Playstation 2 - Spider-Man 3

Format
Playstation 2
Publisher
Activision
Developer
Vicarious Visions
Country of origin
US
Genre
3rd person action

Spider-Man 3 (PS2 Version)

By David Rasmussen
27th Aug 07

Spider-Man, Spider-Man, does whatever a Spider-Man 3 game review can… except maybe make a copy of the PSP version of the game available for review. Originally I was planning a triple review of the PS2, PSP and Wii version of this game… obviously I only managed to get 2 out of 3 games for review.

Well, something tells me the PSP version will probably be the same game as the other two anyway so why am I bothering? I don’t know, I don’t know. Anyway the game is the same game be it the PS2 or Wii version. Sure, you can get an inferior version on the DS, or you can get a (cough) “superior” version on the XBox360 or PS3 but why would you.
Game has the same main villains (Sandman, Green Goblin 2 and Venom. And these two feature the same guest villains (Lizard, Kraven, Morbius and Shriek). Also the same voice acting and special narrator (but more on that later). And since we have Venom in this game that means we also have the black costume, and the promise to unleash the black costume full abilities… except that doesn’t synch with actual gameplay.

There is no real compulsion to wear the black suit. Far from it, in fact there is far more compulsion to NOT wear the suit (wearing it too long kills your character) than there is to wear it. That wouldn’t be bad except for the fact one of the selling points of the game was the ability to wear the black suit and use it’s abilities, which doesn’t pan out as promised (except for a few manditory levels where you must wear the suit).

But still, after getting to enjoy the wonder of Spider-Man in MARVEL Ultimate Alliance, shouldn’t you enjoy a few romps with Spider-Man in his own game? You’d think so, but not so much.
Let’s get one thing straight, if you came here because you had excellent experiences with the previous two Spider-Man movie games then you’ll find yourself sorely disappointed with this outing. Doesn’t make the situation better that both versions have glitches and failings in both which further remove the joy from the game. How so? Let me count the ways.

The irony of this particular version couldn’t be more obvious.
The last Spider-Man movie game (that, as it turns out, may not be the last in a sense) coming out on the closing days of the PS2 (which, as it turns out, may have a few more good years left in it’s lifespan).
Now you think this would be more than enough incentive to make a good game, but not even the fact that it’s the launch Spider-Man game for the next gen of consoles (PS3, XBox360 & Wii) could keep the game from coming out with lowered expectations.

Still, the PS2 version does have a few bright points over the Wii version.
Unlike the clunky to control Wii version, it turns out the PS2 version is an ultra easy to pick up and master out of the box game. PS2 Spidey’s controls makes super heroing less of a task than the Wii version, and unlike the Wii version you don’t risk gaining the gift of carpal tunnel syndrome while playing this latest Wiimote Waver.

One overall problem with this game is the far from perfect freeform gameplay. Yes, you do have some sense of freeform gameplay here but it lacks the depth and joy that you had in Incredible Hulk : Ultimate Destruction (PS2). Sure, there’s a ton of explorable space and things to do, it’s just that those things are not as deep as Ultimate Destruction and not as interesting as Ultimate Destruction. Crime Patrol (or random crimes to stop as you roam the streets) and challenges, that’s it for the “side missions”.
And as for crime watches? Those get old fast too as you’ll find the same missions (and variants of the same missions) thrown up over and over again as you take on the four gangs (which you can’t completely eliminate until certain things have passed). Oh, and let’s not forget Spidey’s homage to his days shilling Hostess fruit pies when he goes out on missions to save or deliver those “delicious fruit pies”.
What’s next? A Spider-Man gamee where Spidey goes out to rescue the “Cap’n” (Captain Crunch)?
Spidey teaches you to count and other stuff while catching criminals in an homage to his days on the Electric Company! The possibilities are endless (sad but true)!

Sometimes the game tries to punch it up, only to fall short of expectations. Not good. Villain wise the game probably falls short of previous outings, with only Lizard (Doc Conners, who is not played by you-know-who from Spider-Man 2), Kraven the Hunter and the unhappy coupling of Morbius/Shriek (who is his wife, seemingly tied powers wise to the black symboite costume in terms of power origins) to play with/against. I seem to remember previous Spider-Man games having more in the way of villain content, though it could just be me on that score.

Voice acting is good, as it pulls from the movie cast for it’s voices.
Few games have done this this year, with only Transformers the Movie being the other game I know of that has done it. Everyone is here… almost. Notably missing (and not just the person who played Doc Conners) is Kristen Dunst (MJ), replaced by a rather weird voice actress who makes her sound so… weird!
On the plus side Bruce Campbell pulls voice acting duty as the narrator of the game, providing for some golden comedy moments throughout the game. Beautiful job, Mr. Campbell, well done.

Still, even with all the pluses to the game it is still an average game at the end of the day.
And it doesn’t help that the game suffers from a few glitches (worst being the sudden ending to missions for no reason, where you suddenly either succeed or fail a mission for no reason whatsoever. Land in the middle of a gang ready to fight only to see “MISSION SUCCESS” for no reason, or land near a person about to deliver a vital item only to see “MISSION FAILED” for also no reason. Also the game rarely freezes up (which makes it vital for you to save often).

So what does that mean for this game?
You take the good, you take the bad, you take it all and then you have… 3 delicious fruit pies out of 5.
Y’know something, I’ve eaten those delicious fruit pies to decide whether or not they’re actually delicious (years after the original Spider-Man shilling mini comic ads where he used to stop villains with Hostess fruit pies (a fact he straight out mentions in the game))… they’re average, just like this game. Average. Eat fresh fruit pastries from your local bakery if you must.

-- David Rasmussen 27th Aug 07

Playstation 2 Spider-Man 3 Images