I'd like to say "this hasn't aged well" and be done with it, but that is NOT ALLOWED! If I said that, they'd put me in the stockades again, and I'm not going back there!!
I never got into the Ultimate Spider-Man comics back in the day. I don't like to dog on anyone's art, but Mark Bagley's interpretation of these characters was always a barrier, and it turns out they look pretty bad when rendered through a Nintendo Gamecube, too. However, if you asked me what my favorite pre-Marvel's Spider-Man game was at any point prior to this last weekend, I'd say Ultimate Spider-Man. Probably talk about how good the web-slinging was, or how neat the stylized comic book panel cutscenes were.
It's easy to assign a high level of quality to something you haven't touched for about twenty years.
Everything in this game feels weightless, Peter most of all as any punch to the nose will send him flying several miles away, rag-dolling at maximum velocity into the cold depths of the Hudson. Combat, traversal, even the level of mission variety just feels so flat, so bodyless that at several points I started to question if I accidentally downloaded a beta. I remember it being better than this, but apparently I just got way into a budget mid-2000s action game. I remember booting this up just to swing around for hours, not really doing anything. Real "playing with rocks" behavior.
Turns out me not actually doing anything when revisiting the game is partly a consequence of the game providing nothing to do. Side missions are divided between races and "tours" of combat that send you between points to beat up a few bad guys. Occasionally you'll be called upon to stop a crime in progress or swing someone with a tummy ache to the hospital (Spider-Man is a friend to those with IBD), but there's just not much going on in New York. Unfortunately, the game forces you to complete a pre-requisite amount of these missions before continuing with the story, and despite never being a tall task, it is incredibly mind numbing.
The main story missions are lacking in variety, too. Almost all of them follow the same pattern of chasing a villain from Spider-Man's rogues gallery and then doing battle with them. The chase sequences are lengthy and lacking in any sense of flow, and battles largely boil down to dodging attacks while waiting for the enemy to become vulnerable, then doing a hit-and-run for a small amount of damage. My favorite. There's like, five things to do in this game and they're all unengaging.
I don't even care for the story, which treads a bit too close to "it's all fate" for my liking. Peter and Eddie Brock's dads were both working on the Venom symbiote prior to their deaths, and apparently some of Richard Parker's DNA made it into the suit (he came a little), which creates a unique bond between it and Peter. I think part of what makes Spider-Man so appealing is that anybody could be him, Peter was just the right guy in the right place at the right time. Ultimate's story takes away from that and is worse for it.
Peter is also written to be an insufferable jerkass with no redeeming qualities, something Sean Marquette does an admirable job at capturing with his line delivery. Don't get me wrong, while half of Sean's acting credits in games are cited as "reused grunts," I'm sure he's a perfectly good actor who was turning in the performance expected of him. I pin the blame on bad writing and poor direction.
anyway, i'm giving this game an extra star because it never at any point made me play as Mary Jane
I never got into the Ultimate Spider-Man comics back in the day. I don't like to dog on anyone's art, but Mark Bagley's interpretation of these characters was always a barrier, and it turns out they look pretty bad when rendered through a Nintendo Gamecube, too. However, if you asked me what my favorite pre-Marvel's Spider-Man game was at any point prior to this last weekend, I'd say Ultimate Spider-Man. Probably talk about how good the web-slinging was, or how neat the stylized comic book panel cutscenes were.
It's easy to assign a high level of quality to something you haven't touched for about twenty years.
Everything in this game feels weightless, Peter most of all as any punch to the nose will send him flying several miles away, rag-dolling at maximum velocity into the cold depths of the Hudson. Combat, traversal, even the level of mission variety just feels so flat, so bodyless that at several points I started to question if I accidentally downloaded a beta. I remember it being better than this, but apparently I just got way into a budget mid-2000s action game. I remember booting this up just to swing around for hours, not really doing anything. Real "playing with rocks" behavior.
Turns out me not actually doing anything when revisiting the game is partly a consequence of the game providing nothing to do. Side missions are divided between races and "tours" of combat that send you between points to beat up a few bad guys. Occasionally you'll be called upon to stop a crime in progress or swing someone with a tummy ache to the hospital (Spider-Man is a friend to those with IBD), but there's just not much going on in New York. Unfortunately, the game forces you to complete a pre-requisite amount of these missions before continuing with the story, and despite never being a tall task, it is incredibly mind numbing.
