Spiderman: Web of Shadows - A Review

I've played a fair few video games in my time, so I'm always looking for something different.

Innovation tends to drip through the medium. A first person shooter will include a new gun or mechanic while leaving the underlying game unchanged. Graphics will improve, but slowly and in isolation from other elements.

That's why I've always dug the hell out of Spiderman games - they're different.

Borrowing from the GTA sandbox, Spiderman: Web of Shadows allows you to roam freely around New York. You can push the story along via missions if you wish, or you can spend a lazy hour swinging around, beating up muggers and gracefully diving from the Empire State Building.

While past Spidey games have been enjoyable, WOS is a step up as it isn't wedded to a movie release. The story is solid and rooted in comics rather than cinema. Luke Cage, Wolverine and Moon Knight are among the guest stars, and you progress from fighting street thugs to Kingpin's troops to rogue symbiotes of the Venom variety.

You start with the abilities to web swing across the city, shoot globs of web to incapacitate foes and punch people. A light RPG element allows you to upgrade your abilities and combos. Soon you're fighting in the unique, fun style of Spiderman - something you only find, and is only relevant in, these games.

For example, you can swing down from a block away and kick a guy for hundreds of metres without stopping. You can sprint up the side of a building and slide kick a dude so he spirals to the ground below. By using webs to reel in foes and zip towards them, you can incapacitate huge groups of thugs without touching the ground. It is a blast.

Another aspect of gameplay is the ability to switch between regular spidey and his black-suited counterpart at will. Regular Spidey is lithe and agile, while the black suit makes you into a slow, devastating brute. It's a nice touch and accomodates different play styles.

The graphics are sharp - particularly the character models. Spiderman swings through the air with grace and speed. Sound is great, especially when you're high up and left with nothing but the whistling of the wind.

Above all it's fun.

At one point you have to break into a prison to rescue a mad scientist. The only way to breach the walls is to hop up onto the back of The Rhino and smash through everything.

And that's real.