We recently got a closer look at Activision's Ultimate Spider-Man for

GameCube, and were able to find out a few more details about the gameplay.

The game starts with a tutorial battle against Venom, giving you a feel for

the controls -- and a feel for what it's like to be swallowed by the

monstrosity, having to fight your way out by quickly alternating the

shoulder buttons. You then move on to a city area to try your moves.

Spider-Man has some phenomenal jumping abilities, and he can double jump. He

can use his web to quickly zip across level areas or up a tall building you're

climbing. Spidey's webs are also used to swing through the streets, and you

can even hold the Y button to climb to the top of your web string, since it

actually attaches to points far above.

The main city is quite huge. Not only is the surface area very wide, but

the high rise towers are surprisingly tall, taking a bit of time to get to

the top. As you travel around the map, you'll see your main mission marked

in green, but as in Spider-Man 2, there are a lot more things to find

on the map. Special tokens to unlock comic covers and other goodies are

scattered throughout the city. There are races through city streets, either

against the clock or versus opponents like Fantastic Four's The Human Torch.

The races make for good training, since there will be points later in

the game when you'll need to chase down enemies rocketing through the

streets. As you travel, you may also see red markers, indicating a civilian

in urgent need of help. You don't need to help him, of course, but then

what kind of hero would you be?

At other points in the game, you take on the role of Venom. Venom has to

constantly feed, so as you explore, your life bar constantly decreases,

forcing you to find victims to absorb into your flesh, spewing the drained

bodies back into the street. Venom is much more of a beast in his fighting

style. While Spider-Man uses quick, nimble punches and kicks, Venom's moves

have some real strength to them, and he can hit groups of enemies at once.

His tendrils are also capable of picking up enemies and smashing them into

the ground or effortlessly lifting vehicles to toss at your opponents.

While Venom doesn't have any true web action, pressing the R button allows

Venom to take a powerful leap that launches him at least a dozen stories

into the air.

Last updated: 06/24/2005

Back in 1999, Marvel began to re-invent their various comic franchises with a new line of books, aiming to capture a brand new audience. Called the Ultimate series, it started with none other than our favorite web-head, Spider-Man. Now, after the success of two games based off of the blockbuster movies, Activision and developer Treyarch are bringing Ultimate Spider-Man to consoles.

Just as with Spider-Man 2, you’ll be able to freely move throughout the entirety of Manhattan (and also in this game, Queens), performing elaborate web-slinging tricks all the way. You can also expect to see the return of helping random citizens who are in trouble. However, instead of the limited and vague crimes of the previous game, Ultimate sports a ton of new scenarios, adding to the sense that you really are our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.

The most exciting new feature looks to be the inclusion of a second playable character. While half of the game will star Peter Parker’s alter-ego, for the other half, you’ll have full control of Spidey’s nemesis, Venom. In addition to having all of Spider-Man’s abilities, you’ll also have added strength, and some cool symbiotic powers, such as the suit lashing out at every enemy in your path at once.

As always, there’s a catch, and in this case, it’s a deliciously evil one. In order to maintain the powerful symbiote, you’ll have to appease its hunger by (how else) devouring nearby townspeople. Not that I’m in favor of cannibalism, but that’s the kind of scenario we should see happen with an anti-hero like Venom; achieve your goal by any means necessary.

As if this wasn’t enough to keep you waiting on bated breath for the release date, the visuals showcased here are beyond gorgeous. Using a black inking technique, the visuals are nigh-identical to the comic variation. Adding to the graphic novel aspect, cinemas are shown in sliding panels, complete with speech bubbles. Did I mention that Ultimate Spider-Man scribe Brian Michael Bendis was an integral part of the development process, from writing the dialogue to screening voice actors? If there was ever going to be a completely authentic comic book-to-video game translation, this would be it.

With so many things going for it, Ultimate Spider-Man looks to be the best Spidey-influenced game yet. Watch out for it; it’s set to release before the end of the year.