly. This is where Venom’s tentacles and strength come in handy, as it’s possible to lift more heavy objects and toss them not at Electro, but at the nearby lights. Smash enough bulbs and Electro has no electrical energy to draw upon for recovery, making him an easy target attacks at last.

Spider-Man’s super villain encounters rely more on Spidey’s agility and cunning than brute strength. Consider a showdown with big heavy Rhino. It takes a lot of power to put a dent in Rhino’s hide, more power than Spider-Man can effectively dish out. By playing matador and luring Rhino into nearby walls headfirst at great speeds, Spider-Man can eventually induce Rhino into knocking himself out. If that doesn’t sound exciting, perhaps Spider-Man could take control of a nearby wrecking ball and smash Rhino over and over with a giant steel sphere. Be quick, be nimble, be smart; that is how a spider-based superhero stays alive to win the day. When he’s not engaging the bad guys Spider-Man is saving victims of smaller crimes by snatching purse-snatchers and rescuing people in danger of being crushed by the previously mentioned large objects.


Ultimate Spider-Man
While recent Spider-Man games have focused on the realistic visuals of the popular films, Ultimate Spider-Man flips the other direction to focus on comic book animation. Part cel-shading, part old fashioned artwork, New York and its inhabitants are drawn and animated in a smooth, artistic style. Multiple light sources illuminate the world and inset comic book panels appear from time to time to show a second camera angle of the current action, such as the location of a nearby item or the weak point of a boss. Imagine pounding on a super villain’s head to no effect when an inset panel whizzes on the screen to reveal a big flashing target on the enemy’s back. The insets provide not only hints, but provide to further match the game to that of a comic book (an effect last seen in 2003’s Hulk film to mixed results). Ultimate will be a visual treat, as the screenshots really do not do the game justice. Players who are on the fence regarding the game’s appearance are advised to seek out a video clip of Ultimate in action before passing judgment. Not every beautiful game need be realistically rendered.

Treyarch has promised that Ultimate Spider-Man will contain the most villains from the mythos than any other Spider-Man game in recent memory and while the game does continue a storyline from the comics, one need not have read the original stories to understand the plot. Familiar characters that are still unrevealed in the rebooted comics make an appearance in the game and, in some cases, events in the game will continue or payoff in future Ultimate comic books. Synergy, synergy, synergy! Also keep an eye out for the usual familiar cast (including Mary Jane Watson and J. Jonah Jameson and his Daily Bugle) and traditional Marvel Comics locales such as Empire State University and the Baxter Building. Somewhere in the middle of all this are a variety of unlockable goodies such as mini-games and comic book scans.


Ultimate Spider-Man
Spider-Man and Venom hit the streets (and the stores) in mid-September, so start flexing those web muscles and work on those tentacles because the latest romp through New York is coming up fast. Join AMN next month, true believers, for more on the world of Ultimate Spider-Man.