So you've been with Spidey all along, and you've been through his movie adventures. Now, you want something new, since the next movie won't be coming out for a couple of years. Well you got it. Ultimate Spider-Man is set in an alternate universe, one that is not the movies or the Classic Marvel series. It's based off of a modern re-imagining of the series. Origins have been changed, characters displaced and some transformed into things you might not even recognize if you aren't familiar with the USM comics. I mean, I actually thought the Green Goblin was actually the Incredible Hulk. This game is very different from any Spider-Man you've played before. It has an incredible visual style that few games can compete with, and a cool combat system that could really be the foundation of something amazing.
The story is told through the eyes of Peter Parker and Eddie Brock, Spider-Man and Venom, respectively. For Spider-Man, the story mostly consists of swinging around the city, chasing after some super villain or another, and then engaging in a boss fight, all the while throwing in a plot device to make sure the story keeps moving. As for Venom, he is captured by SHIELD fairly early in the game, and they force Eddie to test the suit, which means he has to create a whole lot of havoc. Spidey and Venom cross paths more than once, and their goals become clear. Eddie wants total control of the Venom suit, while Spidey needs to get the suit off of him so he won't hurt anymore innocent people. It's a classic battle: Spider-Man vs. Venom.
Both combat and webslinging have been redesigned; and while I don't mind this in the combat aspect, tinkering with the perfect webslinging in Spider-Man 2 is a downright bad move. It has sadly been downgraded, but still above the level of any previous Spider-Man that came before 2. Gone is the amazing sense of speed, spectacular moves and sensational control. You can't launch yourself with a running leap, and wall running is much more of a nuisance than before. You can boost while you're swinging, but it really doesn't feel like much. Spidey can now perform a double jump and climb his webs, but this simply doesn't feel natural most of the time. In it's favor, it's much easier to come to terms with than SM2's control scheme was. But there really isn't that much depth, and that's a shame. The webslinging in SM2 was perfect, absolutely perfect, and the developers have no reason at all for changing it. Combat, on the other hand, is slightly different than before. Rather using combo's and straight fistfighting, the game uses a more natural way of using Spidey's strength. You'll be performing a lot of hit and run moves, and when they're all linked together, they can be very devastating. Bouncing off of your enemies will become a common practice, and so will bouncing off walls with some of the most ferocious attacks in the game. You can close distance between your enemies with the use of your webbing, with some vicious attacks. The fighting is a lot more fun that it was in the previous game, but it still isn't great. It has the potential to be as good as something like Devil May Cry, but it's a few steps back.
Sadly, there really isn't much depth at all to this game. When you play as Spider-Man, you'll spend all of your time swinging after a boss, and then fighting him. In between, you can do races, combat tours and stop random crimes, similar to the second game. There is really no variety here. You chase a boss, help some people, chase the boss some more, and then fight him. Once he's defeated, you get to play as Venom. Yes, this is a very cool factor, and is actually one of the games redeeming qualities. I'm almost inclined to say that Venom is more fun to use than Spidey. Instead of swinging around, Venom has a super jump that propels you very far into the air, and you can travel huge distances very quickly. His moves are more sluggish than Spidey's, although his are stronger and he can throw cars. He can also "eat" bystanders to restore his strength, which is something Spidey can never do. All of Venom's levels are the same too, you either chase a boss and fight him, or you get chased and try to escape. It's a very repetitive game, and it's also an extremely short one. It won't take you more than 6-8 hours to beat it your first time through.
One thing that USM has going for it is its fantastic graphic presentation. It's not quite cel-shaded, but looks exactly like a comic book. The cutscenes are probably the coolest parts of the game, which feature panels like you're actually reading the story. But these panels move and zip around, making sure you won't forget that you're playing this game. The city is very cool to watch, and although it's not quite as big as the one in SM2, it's still fun to swing around in, and it's much more familiar. Sure, nothing is shiny or reflective, but it still has that unique that can only come from a comic book or a cartoon. It just looks right. Spidey is short and spindly, while Venom is a hulking brute with his tongue hanging out. Sometimes during gameplay, little side panels pop to warn you of an upcoming event. For instance, when stopping car-jackers, a panel will pop up on either side, warning you that someone is about to fire at you. If the panel is on the left, lean right, and vice versa. It's a nifty little of way of including the style into the gameplay. The voices are good, although sometimes a little too much. This is my introduction to the Ultimate universe, so I couldn't quite buy Spidey as this little teenager in high school with a whiny voice. I grew to accept it, and the voice suits him very well. The music isn't really worth mentioning, since most of the tunes aren't very great, and in fact remind me of the music found in the PSOne Spidey games.
While I tried to like Ultimate Spider-Man, I can't help but feel like it's a step backwards in the series. Expanding outside the movie genre was a good idea, but scrapping most gameplay mechanics was a very bad move. The webslinging isn't as fun, the combat can still seem stiff and the story missions are far too repetitive. This has to be why the game is so short. Just how many times can you chase a boss and beat him up. Playing as Venom is definitely the only real thrill this game has to offer, and it's not enough to make the game worth a buy. I would rent this one, even if you are a huge Spidey fan. There's not much here to keep you interested for more than a couple of days or so. I'm a little surprised the developers put most of the emphasis on the style rather than the depth. I hope they learn this when they go about making the next Spidey game.