Review:
Spider-Man
Reviewer: Paul H. Lang
Edited by: Mike Dixon (2/23/03)
Mac publisher:Aspyr Media ($9.99 direct from Aspyr)

Spider-Man is an action driven game in which you think and (mostly) fight your way to a variety of goals. In some scenarios you are the hunted, trying to get to a location through thugs, helicopters, guns, and missiles. In some scenarios you encounter puzzles to ‘solve’ in order to complete the mission. There are a seemingly endless supply of things and people to go through, on, or over on your way to each episode’s conclusion.

The game graphics and visuals are relatively simple and flow smoothly both in cinematic sections and in live action. However, the audio hesitates and the in and out of the sound makes it nearly impossible to follow spoken portions. With that exception the hardware seemed to support the game easily.

The game’s interface through the keyboard is, at first, a little daunting but I learned where to find the keys I needed in short order. My children where much quicker at learning this. I recommend using the game's "training room" to have a chance to learn and perfect the moves before you need them in live play.

I have to say that this game is something of a disappointment. It fails to challenge the player to problem solve or think in any depth and that lack of depth leaves the player with little else to do but attack the many thugs, and assorted lizard men et cetera which appear atop every roof and around each corner. My 8 year old and 5 year remained interested in the game but I’m not sure whether it is sufficiently challenging and varied in action to keep an adult player satisfied. I tended to get bored by the repetitive nature of the play.

I was also disappointed in the ESRB rating for this product. It is rated E for “Everyone,” and on the back you learn that it contains “animated violence.” As a parent looking for games children can play and enjoy it is unhelpful to have an “E” rating when the basic play of the game is to beat and pummel to unconsciousness dozens of others in nearly every scene. I could not let my children play this after watching the play for a couple of days and realizing that it wasn’t getting any more sophisticated than an extended street brawl. If this game merits an “E” rating it gives me pause to imagine what the “T” (teen) and “MA” (mature audiences) ratings indicate. [Editor's note: the ESRB ratings board look for true-life gratuitous violence in computer games when assigning "Teen" and "Mature" ratings. Realistic blood, photo-realistic imaging and adult language also merit a T or M rating. While I agree that Spider-Man should have been rated for Teen, it doesn't contain nearly the realistic violent content that so many other games do.]

Though this game states on the jewel case that it is Mac OS X compatible I found that only when I played it in OS 9 did the audio problems clear up. Both my children and I had occasional crashes of the game. We were unable to determine a common origin for the difficulties.

I think that there are gamers who would enjoy the quick action and familiar characters and themes of this comic superhero. The relatively brief scenarios also lend themselves to quick play. The graphics are fine, the fighting is varied and the 3D capabilities of Spidey (crawling on the ceiling for example) all make for interesting play. If you are a Spider-Man fan and you’re into fast paced and violent action I think you’ll enjoy the game.