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Spiderman is without a doubt one of the most well known comic heroes before even considering the many successful movies and subsequent games carrying the Spiderman banner. On the Xbox 360 alone there has already been two Spiderman games, Spiderman 3 and Spiderman: Friend or Foe, both released in 2007. Both of these have resulted in mixed reactions and neither has been anything outstanding. Naturally when Activision announced yet another Spiderman game there was much chatter and apprehension from the gaming community who wanted the next Spiderman game to be a big improvement over the previous 'next gen' releases. Spiderman: Web of Shadows has the advantage of no requirement to tie into a cinema release (or disadvantage depending how much you liked the movie missions in Spiderman 3, personally I couldn't stand the way that Spiderman 3 attempted to tie in the movie based missions) So with a clean start for the series, It is a slight disappointment that Web Of Shadows is not the AAA Spiderman game we have all been waiting for, but it is a whole lot of fun for those willing to overlook the games shortcomings.

Spiderman: Web Of Shadows is at heart a brawler and this portion of the game is what saves the game from failing. Shaba set to create the ultimate fighting experience in Web Of Shadows and in doing so Spiderman can fight anywhere within the city whether it be on the ground, of the sides of a building or even in the air. When fighting characters such as Vulture, the experience of fighting in mid air, some distance away from the nearest building (and the ability to swing to safety) is truly breathtaking. The combat itself can be as simple or as challenging as you like with X and Y being the main combat buttons. By using these you can create combos, some of which are simply devastating to enemies. To vary the combat style Shaba have included the ability to change from the standard red Spiderman suit to symbiote black suit by pressing the left thumbstick at anytime throughout the entire game. The red and black suits do vary, for example by pressing B when wearing the red suit, Spiderman will perform a Web Shot attack which can slow or even tie up enemies. Pressing B whilst wearing the black suit will launch a tendril from which you can throw enemies into the air or perform a devastating slam. The black suit, staying true to Spiderman tradition is more powerful and sometime more enjoyable to play due to this. As enemies are defeated and missions completed XP will be earned which can be used to upgrade both suits with new combat moves, abilities and combos.

Spiderman: Web Of Shadows boasts an impressive cast from the Spiderman universe such as Venom, Black Cat and Kingpin as well as other characters from the Marvel Universe such as Luke Cage, Vulture, Wolverine and many more. The story in Web of Shadows begins with a a fight against Venom, at which point Spiderman once again becomes infected by the symbiote alien life form. The story, whilst interesting is virtually non existant and is all over the place. Luke Cage will have you cleaning up gangs on the street, where Black Cat will have you trying to get the the bottom of Kingpins latest caper which has nothing to do with Venom. The only tie to the overall story is throughout the game, there are many points where there will be a choice to follow the red or black path. This will have an effect on the ending of the game adding to replayability to unlock the multiple endings. Whilst the missions are a build up for the final confrontation with Venom it is a bit disappointing that there is no flow. The missions in Web of Shadows are given by some of the previously mentioned cast and mostly consist of moving from point A to B, defeating a varying number of enemies until the objective requirement has been met. Due to this type of gameplay, Web of Shadows is very repetitive and will bore a number of gamers looking for some variety. Enemies will range from your standard weak type who will only offer a challenge in numbers, to the solo mechs which will give a good challenge regardless of how many upgrades Spiderman has. If a battle ever gets to tough you can call on an ally to assist you once your meter has a special build up. Alternatively you can unleash a special move on opponents which will take out most enemies around you with one hit. Whilst slinging through the city keep a look out for the collectable Spiderman tokens (Pink and red, shaped like the spiderman logo) which allow Spiderman level up, becoming stronger and gaining more hitpoints.

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