Another new Spider-Man film in theaters means that it's time for another slew of Spider-Man games for contemporary video game consoles. Activision and Vicarious Visions have teamed to produce the Nintendo Wii version of the game, allowing players to step into Spider-Man's costume and battle a variety of villains, both from the movie and the comic books. Unfortunately, while the game does have its bright spots, it does suffer from a series of nagging problems and half-assed design issues.

Features

• Take on New Goblin, Sandman, Venom, The Lizard, and other Spider-Man villains
  
• Swing through New York City with the Wii remote's motion controls
  
• Thwack the villains with a wiggle and swing of the Wii remote
  
• Build up Spider-Man's abilities to gain new moves
  
• Actors from the film provide the voices of the characters
  

Does Whatever A Spider Can
Building on the gameplay established in the last Spidey installment, Spider-Man 3 drops our hero into a massive New York environment and tasks him with not only stopping the supervillains, but also dealing a little street justice to the various gangs and small-time criminals that roam the streets. Spider-Man can take on missions at his leisure, as completing the main story missions drives the plot onward, while taking a bite out of crime gangs allows him to build up his experience points without advancing the storyline. Along the way there are simple side quests to explore, such as photographing each of the major and minor villains that are encountered in the game, collecting meteorite fragments, and other such things.

While Spider-Man 3 does include plenty of story elements from the film, the developers have seen fit to once again bulk up the game with other villains from the Spider-Man world. In fact, Sandman and Venom do not even appear until a few hours into the game. Initially our hero has to deal with a revenge-minded Harry Osborn, after which a large story segment featuring The Lizard takes center stage. While dealing with The Lizard, Kraven the Hunter enters the picture. These extra bits intertwine with the plot from the movie, panting a more expansive picture and even filling in some of the minor nagging plot holes from the film while rewriting others.

The absolute best aspect of Spider-Man 3's gameplay is swinging through the city with the Wii remote. While past and other contemporary Spidey games use buttons on the controller to cast web lines, this version uses the motion controls of the Wii remote and nunchuk to sling web. Players just hold down the B button on the Wii remote and then flick the wrist to shoot a web line from Spider-Man's right hand. Our hero will then take to the air, his angle of flight controlled by the control stick. Let go of the B button to release the web line and Spider-Man will fly forward. While airborne cast another web line to continue gliding through the skyscrapers, making travel around the city downright easy and a lot of fun. Best of all, for the first time players have control over both of Spider-Man's hands; hold down the Z button on the nunchuk and give it a flick to cast a web line from Spider-Man's left hand. Being able to alternate slinging hands is key to mastering our hero's aerial acrobatics, and with a little practice players will be zooming over the city in no time.

Down at ground level Spider-Man will have to do battle with his many enemies. The bulk of Spidey's moves are controlled with the Wii remote, as swinging it back and forth quickly causes him to throw punch after punch. Tap the A button to deliver a power attack after inflicting a few hits to form a combo attack. While punching is the most basic form of attack, the idea is to chain together punches and kicks to inflict more and more damage. Press the Z button to leap into the air, then wiggle the Wii remote to ensnare a ground-based enemy with a web line. As Spider-Man gains experience points and unlocks new abilities he'll be able to swing enemies around him with a waggle of the Wii remote, leap over an enemy's head while delivering a solid kick, and many other special maneuvers. When our hero's spider sense goes off, just give the nunchuk a twitch to dodge incoming fire.