The main story missions are lacking in variety, too. Almost all of them follow the same pattern of chasing a villain from Spider-Man's rogues gallery and then doing battle with them. The chase sequences are lengthy and lacking in any sense of flow, and battles largely boil down to dodging attacks while waiting for the enemy to become vulnerable, then doing a hit-and-run for a small amount of damage. My favorite. There's like, five things to do in this game and they're all unengaging.
I don't even care for the story, which treads a bit too close to "it's all fate" for my liking. Peter and Eddie Brock's dads were both working on the Venom symbiote prior to their deaths, and apparently some of Richard Parker's DNA made it into the suit (he came a little), which creates a unique bond between it and Peter. I think part of what makes Spider-Man so appealing is that anybody could be him, Peter was just the right guy in the right place at the right time. Ultimate's story takes away from that and is worse for it.
Peter is also written to be an insufferable jerkass with no redeeming qualities, something Sean Marquette does an admirable job at capturing with his line delivery. Don't get me wrong, while half of Sean's acting credits in games are cited as "reused grunts," I'm sure he's a perfectly good actor who was turning in the performance expected of him. I pin the blame on bad writing and poor direction.
anyway, i'm giving this game an extra star because it never at any point made me play as Mary Jane
Conman’s Last Hunt
Entry 1
Despite its straightforward gameplay loop and largely uninspired/sometimes incredibly frustrating combat and mission design, this is a great game in general and a must-play for fans of Spider-Man.
The cell-shaded animation has aged surprisingly well, as has the overall editing of the cutscenes and the voice acting. All of those things contribute to the “living comic book” feel Stan Lee mentions in a bonus features interview (available on the Limited Edition disc.) They took what Spider-Man 2 built and tweaked it in interesting ways, the biggest of which was definitely making Venom a playable character.
The locomotion of both Spider-Man and Venom is fluid, exciting, and true to character. Moving is what you spend most of your time doing, and this game makes sure to keep general movement as enjoyable as possible… even if some of the chase missions are pretty horrible. The entire Electro mission sucks. There’s also not a ton of meaningful content by today’s standards, at least outside of the campaign.
So it’s not a perfect game, but there was obviously love and care put into Ultimate Spider-Man. That’s why it’s still fun and stands out from most other sixth-generation games.
100% Update: The tokens are not necessarily rewarding in and of themselves as collectibles, but after getting them and completing all the combat missions and races, I feel like I’m really good at this game. The final Human Torch race was ridiculously hard, but I feel like a beast for completing it. I guess that’s a good thing, but this game would be way too hard for a kid to get all the costumes.
(This review was written in 2021. My fondness for this game has only grown since, still playing it off and on. This game has SOUL)
Entry 1
Despite its straightforward gameplay loop and largely uninspired/sometimes incredibly frustrating combat and mission design, this is a great game in general and a must-play for fans of Spider-Man.
The cell-shaded animation has aged surprisingly well, as has the overall editing of the cutscenes and the voice acting. All of those things contribute to the “living comic book” feel Stan Lee mentions in a bonus features interview (available on the Limited Edition disc.) They took what Spider-Man 2 built and tweaked it in interesting ways, the biggest of which was definitely making Venom a playable character.
The locomotion of both Spider-Man and Venom is fluid, exciting, and true to character. Moving is what you spend most of your time doing, and this game makes sure to keep general movement as enjoyable as possible… even if some of the chase missions are pretty horrible. The entire Electro mission sucks. There’s also not a ton of meaningful content by today’s standards, at least outside of the campaign.
So it’s not a perfect game, but there was obviously love and care put into Ultimate Spider-Man. That’s why it’s still fun and stands out from most other sixth-generation games.
100% Update: The tokens are not necessarily rewarding in and of themselves as collectibles, but after getting them and completing all the combat missions and races, I feel like I’m really good at this game. The final Human Torch race was ridiculously hard, but I feel like a beast for completing it. I guess that’s a good thing, but this game would be way too hard for a kid to get all the costumes.
(This review was written in 2021. My fondness for this game has only grown since, still playing it off and on. This game has SOUL)
For a PS2 game it's graphically great, and has a really cool comic book/cel shaded look to it. Story was fun but fuck that race with the Human Torch
I can eat a child as Venom.
