Ultimate Spider-Man is a 2005 open world superhero video game developed by Treyarch, published by Activision, and released by Nintendo DS, GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox, Microsoft Windows, and Game Boy Advance.  The story follows Peter Parker in high school and his childhood friend, Eddie Brock, who find the bio-engineered suit that both their fathers had been working on before their deaths.  Eddie Brock then becomes Venom and thus the adventure begins.

Positives:

• Great art style
• Play as Spider-Man or Venom
• Good open-world
• Fun soundtrack
• Plenty of hidden content
• Great characters

Negatives:

• Repetitive missions
• Simplified combat
• Lacks diversity

Campaign:  Players will engage in a single player experience that’s fun but isn’t overly lengthy.  The open world aspect of the game allows players to deviate from the main story at any point.  Players can engage in side missions at their leisure.  After the 2004 Spider-Man 2: The Game, Spider-Man games have broadened their campaigns to full open world experiences.

The story is okay.  We follow the rebooted Ultimate Spider-Man story in which Peter Parker is a 15-year-old in high school and his childhood friend, Eddie Brock, find the bio-engineered suit that both their fathers had been working on before their deaths.  Eddie Brock then becomes Venom and thus the adventure begins.  The story is fun but not deep and what you would expect from a graphic novel.

There are some pretty sweet missions within the game that do make up for the short story.  There is some repetitiveness with the missions.  There are several missions in which Spider-Man or Venom have to chase someone and it can be fun but there are little too many and not enough badass boss fights.  Boss fights can be extremely challenging and are definitely the highlight of the game. (3 out of 5)

Gameplay:  Like previous Spider-Man games, players control Spider-Man from a third-person perspective and are able to navigate Manhattan by running, jumping as Venom, and of course, swinging on the webbing as Spider-Man.  Players will play as Spider-Man and as Venom and will change back-and-forth throughout progression of the game.

Spider-Man handles pretty well though webswinging isn’t as diverse as in previous games.  The simplification of the webswinging does make travel feel slower.  Combat is also done well with the webbing being more pronounced with Spider-Man and tendrils more pronounced with venom.  But I can’t ignore how repetitive it can be at times.

Playing as Venom is incredibly fun especially with his differing abilities to Spider-Man.  Venom’s health constantly drains and must feed on the civilians and enemies.  This is a pretty neat mechanic and forces players to pay attention to this powerhouse. (3 out of 5)

Graphics:  I really like the graphics.  It comes as close to the art style of the comics than any other game and it makes the players feel like they’re immersed in the comics.  The cinematics are enjoyable to watch and it’s great seeing the animations. The character models are good but it’s the look and feel of the city that’s great.  Loved many of the character designs and how the animation works them.

Having said that, the city design is diverse but it feels flat in terms of texture.  There is a certain level of simplicity and lack of detail that make the environment feel less immersive. (3 out of 5)

Sound/Music:  Thumbs up to the sound design.  The world does sound well for what it is.  The voice performances are done really well and I didn’t find much fault with the casting.  The music in the game makes the game feel like a comic book video game.  Really loved the intro menu music.  It’s pretty fast paced. (3 out of 5)

Replay Value:  The game does have its share of replayability.  One of the best aspects of any Spider-Man game is the open world city and this game doesn’t disappoint.  There is just a ton of exploration to be had and between the two traveling styles of Spider-Man and Venom, it can be incredibly fun.

Like any Spider-Man game, there are a number of secret tokens, landmark tokens, and comic book covers hidden across the city for players to collect.  Players can unlock extra Spider-Man costumes by completing certain missions.

There are race missions and chase missions for players to compete, both providing different challenges depending on the character the player is control.  Also, there are plenty of missions to do across the city such as stopping car chases, saving falling workers, taking injured people to the hospital and stopping thugs from doing crime.

Completing the game let’s players unlock the “Switch Hero” option so players can switch between Spider-Man and Venom anytime they like.  Or if you’re like me, you love causing destruction and Venom is all about he destruction.  Blowing up cars, eating people, and taking on the authorities and Silver Sable’s forces is quite satisfying.

So this game does have a lot to the replayability. (3 out of 5)

The Verdict:  In the end, Ultimate Spider-Man is a solid Spider-Man game but not a special game.  There are a number of problems with the game.  It feels limited and repetitive in terms of traveling, combat, story, boss fights, and missions.  But the game is fun, has great characters, good sound design, fair amount of replayability, and the great art style.  Ultimate Spider-Man gets 3 out of 5.