I considered starting this preview off with the time honored 'Spider-Man Theme' from the 70's, quickly realizing that I would be far from original on the idea. So instead, I will ponder the many movie tie-in titles I've seen as of late, and further ponder the fact that crappy movie based games are seemingly becoming a thing of the past. More and more, game publishers are allocating enough time to developers to produce a decent game, complete with art assets directly from the film, as well as healthy enough budgets to insure the best possible experience. Recent examples are the Lord of the Rings titles from EA (each successive title in the trilogy improving over its predecessor), Shrek 2 (though to much disappointment, the movie voice-talents were not used in the game), and The Chronicles of Riddick (a game that defied all rules and surpassed its movie equivalent by being far better developed – or so the other blokes round the office have impressed upon me). Spider-Man 2 may prove to be yet another movie tie-in title to break the mold of yore, offering engaging gameplay and awe-inspiring graphical feats, in place of mere product placement and shameless marketing. "Watch out! Here comes the Spider-Man!" Sorry, I couldn't help it.

Much like the previous Spider-Man title based on the silver screen debut, Spider-Man 2 appears to loosely follow the movie plot, adding a few of the comic staple villains to round out the experience – villains that will most likely not be in the theatrical release. Shocker and Mysterio will make a return, as well as the sexy Black Cat and the dimwitted Rhino. This time around the game will be non-linear, with an easy comparison being made to Grand Theft Auto. In place of Vice City, the playground is Manhattan. In place of fast cars and faster women, our hero has sticky webbing and stickier situations. Welcome to Spidey's concrete jungle.

Activision plans a release on all major platforms, offering an identical experience on each, at least as far as the actual gameplay. While the visual strengths of one console over another will be incorporated, additional or differing content has been said to be non-existent. This will make the decision of which version to buy for multi-console owners substantially simpler, as the obvious choice would boil down to the preferred controller and the more powerful VPU (video processing unit). We have already seen both the Xbox and PS2 version, and I myself have taken a gander at the recently released PC demo, though haven't had much of a chance to evaluate it. After an initial demo given at Activision's Spider-Man 2 release party and a substantial amount of actual hands-on, I feel pretty confident that the game will be as every bit successful as the upcoming movie.

The 50 cent Tour (Famous Rap persona not included – ED)

As previously mentioned, the gameplay will be of the open-ended nature, allowing the player to more or less do as they please, within the confines of what Spidey might actually do. Sorry, no beating up helpless citizens or carjacking a soccer mom. Only acts of heroism are allowed, which is more than fine, as we have enough games to satiate our vulgar and violent tendencies as it is. The entire island of Manhattan has been constructed within the game, with most buildings being represented in some form. Central Park, Ellis Island, the Brooklyn Bridge, and even the Twin Tower Memorial can all be seen and traveled to within the game. There are no zone barriers between these locations and additionally no barriers between indoor and outdoor environments. As a result, Spider-Man 2 offers 'no-load time' action unless cut-scenes are involved.

Another feat of the 'world' is the way the developers tackled the subject of a game map. Instead of using the tried and true bland overhead static map usually found in some corner of the screen, they decided to use the entire world they painstakingly built as a 3D map. When activated, the 'map' will swing upward over Spider-Man's head, and toward space at the player's discretion, giving a true birds-eye view of the city. As slick as Spidey himself!

Having been questioned to death concerning Spider-Man's webs and furthermore what it was they were attaching to in previous titles (as they apparently could adhere to thin-air in the past), the dev team set out to rectify the situation and add more realism to the unrealistic nature of our hero. They also took the time to employ pendular-physics to give Spidey a more authentic look and feel as he swung web to web through Manhattan. As a result, between the gravitationally correct motion, and webs actually attaching to objects, swinging through the city is probably more fun than it should be. One might find themselves spending countless hours perfecting user defined stunts instead of progressing through the actual story – especially since webbing is not being treated as a resource this time around. There are two modes of swinging: Easy and Normal – though the details of the differences are unknown. One thing is known however; Spidey can suspend himself between two structures with a web in each hand, though figuring out how to actually do it will be the larger feat.

Spider-Man will progress through the game by taking on random crimes that occur throughout the city as well as defined missions following the storyline. There's even a set of missions revolving around pizza delivery! Icon_wink The control scheme is much more simplified over the previous titles, stripping away the overly complex combo system that left many with tangled fingers. There will still be new fight moves Spidey can learn, though the execution should be much less carpal tunnel syndrome inducing. New combos and moves can be purchased with 'Hero Points' which are accumulated as Spider-Man performs heroic acts. It's assumed that this game will also have the obligatory multitude of unlockable costumes and bonus content, though nothing in particular has been confirmed.

Spidey will be able to use his 'spider-sense' to avoid perilous events such as falling objects and in-flight bullets with a 'Matrix-like' slow-motion effect. Using 'spider-sense' will deplete a gauge that slowly regenerates naturally or from heroic acts. Of course Spider-Man can use more than just his fists and feet to take out the bad guys. Enemies can be bound with webbing making it impossible for them to attack, and can even be hung from objects such as lamp posts. I wonder if an enemy can be hung from a helicopter in flight… hmm…

Once again, Activision managed to acquire the voice talents of the actors from the film, which always gives any movie tie-in a tilt in the right direction. Tobey Maguire (Spider-Man), Kirsten Dunst (Mary Jane Watson), Alfred Molina (Doctor Octavius) – all have contributed to the game. I suspect some of the music (other than just the theme) from the Spider-Man 2 soundtrack will make it to the game as well, though we have no confirmation on that as if yet. Additional soundtrack music is provided by KMFDM lending a nice aggressive feel to some of the action sequences in-game.

With the game set to release on June 28th, and the movie to follow two days later, I am pretty much blowing off any previous engagements and not setting any new ones other than: Play Spider-Man 2. Play some more Spider-Man 2. Maybe… play some Spider-Man 2. Go see the movie. Play Spider-Man 2. Go see the movie again. Play some… City of Heroes. Plainyellowsmile From what we've seen so far, Spider-Man 2 looks to be the appropriate tie-in to what will most likely be this summers blockbuster. If it the whole game plays as good as it looks, then this will be one title to help beat the heat.