Customer Reviews

Spider-Man 3

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Spider-Man has had a pretty good track record with the GBA, but so far not such a good one with the DS. Spider-Man 3 changes that quite a bit, offering a more or less standard action title starring Spidey with plenty of fun elements and some surprising touch screen capabilities as well. While it's a tried but true beat 'em up as one would expect, Spider-Man 3 features the ability to string together attacks and webbing uses by tapping the touch screen and moving with the stylus. This feature is a welcome addition considering that many third party DS games fail to make effective use of touch screen methods, so this alone is a nice touch. The rest of the game is a combination of 2-D and 3-D elements as you swing, fight, rescue those in distress, and race around the various areas as you work your way through the story mode to take on the Sandman, Venom, and as a bonus, the Lizard. There are additional surprises including collectibles and secrets to unlock, and the black symbiote costume is used mostly effectively as well as your rage meter grows and depletes. The game looks good and controls great, and Tobey Maguire even lends his voice to his version of the game as well, which is nice too. The only real drawbacks are that the game's main action is nothing we haven't seen before, and while the multiplayer functions are a nice addition, there could have been more. That aside, Spider-Man 3 for the DS is a surprisingly good movie tie-in that is definitely better than it's bigger home console bretheren, and for Spidey fans on the go, this is definitely worth checking out, and is definitely the best Spider-Man game on the DS yet.

I'm very against the purchasing of movie-title propaganda, especially when it comes to video games. Games based off of movies are always so poorly done, with the sole purpose of cashing in on the hype surrounding whatever movie is on the horizon (look at the Fantastic Four, how good do you think that video game could be?).

So I didn't buy this one. My friend had it in his DS, and I turned it on and gave it a shot. It's actually not bad. The controls are slightly awkward, but it's not overly difficult to manage holding the stylus in your right hand while maneuvering through the city with just your left.

The actions are creative, and the integration of the touch screen makes gives this game appeal that seems to me would be hard to find in this game on any other platform... it'd be just like every other hit movie based video game on the market.

Overall, I was pleased with the game, though its appeal doesn't appear to be a lasting one. Expectation has a lot to do with the general reaction to pretty much anything, and my expectations were quite low for this one.

A glaring problem with SpiderMan 3 (and quite possibly with many other touch screen/analog integrated games) is that this game is impossible to play left handed; the analog controls used for movement simply don't allow it. You have to use your left hand to move, and you need to use your stylus to attack. Therein lies the problem, something I found to be an enigma about the Nintendo DS. How does Nintendo address that issue?

I'm not left handed, but the person who I borrowed the game from was, and she was quite disappointed that she was unable to play the game that she paid for. I initially thought it was funny, but then, what a waste of money.

If you're left handed, don't buy this game, haha.

I got this game for my daughter because she LOVES spiderman!!!! I mean, its seriously an obsession!!! She and my husband both sat down to play it one night... it was IMPOSSIBLE for my husband to play because he's left handed!! The game does not allow you to change things around. You need the stylus and the buttons to play and this made it absolutely impossible for him!! My daughter was upset because it was very difficult for her. Being the huge spiderman fan she was, she politely asked if she could get another game. This said a lot!!! She's the type of kid who would suffer thru a bad game just to watch spiderman! HAHAHA So after 3 days of owning it... back to the store it went!! Fortunately my video game store has a 1 week game grace period. if you dont like it... bring it back!!

This is the first Nintendo DS superhero video game that I've sold off. My kids were really excited to try Spider-Man 3 (having played the GBA games before). After the first day, my kids won't pick this game up anymore.

Why?

Well, the combination of button controls and stylus web swinging is just too much for their little hands. They are overwhelmed by the controls. I've read a bunch of reviews that like the use of the stylus but even those reviews admit that you get mixed results (your intended move doesn't always translate on screen).

Meanwhile, my kids were underwhelmed by the gameplay. You'd think New York City is populated by 98% felons. Spider-man doesn't meet anyone who he doesn't have to punch, kick or throw around. Quickly, this becomes work instead of play.

My kids prefer Spider-Man: Friend or Foe and frequently play together (Check out my Amazon review: I bought an extra copy so they could play together.)

Much was made about the Tobey Maguire voiceovers but they didn't lend enough to this game to add another star. My kids liked the Iron Man voiceovers better.

Now that the Spider-Man 3 movie release is a year old, I can't imagine most kids would be intested in this title. I hope new superhero games are released on the Nintendo DS, just not games as much work as this.

