From the moment I saw the commercials, I hated the animation style. To me, cell-shading doesn't say "comic book". You want to see what a "comic book" game looks like, take a look at the classic Maximum Carnage. THAT looks like it came out of a comic.
When I got the game, my opinion of it didn't improve. Spider-Man 2 really set the bar for any future free-roam Spidey games, and this one falls far short. NY is reduced by HALF so they could add Queens. The buildings look like crap and the streets make no sense so they could add Ultimate locations. One thing I did like was the inclusion of additional NYC landmarks, although I'd rather not at the expense of all the others.
The comic panels were fine in moderation, but in EVERY FREAKIN' CUT-SCENE?! They got INCREDIBLY annoying. It's a comic, we get it, move on. I hated when they did that for the Hulk movie, and I hated it here. The city missions are the same as Spidey 2 (with the addition you fight Shocker and Boomerang every so often) but the boss fights really suffer. The vast majority of them include some kind of chase followed by a battle where you have to use your useless spider-sense (which doesn't respond anywhere near as effectively as Spidey 2) and they can be very easily beaten. No real challenge at all.
Spidey can't grab, Spidey can't throw, and there are no upgrades for the kind of web attacks you can do. Swing maneuverability has also gone the way of the dodo. Venom can grab AND throw, and has the strength Spidey is missing even if he can't swing. The only other negative is you need to constantly eat people when you play with him to recharge your health yet when you fight him his health stays full all the time.
Bendis' dialog is funny at times, but the story falls as flat as most of his padded out Ultimate issues. Frankly, Spider-Man 2 is your best bet to own. This game? Rent and return it.
