Earlier this week, PGC had a look at the latest build of Ultimate Spider-Man

DS. Developed by Vicarious Visions, the DS title shares the basic story and

mission outline of the GameCube game, and it emulates the same comic style with

bright, crisp textures. The story is delivered through prolific voice overs and detailed comic panels, penned and illustrated by the comic book artists, Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley.

The game starts with a tutorial battle between Spider-Man and Venom. You'll

be in contol of Spidey and will learn a few basic moves before moving on to the first full stage. Ultimate Spider-Man features 2D fighting and platforming in a 3D environment, similar to Viewtiful Joe. You'll be able

to web swing and climb around on walls and ceilings, as you'd expect. On top of a basic assortment of punches and kicks, Spider-Man also has his web attacks and a series of special moves. Special moves can be selected via the touch-screen, each requiring different amounts of power on a meter that

fills as you attack enemies, but the meter rapidly decreases when you're not fighting. Web attacks include a quick shot to stun a thug, or you can hold the Y button to grab

onto him and then press up to toss him through the air.

Of course, it wouldn't be Spider-Man without rescuing a few people, and

you'll find plenty of innocent civilians who need to be saved and taken to

a safe place. Some will be hanging from ledges; others may be getting

attacked by a group of thugs. One major improvement in these encounters

over the previous Spider-Man DS game is a clear icon system. Whenever

there's someone in need of help, a circular icon appears on the screen with

tick-marks surrounding it to show how much time you have to get to that

person. If you move off-screen, the icon will shift along the edge of the

screen like a radar to keep you aware of that person's location. Rescuing

sometimes calls upon the use of the touch screen. For instance, to lift a

car, you'll need to rapidly rub upward on the touch-screen, or you may need to shut down an electrical panel by tapping a sequence of circuits.

Spider-Man doesn't get all of the attention, though. In about half of the

stages, you'll be in control of the horrifying creature known as Venom.

Venom can execute some attack moves with the face buttons, but for the most

part, you'll be using the touch screen in conjunction with the cross pad,

using the L button to jump. Tapping an object or enemy rapidly will cause

Venom to send out a flurry of basic attacks, or you can touch and hold an

object to grab it with one of Venom's tendrils, allowing you to move it

where you will or toss it away. There are even helicopters that you'll

need to fight by grabbing the missiles they fire at you and sending them

straight back to where they came from.

As Spider-Man fans probably already know, Venom is a beast of gluttony. He

is in constant need of feeding -- on human flesh. In the game, this means

that your life bar is ever-decreasing, and you'll need to grab any humans

you can find and drag them into your body to suck the life force out of

them. However, this can leave Venom open to attacks, nullifying the effect

and making you pay close attention to the timing of your feedings.

Ultimate Spider-Man also features a two-player battle mode if you and a

friend both get the game. Five different characters and eight stages will

be available, and you'll be able to duke it out with your friend until one

of you wins two rounds.