Spider-Man: Friend or Foe (Wii)
A perfect Spider-Man videogame -- if you're a kid.
1/31/2008 12:00 AM | 0 Comments | Page 2 of 2
What's Hot: Accessible; Fun co-op mode options; Unlockable sidekicks; Smooth animation
What's Not: Simplicity might frustrate older or veteran gamers; Dumb enemy AI; Motion-sensing in Wii remote only used for secondary actions; Graphics not as good as in the Xbox 360 version
Marc Saltzman
Status: Going over the new site with a fine-toothed comb.
Knowing their audience was primarily kids, the developers at Next Level Games did a good job retaining the comic book flavor for the game's colorful and bright cartoon-like graphics. Even more impressive is the game's animation, which includes acrobatic midair moves. The voice acting is solid, and the lines of dialogue can be humorous at times, so overall the production values for this game are fairly impressive.
Play well and you'll be able to unlock bonus characters, including the black-suited Spider-Man from the latest Spider-Man movie, as well as special behind-the-scenes materials (such as character art, 3-D renders and movie clips) you can access at any time from the main helicarrier room. As with the ability to play past levels with unlocked sidekicks, this, too, adds some extra fun to the game once you defeat the relatively short six-hour story mode.
Visually, this Wii version of
Spider-Man: Friend or Foe is about on par with the PlayStation 2 version, but nowhere near as crisp as the Xbox 360. Jaggies around the characters are also noticeable in the Wii version, as are some minor frame rate issues when a number of characters are on the screen at the same time. Load times were better than in the PS2 version, though.
The Wii remote isn't utilized much for this Nintendo version of the game. You can wave the controller like a wand when fighting dudes to toss them in a specific direction, and as previously mentioned, shaking the Nunchuk controller from side to side changes characters. That's about it.
Despite some minor issues, however,
Spider-Man: Friend or Foe plays pretty much the same on the Xbox 360, Wii and PC. The bottom line is this: If you have a younger brother, cousin or nephew who loves Spider-Man, then they shouldn't be disappointed by this accessible but easy action game. But if you're looking for a challenge or something high-definition and open-ended like the last Spider-Man videogame from Activision, you'll grow tired of this dumbed-down comic book brawler.
This review was based on a retail copy of the game provided by the publisher.
