Spider-Man: Web of Shadows has a stirring introduction, opening with our hero caught in the middle of a full scale war between the symbiotes who are assaulting New York and SHIELD forces that are fighting to fend off the invaders. With the latter losing this war, Spider-Man is doing his best to assist them, meanwhile trying to find Mary Jane, but he is brutally interrupted by Venom, the main villain who is launching a surprise attack. The action then shifts back in time, four days before the dreadful events, and most of the gameplay revolves around this period, preparing the stage for the final confrontation.

For most players who expected a fast paced game, the initial chapters can look rather flat and unsatisfying as you spend most of your time training with Luke Cage, one of the super heroes that dwell in the city. Boring as this may seem, it's the only way to learn new combat moves and to get accustomed with some of the villains that must be dealt with, before they overrun New York. There are only slight differences between the red and black suit, with the most important being the ability of throwing cars when wearing black. On the other hand there will be certain moments when you'll have to decide between embracing the dark side or the righteous one, which will eventually lead to one of the different endings. Furthermore, depending on your decisions you'll be able to call heroes or villains to assist you, but that's rarely necessary and it's most unlikely that their contribution can make the difference.

There are plenty of "spider symbols" scattered around the city that you can collect while you deal with the bad guys which grant you extra experience, helping you to level up faster and unlock new skills. While there are plenty of moves to learn and master that should insure that combat will never get boring, it is certain that most of them will never be used. That's not too bad though, because those unwilling to take the time to pick them up won't miss anything special, as these are virtually extensions of the basic moves. Being said that I must add that even those who are not even remotely interested in improving their fighting skills will complete most of the missions easily, by pressing just a couple of buttons.

The web strike is one of the combat skills that nobody can afford to neglect because it is the only way to wipe out those enemies who can fly, or are equipped with high tech gliders. In fact this is by far the most efficient way to destroy enemy troops and it's so easy to master, that most of those willing to try Web of Shadows will love it and use it very often. A particular mission where you are supposed to annihilate some snipers before they can take out two targets is the highlight for this combat style and leaves no room for doubt about its effectiveness. On the bad side taking out 30 snipers by using the same technique is downright boring and if wasn't for its instructive role, this episode could easily be regarded as a major failure

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Shaba's developers must have anticipated the gamers' desire to escalate the highest buildings and plummet to earth, throwing the silk thread in the very last minute for the adrenaline rush, as they delivered a virtually indestructible hero. So if you fall from the top of a skyscraper, Spider-Man will get away without a scratch, even if he was transporting a critically injured citizen, on route to the hospital. While this is basically a good thing as it makes sure the game will be fast flowing, Spider-Man is not invincible either and the villains, especially the bosses, can sometimes win a decisive fight. On the bright side there are plenty of occasions to save and even if you fail to defeat the enemy, you'll be just a couple of minutes behind, ready to give it another shot.

Sometimes the victims of firefights find it difficult to let go even after you've transported them to safety and you are forced to load from the last checkpoint, but I've encountered this bug just twice and rescuing civilians is just a side quest after all. Much more frustrating is the camera that can occasionally malfunction, especially when you are forced to climb a wall, and the angle remains unchanged after you get on top. If you have the bad luck of chasing an enemy or are supposed to complete a mission in a given time when this occurs, than the outcome can be no other than failure.

It's only fair to say that while the camera can turn into a nuisance when you switch from walking to wall climbing, it provides the player with a delightful experience during the never-ending dangles between skyscrapers. There are of course some awkward moments when Spider-Man swings on a thread that isn't really attached to anything, simply pointing to the sky and an imaginary support, way up there. While these slip-ups are not affecting the gameplay in any way, they are so frequent that it's impossible not to be noticed and you'll need a lot of benevolence to dismiss them as insignificant.

The AI is not particularly impressive and most of the villains act in the same way, but sometimes their behavior is simply disturbing, these problems occurring more often in the second part of the game when crimes are virtually everywhere. It's not unusual to see enemy units stuck into a wall, together with regular citizen walking like they're on the boulevard with no reaction whatsoever to your presence. They are nothing more than sitting ducks and while this makes your mission much easier it is still disappointing and it's ruining the mood.

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Conclusion:

Swinging your way through the city, hanging on a thin silk thread with no safety net and fighting bad guys in places inaccessible for the ordinary people is definitely an exciting way to spend a couple of hours, and after all this should be the main purpose of any video game. Unfortunately there is no more than meets the eye in Spider-Man: Web of Shadows, the story in underdeveloped, with missions that look and feel alike, villains and heroes that are unconvincing and combat moves that look good but are not demanding enough.

Gameplay: 71

Besides the adrenaline rush provided by all the swinging and free falling there are very few elements that rise up for the challenge of delivering a rock-solid gameplay; in fact these are only surpassed by some boss fights, while most of the quests and especially the side missions are too repetitive to be fun. Killing more and more enemies of the same type, then moving on to the next class of villains, rescuing civilians in danger or assisting the police, gets old fast and only the desire of finding out how Spider-Man's adventure ends keeps you going.

Graphics: 73

Spider-Man, most of the heroes and villains look just fine, but the other characters and the regular foes you have to defeat in large numbers look nearly identical, as well as most of the citizens in distress. Some visual effects are pretty impressive and combo moves are stunning, and this gets better as you progress with the game, facing increasingly powerful enemies with more complex skills and animations.

Sound: 68

While the music is quite appropriate and fits in nicely, especially while you roam freely above the tall buildings, creating an overwhelming sensation of liberty and leisure, the voice acting is nothing short of horrendous. Spider-Man himself and most of the characters he interacts with are constantly delivering the same one-liners, and they are not even remotely funny, although it's obvious they try hard to be.

Multiplayer: N\A

Hardware: 67

For what it has to offer visually, the game runs rather poor even on better computers, with the frame rate frequently dropping to low values, especially when you have to confront a large number of foes.