" Once (if) you do, the world is your burrito. "

      Title: Spider Man by Activision

      Format: Adventure game for the Dreamcast

      Reviewing Monkey: Chimpan-A

      The Hype: You heard all your Playstation ownin’ friends talking about it, now you can play it too. The wall crawler comes over to the Dreamcast in this action packed, web slinging’ adventure.

      What This Monkey Thought...

      Graphics: The characters look great; the comic book feel was captured quite well. The polygon count may be a little lower than you might like, but otherwise it’s still a good-looking game. The backgrounds are a little dull, but not distractingly so. Things can get a little confusing in close quarters, but it’s not often. 4 out of 5

      Sound: The sound effects are great. The web slinging sounds awesome, with even the empty cartridge sounding appropriate. Guys make the right sounds when you wack ‘em upside the head, as do the rest of the creatures. The fist sounds are a little generic, but okay nonetheless. The music is pretty sparse, but is decent (with the exception of the old school spider man theme song that plays over the opening, and the end credit theme. These are the essence of cheese). It’s nothing to write about, but won’t disturb you either. The voice work is all great. The villains are comically over the top, and spider man is witty as always. 4 out of 5

      Game Play: What can be said about the web slinging fun to be had in this game? Spidey’s combination of web attacks and straight up fisticuffs are a lot of fun to play with. Of course, later on, when those web attacks do nothing, things can be a little frustrating. The controls are a little hard to deal with when you’re crawling along the walls. Having your control scheme suddenly change right under your fingers can be both frustrating and deadly. All of this falls by the wayside, though, as you leap out over a gully between buildings only to gracefully shoot a string of webbing and swing to the next one. It’s a great feeling. Especially when you can beat the hell out of a baddy when you get there. 3.5 out of 5

      Level and Environment Designs: The level design is pretty good. The city levels are great for web slinging, giving a great range of freedom in the path to take, and the ability to swing from building to building. The other levels are still well done, and laid out well. The environments are a little on the dull side, but they are all appropriate for their medium. 4 out of 5

      Multiplayer: Nope, sorry. Maybe a Spider-man death match with the game characters? I call Carnage! N/A

      Replayability: This game has got more extras than a 6th street "massage" parlor. Comic book covers, character descriptions by Stan "the Man" Lee, bonus costumes, all to be unlocked through game play. There’s enough to keep you coming back for ages. 5 out of 5

      Story/Dramatics: The story is very much a comic book story. Considering the medium, that’s not at all a bad thing. Centering on mysterious technology thefts, masterminded by a secret criminal *coughDocOckcough *. You’ll get to meet all your old favorites along the way, Rhino, Mysterio, Punisher, Captain America, Venom, and Carnage. A great job all around. 4.5 out of 5

      Instructions and Learning Curve: It will take a long time to get used to the controls changing with the viewpoint. Once (if) you do, the world is your burrito. Remembering which button makes which web power activate may give you a pause or two as well. The instructions tell you the moves, and generally give basic advice. Otherwise it sits there and looks pretty. 4 out of 5

      Installation and Real System Requirements: A good showing for the Dreamcast’s capabilities. It’s not the most pushing thing I’ve ever seen hit the system. Still load times are decent, and I didn’t notice any slowdown, even when things got really hectic, so it’s doing well. 4 out of 5

      The Verdict:

If you missed it on the Playstation, grab it now. The game play is great, although you may have to put up with a few frustrations now and again. Once you get the hang of everything, there’s a really awesome game here. Tons of extras, and that great comic book feel make this a game to own.

      The Good: The Wall Crawler is here and he’s slingin’ web like no tomorrow, awe yeah.

      The Bad: Some wiggy control problems.

      The Overall Ugly: If you want a cool adventure game, here you go. And featuring your friendly neighborhood Spider-man to boot!

      What it's Worth: Market