With no big screen outing for Spidey until 2007, Activision and developers Treyarch have decided not to wait for another film tie-in, and so GameCube gamers get another chance to do whatever a spider can!

Last year's Spider-Man 2 was well-received by fans, with Treyarch and Activision dispensing with the disappointingly linear style of the original movie game in favour of a free-roaming virtual city that players could explore at their leisure – a kind of 'Grand Theft Spider-Man'. Spider-Man 2 also fixed many of the original game's serious flaws, including the notorious “webs can attach to the sky” gameplay. No other Spider-Man game has so accurately captured the physics of flying over and through famous New York landmarks and skyscrapers.

With Ultimate Spider-Man, the first thing that hits you is the different graphical style – the 'realism' of the movie tie-ins is gone, replaced by the distinctive style of the Ultimate Spider-Man comic books through “3D Comic Inking Technology”. The overall effect is not unlike the cel-shaded look of games like Viewtiful Joe, with colourful graphics and chunky black outlines. It certainly looks impressive, as if the characters and details have come straight out of the page. Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley, who were responsible for the original comic book series, provide the story and graphics for the game. The story takes up where their comic books left off, and follows Spidey's continuing battles with Venom. Peter is 15 years old in this version of the comics, and so the storyline is slightly different from the movie tie-ins. The game will provide further insight into the relationship between the two characters, Peter Parker and Eddie Brock, and their fathers, who were partners in inventing the original Venom suit.

Ultimate Spider-Man retains the gameplay of the previous Spidey outing, and promises more manageable environments (the game now includes the neighbourhood of Queens, Peter Parker's home, but is scaled down overall) that are full of new missions and challenges. Indoor sections, which were somewhat fiddly in previous games, have been removed. New York, as before, is full of citizens in distress, only this time their level of distress is indicated by a meter which runs down from green, yellow to red, indicating the level of peril. In keeping with the current interest in playing dual roles, such as in the forthcoming Prince of Persia: Kindred Blades, the real gameplay hook in this title is the ability to play as Spidey's arch-enemy, Venom. Eddie Brock's alter-ego is all about brute strength, and can use cars and other items as weapons. He doesn't have the web shooting ability of Spider-Man and so he makes it from building to building with giant leaps. As Venom, you need to replenish your energy by feeding civilians into your suit, which is an interesting approach!

All in, Ultimate Spider-Man looks like it will keep web-heads happy until Spider-Man 3, with unique visuals, story-driven gameplay and all the fun of zipping around New York City that characterised the last game. With the ability to play as the villain this time, Spider-fans and GameCube gamers can also cause as much destruction as they like! We'll have more on Ultimate Spider-Man in the run-up to its September release.