Spider-Man: Web of Shadows (DS)

Listen, bub...
11/11/2008 7:04 PM | 0 Comments | Page 1 of 1

Ever since the Sam Raimi film kicked off the present-day comic book movie boom, it's become rote to recite the line from Amazing Fantasy #15 that forms the core of the Spider-Man mythos: "With great power there must also come -- great responsibility!" That Stan Lee sentence gets at the heart of why superheroes continue to reverberate so strongly throughout pop culture: The costumes, the powers and the secret identities all service metaphors that hit on aspects of the human condition. In the Nintendo DS version of Spider-Man: Web of Shadows, Spidey has to put a stop to a Venom-spawned symbiote invasion of New York City. During the game, Spider-Man reacquires the black alien symbiote suit that harkened a darker turn for the character in the comics, and becomes able to switch between Red and Black costumes.

This handheld iteration of Spidey vs. symbiotes follows a well-worn Castlevania template. It's a side-scrolling beat-'em-up in which accessing new parts of the same level becomes possible as you get new abilities through exploration or by defeating bosses. The moral aspect of the Red/Black dynamic doesn't come into play so much, in terms of shifting the narrative or creating repercussions. A new suit is simply another bank of abilities that you can choose to upgrade.

The visual presentation recalls the oddly expressive and charming sprites of the 8-bit era; Spidey's animations are exaggerated and cartoony. The story unfolds with comic book-style panels and voiceover narration. Developer Griptonite Games misses out on a chance to use the DS touch-screen for action-oriented gameplay, though. The lower display mostly gets used to display the map or mission objectives. Players will only use the stylus when Spidey gets defeated in battle, dragging health orbs to a prone hero so he can get back in the fight. While it isn't as much of a focus as on the PSP or console versions, Spidey will have other characters helping him purge the symbiotes from Manhattan. On the side of the angels (Red suit), Aunt May's nephew gets a helping hand from the X-Men's blue-furred teleporter, Nightcrawler. If players' actions send them down the Black suit path, archenemy Green Goblin will help the grimmer Spider-Man thrash the game's bosses.

Despite the charming visual style and solid play mechanics, there isn't enough Spider-essence to make this portable version of Web of Shadows feel like a worthwhile purchase. This could be any Castlevania-style game. What Spidey flavor there is -- the puns, web-slinging and acrobatic fighting -- gets so repetitive and annoying that you'll be voting for the symbiotes to win.

This review is based on a retail copy of the game provided by the publisher.