One of the most popular super heroes of all time (that doesn’t wear a cape) is Spider-man. The popularity has only been compounded by the recent movie trilogy. Unlike many other super heroes released at the time, Stan Lee’s Spider-man really hit a note with comic-book readers. This could be because many readers can put themselves in Peter Parker's shoes, and understand the reasons for the decisions that he is forced to make all the time. Riding on the recent surge of popularity a new game based on Spider-man has been released entitled Spider-man: Web of Shadows.

People will always have the fantasy of wondering what truly feels like to be a super hero. Unlike dressing up in their house, the only real way to get their fix is by playing the multitude of games available. The problem with that is that most games end up being a very sad representation of the comic book. This trend has started to change with the added power of the new generation of consoles; players are finally getting a true taste of what it feels like to be a super hero. Spider-man: Web of Shadows proves to be such a game. Even though it does have its faults, players will have a blast playing this game.

Unlike the other recent Spider-man games, Spider-man: Web of Shadows is a based on a completely original story. The developers only have the limits of their imaginations (and the Marvel License) to hold them back. The result is a game that has two branching storylines that are determined by the player’s actions. Players can choose to be the hero or turn out to be more of a villain.

Someone has been working out

Players will face the consequences of their actions early on in the game. Luke Cage tasks Spider-man with helping him cut down on gang violence in the city. As players progress though the mission they will have to take out all the “little guys” before they finally get to the bosses of each gang. With the help of Luke Cage, players will get each boss to meet and then players will have to choose to help them make peace, which will keep the streets free from random gunfire or allow the bosses to take each other out, which mean more bloodshed. Right after that mission, players will chase around the Black Cat and choose to pursue a relationship with her on the side or remain loyal to Mary Jane. Whatever choice they make will have a profound impact on the next set of missions players will undertake, as well as how the city’s population views Spider-man.

The first mission serves as a gloried tutorial for the overall game. Players will get assignments from Luke Cage, and it teaches players how to do basic fighting. Soon Luke will teach players how to do more complicated moves, which will help out later in the game. One move allows players to web line from enemy to enemy knocking them out in the process. This is a really fun move, that requires somewhat precise button timing or else when players get close the enemy will actually hit them backwards; this is especially fun early on as some enemies have baseball bat, and are hitting Spider-man like a piñata.

Overall the missions are different enough to prevent too much repetition, although there is some in this game. For instance with each "main mission" players will be given the option for side missions, such as defeating X amount of enemies. While this can get boring, it is beneficial to do these missions and accrue experience points for valuable upgrades. It also helps players get accustomed to new fighting techniques that they will have just learned in order to give them an edge against the next boss they will fight.

Black Cat proves kissing with a mask on is possible.

There are two different ways to increase Spider-man’s abilities and stats in the game. The first is by collecting the hundreds of spider tokens draped across the city. Each time players will be given a set amount of tokens to collect, when they have reached that amount the player's health, special meter, and how fast the can swing throughout the city will be increased. The second way is by completing missions and defeating random crimes going on throughout the city. When players do this they will collect experience points, which can be used to upgrade player’s abilities as well as allow them to purchase new ones. Players have the option to spend the points on the “red or black” suit depending on which they use more. Some new abilities include longer combo, wall attacks, as well as special attacks that do that much more damage to their enemies.

Players will love that the developers were able to get the “feel” of Spider-man down. While playing the game, players will be battling evil symbiotes on the side of a building, and this is something only Spider-man is known for and does on a regular basis. In the midst of battle, players will feel how agile Spider-man really is, as he easily moves faster the most of the enemies he faces. Also the developers did a great job of separating the powers and abilities of each costume. When using the red costume Spider-man is faster and agile and he relies more on striking combo attacks. On the other hand, the black suit is way more destructive (and powerful) of the two, as players can pick up cars and thrown them at their enemies.

The graphics for this game are really outstanding. Players will love seeing their favorite characters in action. The only complaints that some people might have is that it looks a bit "glossy" on the surface, but it is done this way to truly imitate the art direction of the comic books. Players will also love the fact that the city is teeming with life. One major complaint that many people have with comic book to video-game conversions is that there is a huge city to explore, but there is little to no activity in it. This is not the case here; there are pedestrians walking, traffic jams, and much more that make it look like a breathing city.

Looks like someone told Mary Jane about Spider-man's kiss.

The developers must have spent a lot of time on the character animations as they are outstanding and make the graphics shine even more. Players will love wasting time by swinging around in the city and seeing what new acrobatic tricks Spider-man will do. The animation is even better while players are in combat, as they will be pulling moves only Spider-man can do. Players will love being on the side of a building, chasing an enemy, web-line to them, knock them out and use them as a surf board down to the streets. It is action like this that will keep players coming back, even if some of the missions get repetitive.

It is hard to have a game this big and not have a few graphical glitches, and Spider-man: Web of Shadows is no exception. At times players will "lose" Spider-man and be lost n the middle of a city, the camera will go wild and finally will re-orient with the normal perspective. Thankfully this does not happen too often, but it can be disorienting for some players.

Players will love the voiceovers for this game. The developers really nailed the quips that Peter Parker will always dish out to his enemies. Gamers will also enjoy the soundtrack to the game, which helps motivate them play the rest of the game. When players change between the two suits, they will notice the music also changes in tempo and overall theme, which is tastefully done.

Spider-man: Web of Shadows is rated Teen.

Gameplay: 8.2
The gameplay is really solid for this game. The only complaint that many will have is the lack of diversity in missions in the game. Most of the missions involve meeting a character and beating them into the ground. There are some slight variations, but nothing to drastic. Overall it is still a blast to swing around the city. Changing between suits does show a few gameplay differences but nothing extremely drastic.

Graphics: 8.8 
The animation of Spider-man is outstanding! Players will love swinging around the city just seeing the various animations of the main character. The graphics overall are great as well. The city is very animated with life.

Sound: 8.6
The music for this game is really strong. The voice acting for the main characters are good, but the repetitious commentary for the NPC's does get old

Difficulty: Medium
The deeper players get in the game the more difficult it becomes, especially if players didn’t bother to upgrade Spider-man’s health meter.

Concept: 8.1
Players will really enjoy the story for this game, and love the various acrobatic moves they can perform as they become everyone’s favorite “Web-weaving wall crawler.”

Overall: 8.5
Spider-man: Web of Shadows is a great super hero game for the Xbox 360, and one of the best Spider-man games to date. Players looking for a new game to quench their super hero fix will not be disappointed.