Spider-Man 3

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Reviewed by kngzmexican on August 01, 2007  |  report this review

Elitist Wii owners who refuse to buy any games not developed specifically for Nintendo's console are with Spider-Man 3 forced to confront a new dilemma. This effort was created by Vicarious Visions (Marvel: Ultimate Alliance) with the Wii in mind and that shows. The title includes several original story arcs, individual dialog, unique mission structures and even specialized gameplay mechanics designed for the Wii remote and nunchuk. You can in effect become Spidey and swing through the city with flicks of the controllers. And while all of these details read great on paper -- the concept is certainly sound -- they don't play or (especially) look nearly as fluid or as impressive as any Spider-Man fan might want. Call it a rushed development cycle or blame the technical limitations of the Wii hardware if you'd prefer. The end result is the same: Spider-Man 3 has its moments, particularly when the webslinger is coasting between skyscrapers, but much of the endeavor will all the same have your spider sense tingling.

The Wii version of the title was developed separately from the PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360 builds and so there are some clear differences, which we'll note briefly and then move on. All of the games cling to a similar primary plot -- the same as the feature film. Peter and MJ are in love and once-close friend Harry is hatching a plan to destroy Parker once and for all. Meanwhile, the Sandman is about to introduce himself to the world and on top of everything else, the black suit and the threat of Venom loom nearby. We won't give away any spoilers, but obviously you'll need to work through this main story arc as you progress through the Wii title, and the same is true of the others. Where they differ is in presentation and execution. In the Wii project, you gain access to the black suit very early on and can don it at any time with some restrictions, which we'll get to below. In the other versions, the black suit is initially only available in certain missions. The Nintendo version also features a robust character-building element.

What it severely lacks, though -- and predictably so -- are the cutting-edge graphics that the next-gen iterations bring to the table. But let's be specific because this is a big disappointment even if you remove the PS3 and Xbox 360 incarnations from the equation altogether. Spider-Man 3 for Wii puts you into a wide-open city, which is streamed dynamically as you swing about the environments. The metropolis itself is huge -- at least twice the size of the locales in the previous game. While its sheer size is ambitious, the presentation and make-up of the environments are definitely not. The webslinger zips through blurry, unrefined city blocks that pop in and out of existence and are almost entirely void of pedestrian life below. Worse, the framerate is never, ever fluid -- it constantly chugs and dips depending on what Spider-Man is doing or where he is. This is true despite the fact that there are few arch