Despite being a decade old, Spider-Man is still the definitive game adaptation of the famous Marvel superhero.
User Rating: 8.5 | Spider-Man PC
Back in 2000, Activision and NeverSoft released "Spider-Man" on the aging PlayStation. The game proved to be a critical success and was ported to PC one year later. Despite a few issues and its age, "Spider-Man" is still one of the most fun games featuring the wise-cracking wall-crawler. Peter Parker is a science demonstration where Dr. Octavius is showing some device. Eddie Brock is also there, taking pictures to try to get his job back at the Daily Bugle. Suddenly, an impostor Spider-Man makes off with Octavius' device. A mysterious yellow fog soon envelops the city streets. Spider-Man must get to the bottom of this plot and battle his greatest foes, including Scorpion, Rhino, Venom, Carnage, and Mysterio. The story is pure classic superhero melodrama and is often hilarious. It's a little all over the place and you can tell that the developers wanted to fit as many villains as they can. Also, many popular heroes from the Marvel Universe make an appearance, such as Daredevil, Punisher, Human Torch, and Captain America. It doesn't take itself too seriously and at times, can feel campy but this adds to the enjoyment. Since the graphics are close to a decade old, it doesn't really look good now. The cutscenes look incredibly muddy but the game itself still looks presentable. The character models look detailed but the city is very blocky in design. The whole fog plot device was added mainly because the PlayStation didn't have the power to render a full, free roaming city. This didn't happen until Spider-Man 2 in 2004. Sound is pretty good, with spot-on voice acting, especially Spidey himself. Stan Lee narrates the tale and seems to have a blast with it. Music is mostly generic action/rock fare. Gameplay largely has you beating up lots of bad guys, with the occasional boss fight. This is where the game shines and the most memorable fight would be the one with Venom. You'll also need to find switches and do some light platforming. The PC version is somewhat problematic; the game was clearly designed for the PlayStation in mind and while the keyboard controls work (no mouse support besides menus), a gamepad is definitely highly recommended. I originally played the game on an archaic Windows 98 PC but if you play it now, it's rather glitchy. For one thing, the frame rate is too high and some of the scripting events don't occur correctly, often ending with you falling to your death. The camera is also a problem as it seems to have a little trouble keeping up with Spidey's quick movements. Also, it's hard to make precise moves as he only turns in set increments. "Spider-Man" has a few foibles but it remains largely enjoyable thanks to the developers hard work in capturing the essence and spirit of the famed wed-headed adventurer. 
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