I have returned 6 years to the day to beat my 100+ hour save file that I had to leave behind in 2017 because I couldn't open the door during the carnage boss. I got this game when I was like 3 years old. I only ever played on one file for 10 years. My last save was on March 7th 2017. Today, on March 7th 2023 I have come back, and demolished the door to beat the game. Fuck you. I beat you. I win.
I booted this up as something to kill time and ended up having way more fun than I thought.
There is something about how simple this game was that sort of helped me keep on playing. Only real complaint was how short it was.
There is something about how simple this game was that sort of helped me keep on playing. Only real complaint was how short it was.
Electro chase was harder than any souls boss fight I've had.
i love how this game has such a razor focus on combat and has less to actually do in combat than Spider-Man 2. just kidding i hate that
Web swinging as Spider-Man is as entertaining as usual and Venom has moments. But in the end I was severely underwhelmed by it's clunky gameplay, repetitive tasks and stylistic but loud cutscene design. Your mileage may vary based on your love for the Ultimate comics universe this title is based on but the story is also a weaker affair compared to other Spider-Man video games.
Ultimately by the end of it I was more than comfortable hanging up my web-shooters.
Ultimately by the end of it I was more than comfortable hanging up my web-shooters.
Peak Fiction.
shouldve made a venom game
Игра схожа с Максом Пейном где-то, но это моя игра детства, поэтому лучше)))
In all honesty… not even a good game, but I did finish it quickly.
Controls feels really clunky, and during boss fights you sometimes literally can’t tell where they are because camera just goes to limbo.
No dodge button… wth? During combat tours you are desperate for it because after a certain time in the game there will be more enemies who will attack you NON-STOP. With one mistake you WILL lose half of your health.
Music is meh… and it can suddenly stop when you start doing combat tours or races. Without music I can’t even feel the world being alive(though, it wouldn’t help that much, I didn’t like the music anyway, lol)
Story is SHORT, like wow, it’s not even decent. Relationship between Peter and Eddie is supposed to be like close friends, but you can’t understand them due to rare interactions in cutscenes. We either meet other villains(Rhino, Electro, Hob-Goblin and etc) or just exist in this world.
It could be a decent story, if Bryan(writer) TRIED to write an independent story, but no, not at that time.
Voice actors are just bad, especially Peter Parker. I don’t want to be rude to the guy who voiced him, but it was really difficult to listen to him. Irritating in every way possible.
So… there’s that. The game is so and so and it doesn’t really hold up to modern days. But hey, I guess that’s the charm of it and I understand why people loved it. I didn’t like Ultimate comic universe THAT much, however, it was an interesting story perspective of the same characters in a new world. Same goes for this game. The same Spider-Man 2, but a little worse, lol.
Controls feels really clunky, and during boss fights you sometimes literally can’t tell where they are because camera just goes to limbo.
No dodge button… wth? During combat tours you are desperate for it because after a certain time in the game there will be more enemies who will attack you NON-STOP. With one mistake you WILL lose half of your health.
Music is meh… and it can suddenly stop when you start doing combat tours or races. Without music I can’t even feel the world being alive(though, it wouldn’t help that much, I didn’t like the music anyway, lol)
Story is SHORT, like wow, it’s not even decent. Relationship between Peter and Eddie is supposed to be like close friends, but you can’t understand them due to rare interactions in cutscenes. We either meet other villains(Rhino, Electro, Hob-Goblin and etc) or just exist in this world.
It could be a decent story, if Bryan(writer) TRIED to write an independent story, but no, not at that time.
Voice actors are just bad, especially Peter Parker. I don’t want to be rude to the guy who voiced him, but it was really difficult to listen to him. Irritating in every way possible.
So… there’s that. The game is so and so and it doesn’t really hold up to modern days. But hey, I guess that’s the charm of it and I understand why people loved it. I didn’t like Ultimate comic universe THAT much, however, it was an interesting story perspective of the same characters in a new world. Same goes for this game. The same Spider-Man 2, but a little worse, lol.
shoutout Shocker i enjoyed beating ur ass for tokens
é o típico jogo que quando vc joga com 8 anos de idade é o melhor da história, mas depois é apenas um jogo comum e repetitivo nas fases com o homem aranha e o venom, é um ótimo jogo para jogar de bobeira.
this will always be the best Spider-Man game unless Insomniac makes Venom playable in Spider-Man 2
You play this game so you can cannibalize children as a parasitical bio-weapon attached to a college student
Só dizer que os carros que você pode utilizar contra os inimigos não estão vazios, bele?
