360's Spider-Man game disappoints

Game Title: "Spider-Man 3"

Platform: Xbox 360

Studio: Activision

Rating: 5.5/10

THE CORPORATE LINE: This is Spider-Man™ like you've never seen him before.

BOLDER. Feel the rush of protecting New York as the heroic Spider-Man™, plus feel the thrill of becoming the more aggressive Black-Suited Spider-Man™ — unleashing your powers while struggling against the darkness that threatens to tear your world apart.

BIGGER. Explore the most massive, most detailed New York City ever in a Spider-Man™ game, roaming from skyscraper to subway and beyond.

BETTER. Not only does next-gen technology raise the bar in gameplay, a unique combat system and unprecedented freedom to call the shots make this the most fun and exciting Spider-Man™ gaming experience ever.

More freedom than ever. More city than ever. For the first time, enjoy unprecedented freedom — choosing what you want to do, when you want to do it. There's no checklist to complete in order to progress. You set your own next goal, roaming anywhere you want — including subterranean areas such as subways, sewers and villains' lairs — in the most massive, detailed New York City ever seen in a Spider-Man™ game.

Experience an all-new combat system, two exciting ways. Redesigned from the ground up, a unique combat system empowers both Spider-Man™ and Black-Suited Spider-Man™ to perform suit-specific powers and abilities. State of the art animations, combos and finishers make punch, kick and web attacks more super-heroic than ever. Battle 10 of Spider-Man's most infamous enemies from the movie and Marvel® universe, including Sandman™ and Venom™. — Provided by Activision

THE REVIEW

THE GAMEPLAY: Contrary to the corporate hype, Spider-Man hasn't changed much in its third incarnation. The attempt at making "Spider-Man 3" a cross between old Spider-Man games and "God of War" didn't succeed. Following a path of buttons to execute an action isn't enough to be proclaimed a "God of War" clone.

Video games based on movies usually hurt themselves by following the movie script to closely. A movie shouldn't have to be an excuse to make a Spider-Man game nor should the script be the only path to follow. "Spider-Man 3" tries to have the best of both worlds — follow the script and then create a new sub-plot only to lose any sense of cohesion.