Spider-man 3 (by Activision, for Xbox 360, rated T, 2 1/2 stars) On the silver screen, Spidey may be dealing with his inner darkness for the first time, but those of us who’ve played Activision’s last three Spider-Man video games have dealt with the web-slinger’s dark side before. That dark side consists of lackluster melee combat and a stubbornly disorienting camera, and these blemishes have clung to the series like a sticky alien symbiote that just won’t let go.
Like its predecessor, this title lets you spin your web in an open-ended New York City, and utilizing the powerful next-gen hardware, the city limits extend further than ever. Soaring between skyscrapers still offers the best thrills in the game, but sooner or later, you have to accept that whole “With great power comes great responsibility” thing, which means less recreational web-slinging and more repetitive, button-mashing battles. And even though you no longer have to thwart countless armored car robberies just to reach the story missions, you’ll find plenty of generic bad guys to wear out your thumbs and your patience in the story missions themselves.