A long overdue update

I haven't been playing very many games lately, but I have recently purchased Ultimate Spider-Man, developed by Treyarch. For those of you who have played Spider-Man 2, much of the game will be very similar. The city is slightly larger and the graphical direction is different, but many of the flaws are still here. For instance, the game is much too short: Anyone familiar with the other game can easily beat the main story in under 8 hours. The city races, while allowing you to upgrade your swing speed, are still annoying and take a lot of patience.

On the upside, there are more bosses this time around. Unfortunately you have to chase them around the city before you actually fight them. The story is solid, but as stated before, much too short. There are now side missions called "Combat Tours" where you go from point to point fighting groups of thugs. It's certainly better than catching balloons. There are still side missions where you help people, but they are less an annoyance this time around.

Where Ultimate Spider-Man really shines is being able to play as Venom. It really adds depth to the story being able to play as him. Besides, picking up a vehicle and throwing it at an innocent bystander is fun as hell. It also offers a different play mechanic, requiring you to jump around the city instead of web swing. You can also fall or jump from a high building without killing yourself, that's always a plus. As good as this game is though, I really wish we could have played as Carnage.

So to wrap things up, if you liked Spider-Man 2, you'll find much of the same here to like, but maybe as only a rental, due to the short length of the game.