The Spider-man Strategy Guide belongs on the shelf of every fan of the Web-head
by Michael Lafferty

Who are Herman Schultz, Adrian Toomes, MacDonald Gargan and Sergei Kravinov?

If you answered Shocker, Vulture, Scorpion and Kraven the Hunter, then you are among the Spidey faithful. Either that or you have entered the inner workings of Spider-man (The Movie) courtesy of Brady Games’ Spider-man Official Strategy Guide.

The guide is for PlayStation 2, GameCube and Xbox versions of the new Activision/Treyarch game.

Let’s get something out of the way right now: if you are a fan of Spider-man ­ whether it’s the motion picture, the new series of video games based on the movie, or the comic book icon ­ you will want to add this guide to your collection. Sure, it’s about the game, and it details how to progress through the various levels of the game, but it is more than just that.

The artwork in this game guide is nothing short of fantastic. Sure, there are a lot of screenshots from the game, but this guide also has Spider-man artwork that you won’t see in the game. Unfortunately there is no attribution to the talent that created the individual comic book-style action art.

The guide begins with some background information on the principle players in the game. More information is scattered throughout the guide, and you will find more information about Shocker in the walkthrough as you (Spider-man) prepare to battle him.

When it comes to the walkthrough, this guide assumes you have some idea of what you are doing when it comes to locations. Take, for example, the level known as Oscorp’s Gambit. The initial phase of the level has Spidey performing some aerial acrobatics for the camera and practicing on the dummy target. The guide assumes you know how to use Spider-man’s compass and height meter to guide you to the target, then proceeds to tell you how to attack it. These are lessons you will need to learn well, because everything you do will have practical applications shortly in the game.

This strategy guide also contains overviews of the levels (in addition to the walkthrough), with maps and difficulty ratings, conceptual art from the game’s design and mini question-and-answer interviews with those responsible for the game’s creation.

There are those who would never ‘sully’ their game experience by using a walkthrough, but this guide is more than just a game walkthrough, it is a Spider-man collectible and a delightful visual excursion into the world of both the game and character.

Obviously, because this is a game guide, the ratings have to be paired down to fit the occasion of reviewing it. Thus said, here goes:

Gameplay: 9
The walkthrough assumes you understand some of the primary elements/controls of the game. If you do, you will understand exactly what you need to do at each phase of the game.

Graphics: 9.5
This book contains a wealth of artwork, not only from the game, but stand-alone comic-book style illustrations of the Web-head in action, and conceptual artwork from the game’s design. A lot has been crammed into this guide’s 160 pages, but Spidey faithful can’t get enough of a good thing, and doubtless would have liked to see more.

Difficulty: Easy
While not every aspect of the different levels are explained in detail, there is enough information for those playing the game to figure out what to do. This is not thoroughly detailed information, but you will get the idea of what to do and how to do it. The guide also reveals locations of power-ups.

Concept: 9
This is chock full of info, and almost every aspect has been well covered. Colorful and designed for dynamic visual impact, this guide can be a bit overwhelming with the information all leaping from the page, forcing the reading to concentrate on what he or she needs to glean from the book.

Overall: 9
While obviously not for those who don’t like walkthroughs, this book can stand on its own as a collectible. It presents a quick overview of Spidey’s background, gives some insight into the making of a game like this, and gives fans more artwork to add to their collections. As a game guide, it does a solid job of explaining the nuances of the game, what to look for, where you should go if stuck, and how to defeat enemies. While some of the basic information is repeated, this still is a terrific adjunct to the game.

Buy the Strategy Guide here

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