Released on 10/09/2010

• New Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions details emerge

  New Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions details emerge

  Spidey fans will have a lot to look forward to this September, as Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions will offer not one but four different takes on the iconic superhero in a game that plays out in four interlocking campaigns.

  Due to a transdimensional rift, it's up to four different styles of Spidey to save the day, and each will not only have their own distinctive design, they'll also have their own gameplay mechanics. We've already mentioned the first two - Amazing Spider-Man, whose colourful cel-shaded adventures send him swinging through lush jungle terrain in a fast-paced brawler, and Spider-Man Noir, whose black and white 1930s New York is perfect for stealth - but now Activision has blown the doors off the third dimension.

  This one sounds brilliant: Spider-Man 2099 casts you as Miguel O'Hara, a cybernetically enhanced Spider-Man, fighting crime in a corrupt future New York - named Nuevo York - in which the corporations run everything. The focus here is on a far more "feral" style of combat, with Spidey able to grown talons and claws, while the game picks up its pace with some lightning fast combos.

  With one dimension left to be revealed, we suggest you watch this space. Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions will be touching down on the Wii, DS, PS3 and Xbox 360.

• Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions nears release

  Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions nears release

  Any comic book fans in the house? If you're looking for a game for the weekend, you might want to check out Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions. It's out this Friday, and we haven't had a chance to take a really good look at it yet, so here goes.

  Activision's latest take on the famous Marvel webslinger sees Spidey split into four, as he chases after an ancient artefact that has opened a rift between worlds. What this boils down to is four separate story campaigns threaded into the central narrative, as you play as a quartet of different takes on the classic character.

  As the Amazing Spider-Man, you'll be able to get used to the game's basic web-swinging and arcade brawling controls. Spider-Man 2099 mixes things up somewhat with a futuristic Spidey who can slow down time to avoid enemy attacks. Ultimate Spider-Man, however, sees Parker don the nasty black suit and revels in far more extreme combat, with a rage meter that allows you to unleash real damage. Finally, Spider-man Noir dials the date back to the 1930s, and offers a monochrome spin on stealth which sees you zipping through the shadows and toying with your foes. Nasty!

  Spiderman: Shattered Dimensions will be hitting the Xbox 360, PS3, DS and Wii.
  

• Spiderman: Shattered Dimensions Review

  Here come the Spider-Men

  Spiderman: Shattered Dimensions represents a departure from recent Spidey games. While it ditches the liberating open world formula of past titles for a more linear gameplay experience, there are some thrilling sections along the way and there’s still plenty of variety. By allowing you to don the suit of different versions of the web-slinging hero across four alternate universes from Marvel lore - The Amazing Spider-Man, Spider-Man Noir, Spider-Man 2099 and Ultimate Spider-Man – the game provides nice changes of setting and pace, as well as unique Spidey skills to boot.

  Fantastic Four

  Your goal is to recover the Tablet of Order and Chaos, a stolen magical artefact that has been shattered, sucked into different dimensions and ended up in the hands of multiple villains. Retrieving the fragments one at a time involves zipping through the four worlds, each of which comprises of three acts filled with henchmen and punctuated by boss battles against supercharged villains including Doctor Octopus, Deadpool and Kraven. Fail in your mission and all the parallel universes will be destroyed.

  The four Spider-Men are both similar and different. While their basic movements are generally the same, as are their combo-heavy attacks and web-swinging controls, each has its own unique features.

  Spiderman: Shattered Dimensions is still a slick package with lovely visuals, some inventive set pieces and standout combat moments.

  The Amazing Spider-Man plays like a classic action game, Spider-Man Noir is largely stealth-focused, Spider-Man 2099 serves up some great futuristic free-falling sections, and Ultimate Spider-Man goes a bit mental when the Symbiote suit he wears comes to the fore. The game also has a neat upgrade system that allows you to unlock power-ups and new moves by completing different tasks within each level.

  Our favourite worlds are Spider-Man Noir and Spider-Man 2099. The former, set in 1930s Depression-era New York, is the most visually striking and offers some of the game’s most inventive levels. It introduces a stealth mechanic that sees you leaping from perch to perch and hiding in the shadows before dishing out silent but deadly takedowns Batman: Arkham Asylum style.

  On the other hand, at times Spider-Man 2099 plays out like a mini racing game as you free-fall through the spaceship and skyscraper-filled skies of New York on the trail of the Hobgoblin. This universe’s Spidey can slow down time too, allowing him to take out goons in slo-mo, which offers some laughs and nice visual flourishes.

  Can Spider-Man come out to play?

  Spiderman: Shattered Dimensions’ worlds and different Spideys may be diverse, but the level design can grow formulaic - defeating waves of enemies to progress to a boss fight, then beating up more henchmen to fight the same boss again sometimes ends up feeling a little too predictable.

  But while history may repeat itself across different universes, Spiderman: Shattered Dimensions is still a slick package with lovely visuals, some inventive set pieces and standout combat moments that offer something for all action fans, and particularly for Spider-Maniacs.

  GAME's Verdict

  

  • Four different Spideys, each with different skills.
  • Great production values.
  • Plenty of Spider-Man fan service.

  

  • Can be a bit repetitive.
  • Occasionally poor camera.
  • No multiplayer.

  Review by: Tom 'Web Slinger' Ivan
  Version Tested: Xbox 360
  Review Published: 23.09.10

  Published: 23/09/2010

• Marvel's Deadpool gets his own game

  Deadpool, Marvel's crimson clad assassin, will be starring in his own game in 2013, Activision has announced. The game is being developed by Half Moon Studios, currently putting the finishing touches to Transformers: Fall of Cybertron.

  Famous for his sarcastic banter and habit of breaking the fourth wall to address the reader directly, Deadpool's reputation as the "merc with a mouth" suggests that the game will be played for laughs rather than the gritty seriousness of most superhero games.

  Deadpool will be voiced by man of the moment Nolan North, best known as Nathan Drake in Uncharted. This isn't the first time North has played Deadpool - he also voiced the character in Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions and in the animated movie Wolverine vs Hulk. The script for the game is being penned by Daniel Way, who has been writing the Deadpool comic book since 2008.

  The Deadpool game was unveiled at the San Diego Comic Con with a short teaser trailer which found the motormouth mercenary arguing with himself, gunning down dozens of enemies in gruesome style and poking fun at Wolverine.
  

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