Spidey swings into your living room

Spider-man
Rated: E for Everyone
By: Activision/Treyarch
For: Xbox, Gamecube, Playstation 2, PC In correlation with this summer's most hotly anticipated flick, "Spider-man," Activision has adapted the film into an utterly cool video game. Boyhood dreams of web-swinging and crawling up walls and ceilings are rekindled through the game's stellar graphics, sound and gameplay. The game chronicles the origins of Spider-man in early levels -- gamers won't play as Spider-man per se but as Peter Parker (his alter ego). Parker sports a make-shift Spidey costume while battling the thug(s) responsible for his Uncle Ben's death. As the game proceeds, you'll don the webhead's tights and mask and battle more accomplished villains, such as the Shocker, the Vulture, Kraven the Hunter (seen in two bonus levels exclusive to Xbox) and the film's actual villain, the Green Goblin. Vanquishing these villains can be difficult at times, but luckily enough, Spider-man has a plethora of easily executable attacks easily learned by even novice gamers. The game is most successful when Spidey does battle outdoors. Swinging between skyscrapers, freefalling between buildings and partaking in aerial combat -- few things can bring one closer to an adrenaline rush without leaving the couch. The graphics in these outdoor levels are particularly adept, especially on the immensely powerful Xbox with its smooth framerates and incredible lighting effects. Also, it's really funny to see Spidey's webs extend to the top of the screen, giving gamers no idea what he's hanging from -- it's a thoughtful inside nod to the comic books. Another cool aspect of the game is that it features the voices of actors from the film. Willem Dafoe's voice elicits just enough malice to aptly capture the essence of the Green Goblin/Norman Osborn and "Evil Dead" star Bruce Campbell (who cameos in the film) narrates the game to amusing effect. However, Tobey Maguire's voice-overs for Spidey were weak. He's a slow-speaking Nancy-boy, not the smart-alecky webhead comic fans have grown to love. Hopefully, this isn't an indication of the work he'll be churning out in the film. All-in-all, Activision and Treyarch have done wonders in adapting Spidey's adventures from the comic book page and the upcoming flick into a consistently entertaining game. They've given the layman a chance to "do whatever a spider can."