Due to the hardware restrictions of the Nintendo DS, Ultimate Spiderman is a fairly different title to its console counterparts. Whilst the console versions were mostly free roaming affairs this game is a mostly linear based approach, but guidance isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Rather than have to stick closely to a movie storyline, there is a lot more freedom story wise, and the title has definitely benefited from this. The game follows a storyline penned by Brian Michael Bendis, who wrote the Spiderman comics. The story is told very well through the Nintendo DS screens, and the voicework only helps to aid the story telling. Overall the game really keeps the player involved through the story telling.
The storyline isn’t the only different thing in this game in comparison to its predecessors. Players will spend just as much time playing as Brock who is more well known as Venom. Players will switch between playing Peter Parker as a young teen and the ultimate villain, Venom. At numerous times through the adventure it is common for the characters to cross paths and it is all done so well that the game feels like it has had a lot of effort put into it.
Whilst the touch screen mechanics of the original Spiderman title were fairly average, a lot more effort appears to have put in to utilise the Nintendo DS screen. Rather than just use a cheap gimmick, Venom is actually controlled with the touch screen. By just using the touch screen you can actually do a wide variety of moves, and because you’re mostly using the stylus and the directional pad it isn’t overwhelmingly difficulty to grasp. However, there are a few times where you will have to screen between using the stylus and the control pads and this is where the controls become a little confusing, thankfully this doesn’t happen very much. There are also a few times where you will want to do a move but you press the wrong direction on the stylus and perform a different move to the one you intended, this is annoying and could have been avoided if the controls were honed just a little more.
Whilst the majority of Spiderman’s controls are executed by using the directional buttons, there are a few instances where you have to use the touch screen to progress. These are relatively gimmicky situations, but they don’t happen too frequently, and they aren’t annoying like in Spiderman 2.
Ultimate Spiderman takes on a cell shaded look, and it works very well for the system. The 3D engine is smooth and we only encountered a few times where the frame-rate dipped. The environments feel a lot more alive, and it really does feel more like a living breathing city, rather than a linear game environment. The colours are also a lot more vibrant and Spiderman and Venom are very contrasting to each other, which gives the game a unique look.
The sound in the game has to be commended as well, as throughout the story Spiderman makes some fairly witty banter. There is a fairly wide range of speech which surprisingly, doesn’t become repetitive, some of the banter is surprisingly humourous as well, which is appreciated. The voicework helps to aid the storyline as well, so all the voicework sounds very professional. The music in the background is fairly decent as well, it isn’t exactly memorable but heats up certain segments of the game.
The major disappointment of this game lies with the lifespan, completing the story mode doesn’t take very long at all. The game itself is very linear, which means that once it has been completed once their really isn’t much to draw you back to the game. To counter this Vicarious Visions have included a wireless multiplayer fight mode, but it is nothing special and is probably the most unpolished part of the entire game, it just feels like a tacked on addition.
Ultimate Spiderman is leaps and bounds ahead of its predecessor. It is clear that Spiderman 2 was an experiment for the team so they could get used to the Nintendo DS and Ultimate Spiderman is an evolution upon this title. The linear game play is both a positive and a negative as whilst the adventure is rather short lived, it is an enjoyable experience all the way through. Spiderman fans will love this title, as it is completely different to any of the previous Spiderman games, we’re hoping that Vicarious Visions can build upon the success of this title and develop an even better Spiderman game.
With a more scoped out multiplayer mode, a deeper story mode and a little more replayability options this game could have been an instant classic. Unfortunately it isn’t yet a title that is going to be staying in your DS for more than a few weeks, but there is a lot of potential for a little more fine tuning. It is clear that this title is just the beginning for the Spiderman franchise, and we’re looking forward to the inevitable next Spiderman title.
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