Spider-Man, Spider-Man, does whatever a spider can... well almost at least, I mean he can’t give a poison bite that stuns prey nor can he scare children in a hokey ghost train ride at the Brighton seafront. Not that this matters when a teenager is granted wall climbing, web slinging, crook bashing and smart quipping abilities. Although with it does come some degree of  responsibility. This is shown with great affect in Spider-Man: Web of Shadows, as Peter Parker unwittingly releases a veritable nightmare upon the streets of New York City as the symbiotic threat takes control, turning regular heroes and villains into Venom-type creatures, and causing more than a little trouble at the drive-in.

Before we get down to the review it is traditional to look back at the previous titles in a popular series, and with the Spider-Man games there is a clear picture ie. most of the games were loathed by critics with the notable exception of the excellent Spider-Man 2 movie tie-in. Part of the reason for the general lack of critical enthusiasm stems from the limitations of the platform with early titles being side scrolling/platformer titles.  Until the PS2’s latter years release of Ultimate Spider-Man, it never felt like you were in a full city.

Ultimate Spider-Man is an under-rated gem and really set down the ground works for future titles. Unfortunately the Spider-Man 3 tie-in lacked bite and suffered a horrible series of pop-up issues, most notably the ’half a bridge’ issue. Following from the movie game came Spider-Man Friend or Foe, which was aimed at the younger gamers out there, and was not a bad title. Which brings us to this latest offering, taking a more mature look at the mythology of the comics, and presenting some interesting twists along the way. But can this new outing for Spidey spin a web of greatness, or will it simply be another half-arsed gaming attempt by Treyarch?

I suppose the glut of free-roaming city based titles of late will ultimately have an effect upon the reception of SM: WOS, but what is encouraging is that from the off-set you do feel part of a story, albeit in a free-roaming sense. One criticism of the previous titles was that there were far too many random encounters and not enough emphasis upon the actual plot. This is addressed in the new title with side-missions being tied to the main plot with NPCs informing you of a new threat or an offer of training.

This does fill the game out removing the linear nature of Friend or Foe and makes your actions feel tied to the bigger picture. But what exactly is the bigger picture? Well, the game opens with a solemn Spidey walking across a rooftop to the strains of regretting a choice, a decision we have not yet experienced. The city is in a hell-like situation with SHIELD soldiers fighting a deadly threat -  symbiotes that have new abilities. Spider-Man dives from the rooftop to fight mid-air, and we are into a brief level that shows the effects Parker’s decision has had upon the city as a tense moment passes we are flashed into the present as we see Parker before the events of the previous intro level.

This is a good model to follow, as the seemingly normal New York is clearly destined for dark times and every option along the way feels part of some inevitability much like the fact that someone somewhere right now will be singing along to Boyzone. It’s unpleasant to know, but you move along with life anyway.