The Spider-Man franchise took a turn for the worse when the over-produced and bloated third movie was released. Too many villains, a weird emo Peter, some ridiculous dancing and a complete shambles of the Venom character, and the game/film crossover fared even worse. Spider-Man 2 on last-gen consoles had it right for a Spidey game, and fortunately Web Of Shadows has taken a leaf out of its book.

Not being attached to a movie has certainly helped, it’s not tied down to a story and left free to weave its own web (see what we did there?) and incorporate more Spidey characters and mythology. But perhaps being tied down to a structured narrative would have helped here, for the plot is a complete mess and gets more confusing as you progress. It isn’t helped by the fact that there are branching storylines depending on what choice you make. Are you good (red suited) or evil (black suited)? These differing storylines add some variety and replay to proceedings and Marval fans will get a kick out of seeing some famous faces.

Web Of Shadows is definitely a better-looking game than previous outings and once again swinging through the city is an absolute joy. The combat has been overhauled with a greater emphasis on air-to-air strikes and combos while on the side of buildings. Essentially the same as ground combat, wall combat at least adds in a nice element, plus air combat is brilliant fun. Well, it would be if the camera could be controlled. It has a mind of its own and even with a lock-on, keeping track of you target and holding down your lunch is difficult. It’s not game-breaking but can lead to some frustrations.

This is one of the best Spider-Man games yet and while it does have its issues, they can’t detract from the fun. There is a rudimentary levelling up tree to empower either black or red Spidey and the results are different enough to warrant a mess around. If you’re a fan of the friendly neighbourhood Spider- Man then this is a great showcase for what he can do. As long as you can rein in the camera and get your head around the story you’ll find a lot to like.