My 8 year old son was skeptical at first and struggled with the controls, but that's because he skipped the initial tutorial on how to play. After he learned how to do it, he enjoyed it and so did I. Some previous reviews mentioned not being able to play left-handed, but that's not the case. My son and I are both left-handed, and we can play just fine. You can use either the control + on the left side or the Y and A buttons on the right to move. My only gripe with the game is that it doesn't give you much time to complete the tasks (defeating the bad guys and rescuing people) before your mission fails and you have to start over in that level. It's frustrating for my son (and me). It would be much better if you could start from where you left off. Overall though, it's a good game.

This game we bought used came well packaged and was in great working order , i would definitely purchase an item from these guys again .

I got this game because of previous thrills playing other Spider Man games, and this one is no disappointment.

Controls:
The controls are confusing and occasionally not responsive, but they're some of the most creative I've seen for the DS. Very few games make good use of the touch screen, but this one was a success on this factor. Overall Rating- *****

Gameplay:
The gameplay is simply beat up bad guys and bosses. It takes a lot of beating up baddies to get sick of it, but they could have done a better job on the boss fights. Rather than having the bosses perform different attacks, forcing you to counter and retaliate, figuring out the boss's weakness, like in Spider Man Friend or Foe, you simply find some kind of thing, like smoke, and force the villain to come in contact with it. I haven't done very many of the boss fights, though, so don't blame me if they suddenly get better in the middle of the game. The only other complaint is that the factor of which enemies appear seems random. This way not sound like much, but it's actually a big deal since some enemies are a LOT stronger than others. However, the black suit's rage meter is a nice addition. Overall Rating- ***

Storyline:
The story of the movie is always too small to cram into a video game, so extensions always have to be added, but they actually make it pretty neat. In between boss fights, you aid DeWolfe by stopping gangs from doing stuff like taking over chemical factories. Also, when an important part of the story arises, it is sometimes told in newspaper form, where it shows pictures from the newspaper as the characters talk. Overall Rating- ****

Graphics and Sound:
The graphics are pretty good for a DS game, although the small size of characters makes it somewhat hard to tell who or what they are. The music is average, nothing you want to hea over and over again, but also nothing that forces you to turn it off. It seems like most think that Tobey (the guy who plays Spider Man in the movies) voicing as his same role in the game is a huge deal, but for the most part, it sounds like he is really, really, bored. Plus, I usually can't hear what he is even saying, mumbling some lame joke, apparently. Overall Rating- ***

In conclusion, this game is a great buy for enjoyment in between releases of the real wonders, but don't expect anything legendary. Final Overall Rating- ****

Great game, coloring,visuals and characters are true to form. My 2 sons are big 'spiderman'fans, and can't get enough. After purchasing this DHS, it was a must to purchase it for playstation as well.

Good deal and a great buy!

I am writing this on behalf of my 9 year old son. He says this game is fun, not too easy and a little challenging which he likes. Definitely recommend

The best thing about this game is the control scheme. Spider-man jumps and climbs and swings like a pro. It's a lot of fun to use the stylus to manipulate the web slinging, and it is very intuitive, so fighting thugs is fun and can be done in a number of ways.

The graphics are pretty good. I was impressed. It's a 2D game in a 3D world, and it feels natural to navigate through the city by web slinging.

The sound is kinda campy, but the voice acting from Toby McGuire is spot on. It's snarky and Spidy says oddball stuff at the right moments in the gameplay.

The only really complaint about Spider-man 3 is the repetitiveness. It's run, fight, run, fight, run, rescue, run, fight. On to the next level: run, fight, run, fight, rescue, run, fight. There are just over 20 chapters in the story, all consisting of a combination of run, rescue, and fight. It was like playing all of those CAPCOM games from the early nineties like "Final Fight".

There's also a gameplay mode called the "race", which consist of webslinging across the neighborhood looking for floating orbs (no reason is given for why Spidy is looking for orbs). There is a 5 second (yes, second) counter that starts and Spidy has to reach the first orb. The counter resets, and Spidy has to reach the next orb. There are usually 20 orbs in a neighborhood, and if you miss one, you start the whole thing over. Missing an orb is easy, and since you are given only 5 seconds to find it, you could restart the same level many times. I know this game mode was thrown in to offset the "Beat 'em up" theme of the rest of the game, but couldn't they think of something more original?