Generally speaking, the Marvel Comics legend Spider-Man has always done reasonably well for himself in the world of video games. That trend continues with the latest team-up from Activision and Treyarch in Spider-Man 2. Though the movie-themed game bites off a little more than it can chew with its attempt at an open-ended design, it gets a few key mechanics right and gives you just enough things to do to offset what would have otherwise been a pretty short, simple game. It's still worth checking out as a companion piece to the movie, even though its terrific first impression doesn't hold up throughout the entire length of the experience.

The main mechanic that makes Spider-Man 2 worth playing is the way you swing around the city. The game offers an optional simplified control scheme for easier swinging, but it's worth getting used to the more complex standard swing mode, because it's really the best part about the entire game. Spider-Man 2 gives you a large rendition of Manhattan to freely roam around in, and swinging from building to building--which looks convincingly similar to Spidey's thrilling webswinging sequences from the movie--is a good deal of fun all by itself. Your movement options make exploring the city entertaining for a while--even if the things you do outside of simply exploring don't really end up being all that exciting.