Review: Spider-Man Shattered Dimensions

Platform: PS3 (also available on Xbox 360/Wii/DS)

Developer: Beenox

Publisher: Activision

# of Players: 1

ESRB Rating: T (Teen)

Official Site

Score: B

Once you get used to its quirks, Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions is one of the more fun superhero games you'll play this year. After a couple of years of mission-based open world Spider-Man games (with Web of Shadows being the best to date), Activision and developer Beenox have smartly decided to shake things up by letting everyone's web-slinger have at it in a new game featuring a more tightly focused selection of stages, four very different art styles and an overall sense of flair that permeates nearly every part of the game. Some camera issues (that can hopefully be patched) make wall-crawling a bit frustrating in spots but overall, the game can be a ton of fun to play and no cakewalk at all thanks to some great boss battles.

Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions Launch Trailer

Does this game look Amazing or what? Spectacular, I might add. Could this be the Ultimate Spider-Man game? Have you gotten tired of the the too darn obvious Spidey-related title puns in this post? OK, I'll shut up now - The game still looks Fantastic, though (oops, wrong franchise!)...

Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions Scorpion/Juggernaut Vignettes

Two more vignettes from SMSD showing off the great visuals and a bit of fun first-person beat-'em-up action (which works very nicely as a pre-boss battle mini-game, by the way).

Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions - Vulture Vignette

Here's a quick peek at a bit of Vulture shock from Activision's upcoming Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions. My hands-on preview is going up shortly. Let's just say that Quebec-based developer Beenox can really rock the consoles when they get the chance to cut loose and have fun.

Preview: Spider-Man Shattered Dimensions Hands-On

Activision's Spider-Man titles have swung high and low over the past couple of console cycles, but the upcoming Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions just might be the ultimate Spider-Man game. Gone are the overly large open-world maps and timed balloon rescue missions, yet levels are definitely big enough to play around in and have a blast with. The four distinct art styles look spectacular and although each Spidey here has the same move set, the different time periods will have players taking a more stealthy approach in one era or going at enemies full-tilt in the next. Canadian developer Beenox has finally gotten to stretch their wings and go all out in terms of visuals with the results coming together into a dynamic, amazingly fluid game that Spidey fans new or old will want to jump right into.