Spider-Man: Friend or Foe extends the movie universe in an interesting way: an unknown enemy has been taking control of Spider-Man’s usual enemies for his own nefarious plans. Once freed from mind control, each character, from the Green Goblin to Doc Ock, Venom to Scorpion, agrees to put aside his differences and join forces with Spider-Man in order to find out who is behind the evil plot. Friend or Foe is a simple brawler, where players must defeat a set of enemies before moving on to the next area. The game’s graphics are soft and neither fully cel-shaded nor fully realistic.

Friend or Foe was developed by Mario Strikers developer, Next Level Games, and it shows. The game’s melee combat is reminiscent of the frenetic gameplay of the soccer title. Though its basic gameplay is a side-scrolling brawler like many comic-based games, the controls are designed to be easy to pick up in the hands of newbie button-mashers, while extravagant combos can be performed by more experienced players. Unfortunately, the character’s abilities aren’t terribly well-balanced, and Spider-Man has several more moves at his disposal than the other characters.

Though the game can be played completely with buttons, several moves are also mapped to gestures. These gestures are used in conjunction with combo moves, such as grabbing and holding an enemy with a button and then flinging him up in the air with a jerk of the Remote or Nunchuk. This inclusion, while strictly unnecessary, adds to the game’s immersion much like the attacks in Mario Strikers Charged.

The game supports two players and a second player can join in at any time. Two-player is especially fun as players can chain juggles and attacks between each other, allowing for some impressive teamwork finishes. Two-player mode is where the most fun in the game resides, thanks to the interesting combo attacks that have been added to the more traditional beat-em-up action.

While I can’t speak for the game's long-term playability, Spider-Man: Friend or Foe is a blast to pick up and battle through a level. Though the game’s holographic phantoms are somewhat repetitive, the game is all about finding different ways of disposing the baddies. The unlikely cooperation between Spider-Man and some of his greatest foes makes for an interesting premise, and the beat-em-up aspect makes for a good multiplayer experience.