Cheat Index - Spider-Man Playstation Review

Now here's something you don't see every day -- a comic book-based video game that doesn't suck. In fact, against all odds and nearly a decade of precedents, Spider-Man puts the Marvel superhero license to good use in a game that (finally) employs all of the aesthetic cues of the comics genre -- action pacing, super powers, silly characters, great visuals, and simple but relentless story progression. The result is not a masterpiece by any means, but Spider-Man is a thoroughly enjoyable action title that demonstrates how some real effort -- by designer NeverSoft and publisher Activision -- can make comic books come to life in video games.

You know from the get-go that somebody on the design team is thinking. The start-up page invokes the classic cartoon Spider-Man themes. Better yet, the aged, phlegm-rattled-but-unmistakable New York accent of Spidey creator Stan Lee comes in as the narrator, and the story is actually a well-done comics yarn. A Spidey imposter has broken into a public demonstration of a new technological breakthrough and has stolen the valuable gizmo. Spiderman finds himself in hot water with the police, gets chased around the city by SWAT teams and choppers, and also has to contend with his old nemesis Venom and his new army of Lizard henchmen. What's a self-doubting superhero to do?

You control Spidey from a behind-the-back, third-person view, but he has considerably more moves than your usual Lara Croft clone. He climbs walls, of course, and can...

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