Spiderman: Web of Shadows was one of my most anticipated games of this holiday season, so there was a sense of anticipatory joy when its release date finally came. The storyline starts simple enough, with Spiderman and Venom engaging in their typical battles when Venom’s symbiote starts reacting differently and breaks away from him.  Spidey regains the black suit as a result.  The training missions ensue, helping another Marvel hero, Luke Cage, stop a gang war in Harlem.  A few other mundane mini-quests and missions follow, but things pick up near the end of the second act, when several humans start exhibiting symbiote-like characteristics. Of course, it’s up to your friendly neighborhood Spiderman to investigate.

Before you can say “invasion”, the symbiotes have started a full-on… well… invasion, actually. The rest of the game centers on missions to get the people of New York to safety and, of course, stopping the symbiote onslaught. Overall, the storyline is less than remarkable, this harsh truth being especially obvious in the third act, where things progress slowly and painfully. The developers may have studied the Capcom handbook on game making, as Spidey will have to fight each previous boss again, only this time… wait for it… their symbiote version. *gasp*

The graphics are decent, but suffer on current-generation systems, as Web of Shadows appears to have been engineered with both last-gen and today in mind for release. There are some good details easier seen on current-gen, evident in the differences between Spiderman’s two suits. The black suit really has an organic look, whereas the classic red and blue appears more like fabric, appropriately enough. If there’s one aspect that shines more than the others, it has to be the combat. Every Spidey game from now on should imitate the tight controls established here. The fight with Vulture is especially impressive, a mid-air scene showcasing the combat mechanics’ ease at switching between enemies, and then swinging in to attack.

Overall I would say that if you are a big fan of the characters and the mythos, then this game is a buy… or if you’re just looking for a good pick up and play title to chug through in a few hours. However, if you’ve soured on the Spiderman 2 or 3 games, you might want to pass, because honestly all of the missions are basically the same as the side missions in those games. Defeat this many bad guys or save this many civilians, etc. If there can be any Christian value to be had here- it’s purely a derived metaphor. If you’re looking for it, Web of Shadows shows how we can let a sin into our lives and while at first it might not seem like a big deal, it will slowly eat at us and change us into something that you are not.

Rate:Buy