My fucking childhood game. It's prolly not even that good but fuck you, Venom is awesome and the game has a surprisingly good story.
Edit: Replayed it recently, it's as good as I remember it.
Edit: Replayed it recently, it's as good as I remember it.
You can play as Venom that's all I care about.
Fun Spidey, it's awesome to play as Venom. Not much else to say, some things are downgraded from SM2 but its fine as it works for this game. Also...2 islands! Now that's a...this time only thing for Spidey games? Timeless cel shaded look of course, which was so fucking cool looking to em as a kid (even tho I didn't play it much then)
Johnny Storm is a fucking cheater man I had to sweat my balls off to beat him
36
Chase sequences and boss fight range from dull to boring, melee combat is sloppy, but webswinging is a cheat code for fun
Bastante recomendable, un buem sistema de combate y de balanceo, misiones bien diseñadas y una dificultad accesible por el lado de Spider-Man. Los Tours de combate en muchos casos son bastante sencillos y no tienen chiste y las carreras tampoco es que sean el gran desafío cuando comienzas a tener destreza controlando a Spider-Man.
Y si bien no seré el mayor fan de Venom por el tema de lo repetitivas que pueden ser sus misiones en muchos casos, tampoco lo sentí como algo que
pueda demeritar tanto a el juego.
Eso sí, el juego posee una duración MUY corta (Ya que trata de hacer una conexión entre sucesos muy cercanos de los cómics y por varios años fue completamente canon en el universo Ultimate), y una vez que se acaba el juego solo quedan realizar las carreras y los tours de combate (Y conseguir los coleccionables, por supuesto). El problema es que después de esto solo nos queda la lucha contra los criminales, y ya no nos queda ninguna actividad para realizar en las calles de Nueva York (Lo cual en parte mata la atmósfera del juego y da la idea de que la ciudad está prácticamente muerta).
De resto, muy recomendado
Y si bien no seré el mayor fan de Venom por el tema de lo repetitivas que pueden ser sus misiones en muchos casos, tampoco lo sentí como algo que
pueda demeritar tanto a el juego.
Eso sí, el juego posee una duración MUY corta (Ya que trata de hacer una conexión entre sucesos muy cercanos de los cómics y por varios años fue completamente canon en el universo Ultimate), y una vez que se acaba el juego solo quedan realizar las carreras y los tours de combate (Y conseguir los coleccionables, por supuesto). El problema es que después de esto solo nos queda la lucha contra los criminales, y ya no nos queda ninguna actividad para realizar en las calles de Nueva York (Lo cual en parte mata la atmósfera del juego y da la idea de que la ciudad está prácticamente muerta).
De resto, muy recomendado
They chose the wrong adjective, because this game was Amazing.
I love the style of this game. its like you're transported into the comic realm. has a huge effect especially as a kid.
only spiderman game I played lol, but im glad it was this one because after looking at the catalog it doesn't look like im missing out. besides the insomniac ones which is in the backlog.
only spiderman game I played lol, but im glad it was this one because after looking at the catalog it doesn't look like im missing out. besides the insomniac ones which is in the backlog.
THIS GAME HAS VENOM IN IT AND ITS FUCKING AWESOME
Still one of the coolest Spider-man games to date, I know it never will, but I would kill for a remaster, you got to play as fucking VENOM
Solid game, albeit a thin experience. Took me 5 hours to beat, and there's zero side quests, just 4 activities that got old quick.
I liked the movement more than 2, and I liked the combat more, story i guess was alright. Feel like it just made me want to read the comics more.
It was a fun game to play, even though 2 bosses were stupid annoying, but left me wishing it was a meatier game. 7/10
I liked the movement more than 2, and I liked the combat more, story i guess was alright. Feel like it just made me want to read the comics more.
It was a fun game to play, even though 2 bosses were stupid annoying, but left me wishing it was a meatier game. 7/10