SPIDERMAN: MYSTERIO'S MENACE (GBA)


The red spandex dude goes portable

By WILL BARKER

There are many fictional super heroes out there, but most are about as believable as Scientology. But of all the superheroes, few can hold a candle to Spiderman. His super powers are groovy, his suit has been cool for more than three decades, and his alter ego is one that many of us - game geeks especially - can relate to.

But often there comes a time in our lives when we need Spiderman with us at all times, not just at home on the Playstation or the PC, but on the bus, at the bank and yes, even in line at the doctor's, waiting for a new glass eye because your stupid editor decided to coat it with honey and feed it to the office guinea pig.

Luckily for you and me both, Activision has come to the rescue with the GameBoy Advance revision of Spiderman.

The game is a triumph in every sense, whether it's the level design, the end-bosses or simply the colourful, vivid graphics. You can just pick it up and play, but at the same time it can take a little while to master the controls completely.

The A and B buttons take care of jumping and punching, plus if you tap the A button in mid-air, along with a direction, old Spidey will shoot out a grappling hook fibre of web, allowing him to swing defly out of harms way.

As well as punching, Spiderman has some nice combos, uppercuts, flying kicks and a slightly dainty toe-poke. The shoulder buttons take care of your projectile arsenal, which consists of two web formulae. There's the sticky stuff, which traps enemies for a few seconds, allowing a few free punches, and the hurty stuff, which is just like Shinobi's ninja stars in that they deal out damage.

As far as game progression goes, this is a good, solid, traditional side-scrolling action title that warmed the cockles of my heart. At the same token, there are enough new doodads and gizmos to keep the game fresh. Spidey moves with unprecedented fluidity, showing that the GBA is quite the processing tool. The end-bosses also look amazing and will usually knock you to the floor the first few times.

Level design isn't wonderful, but then the developers would have been limited in this respect, working on a side scrolling platformer. Between missions, the game takes a map view of the local area, where the player chooses which level to take on next. The more levels you pass, the more are opened up.

Spiderman on the GBA is a fairly long and involved game, with a great story, depicted via stylised comic-book cut-scenes. The fisticuff action is fun, but you'll find yourself saving hostages and looking for items too.

This game isn't just for Spiderman fans, as the gameplay is very accessible and not too complex. It's fun, great to look at, with an authentic sound track and some simple ideas that really paid off. My compliments to the chef!

PS. Will Barker doesn't really have a glass eye. But he does have one silicon breast.

ORIGINALITY 80%
SOUND/GRAPHICS 90%
PLAYABILITY 85%
ADDICTION 95%
ENJOYMENT 90%