Not based on a movie this time, “Ultimate Spider-Man” instead pulls from the pages of the comic-book series of the same name, which itself is a revisionist version of the original Amazing Spider-Man comics that debuted in 1962.
Graphically, it features the same visual flair as seen in print, sketched and inked, except it’s in motion and interactive and on your television screen. While cell-shaded graphics are a new (and welcome) look to Spidey-games, the free-roaming, city-wide gameplay is actually quite similar to the recent “Spider-Man” movie-based titles – no surprise since developer Treyarch is responsible for all of them.
“Ultimate Spider-Man” is ultimately easier, however, with simplified controls for fighting, leaping and web-slinging, making it much more accessible to casual players while, perhaps, turning off a few of the seasoned ones.
Either way, dumbed-down action still leaves plenty of room for huge fun because it’s a rock-solid production that allows you to play as a caricature of Tobey Maguire in tights, no matter how you prefer to finesse your buttons.
On occasion, you play as Spidey’s nemesis, Venom, who is controlled pretty much the same way except he can’t spin webs – but he can eat people, in his own unique sequences within the story. And the story is where “Ultimate Spider- Man” really shines.
With guest appearances by many Marvel characters and drenched in the Spidey-specific comic tragedy of modern- teen angst in an outlandishly dangerous city with our hero, the post-pubescent Peter Parker, churning out those ever- quotable quips and commentaries, “Ultimate Spider-Man” becomes even better than the comic on which it’s based because you’re not just reading it, you’re being it.
Activision; GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox; $49.99. Rating: Teen (Realistic violence, mild language)
Though “X-Men Legends II: Rise of the Apocalypse” is just your basic dungeon-crawler following an action/RPG formula where you control a team of characters, each with unique and evolving skill sets, it’s thoroughly drenched in that exquisite anti-hero lore that is X- Men, where the characters are either super-heroically cool, exceptionally weird or a combination of both.
The Brotherhood, the X- Men’s sworn enemies is there, but this time they join with the Men o’ X against a whacked- out mutant called Apocalypse and his goons.
Again, with that stylish, cell- shaded animation look, it appears like a comic book and plays a lot like the last “X-Men Legends” game; you manage a party of four (from a selection of 19, eventually), upgrade their powers or weapons, swap out control of each on the fly, fight and solve puzzles.
In this new version, you can automate the micro-managerial menu of skills and attributes, optionally, and let the computer decide who should buff up what and whether enough skill points have been amassed so it plays heavier on the action than the RPG elements. That’s a nice option for action buffs because the action is solid, smarter and more involved.
Also, “Legends II” can be played online with up to four cooperative players, which is also nice (less so on the lag-ridden PS2) for players who don’t have any friends at home to hand off a second controller or three.
Activision; PlayStation 2, Xbox; $49.99. Rating: Teen (realistic violence, mild language)
Playing tip
In “Ultimate Spider-Man” for PS2 or Xbox, press Right, Down, Right, Down, Left, Up, Left, Right in the controller setup options menu to unlock all characters.
Shaun Conlin is a freelance games reviewer for Cox News Service. E-mail him at shaunconlin@evergeek.com.
