(continued from previous page) ...the use of a gorgeous enemy if it looks like a robot (unless you are actually fighting a robot). It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that Treyarch simply stole the animations straight out of Spider-Man 2. Fortunately the title does boast some decent physics, with bodies flying ragdoll-style through the air after a particularly vicious uppercut.

The rest of the game looks acceptable. Buildings have nice reflections, the night sky is illuminated by the city lights, and cars and citizens look fine. What’s unacceptable is the chugging framerate and constant pop-in. Swinging through a heavily wooded area of Central Park, one would be lucky to achieve 15 frames per second. A complete lack of destructible environments is also disappointing.

Then along comes the audio. With voice-acting by all original movie actors, narration by Bruce Campbell, and cinematically epic Spidey music, one should expect good overall audio. Unfortunately, New York has gone mute. Not just the people, but the general hustle and bustle of Manhattan seems to be silent. People don’t generally react to your presence with words, simply walking right by you with no acknowledgment. The only things you’ll even hear are cars, and even those sound quieter than they should.

Then there are the bugs, glitches, and other general mistakes. During your stay in Manhattan, don’t be surprised if you see a pedestrian walk through a car, get stuck in a devious solid-looking wall, and witness Spider-Man climb on surfaces that aren’t actually there (over indented windows as if the wall was still flat and solid).

Spider-Man 3 is the epitome of a licensed movie game. It’s a fantastic concept with a lot of potential, yet still fails to deliver as an overall package. The big draws are exploring a well-designed open world and a lot of value between 42 missions and side challenges such as races, skydiving, disarming bombs, etc. (along with hundreds of hidden tokens to collect around the city to keep you hooked). However, the drawbacks just can't be ignored: half of the missions are lame, the interior design is terrible, button mashing combat gets repetitive, the bosses are a pain, and the graphics and audio aren’t all that impressive. If you’re a big Spider-Man fan, then you’ve probably already bought the game; the rest of you should rent this before even considering a buy.