GameCube: Spider-Man, No Manual
Sitting on the fence with regard to platform exclusivity, Activision give us no reason to opt for one machine over the next by simultaneously releasing the Spider-Man movie tie-in on all five major platforms. As with all versions, the GameCube game's plot follows that of the original Marvel comic book in that, bitten by a genetically modified spider, high school student Peter Parker is suddenly empowered with super-human abilities, including Spider-Sense, web-slinging and a penchant for crawling up walls. In the game, players assume the role of the hero himself as he campaigns to thwart the plans of the evil criminal mastermind the Green Goblin and his myriad cohorts. The game itself requires the player to master Spidey's abilities and negotiate their way around various 3D locales throughout the city, whilst battling with legions of evil. Every one of the hero's powers is included - making full use of Nintendo's ergonomic controller - from simple close-combat fighting manoeuvres, through web-slinging, wall-crawling, to the gravity-defying stunts such as web-swinging and zip-lining. The latter two play an important role in the game, giving Spidey the freedom to swing high through the city or slide vast distances across a web line, resulting in an extremely satisfying sense of control. Compared to the less defined PS2 visuals, the GameCube version looks very impressive. Our hero is rendered in high polygon 3D, whilst draw distance, texturing and lighting remains competent throughout the environments. Animation is extremely fluid throughout, accurately recreating the comic book feel as the protagonist throws his weight around the city. Spider-Man is an example of a Superhero game done well. The past has witnessed a plethora of sub-standard movie cash-ins over the years but, this time, we have a competent 3D-action title, made all the more desirable due to the buzz surrounding the release of the movie.
