Last updated at 11:43, Thursday, 12 July 2012

WHILE the new Spider-Man film is better at portraying adolescent angst than super heroics, the videogame tie-in suffers no such shortcomings.

Spec Ops – The Line: A sandstorm-ravaged Dubai has been taken over by a rogue US colonel. You take on the role of Captain Walker who has been sent in to find out what’s going on.

Publisher: Activision

Price: £49.99

Format: PS3 (also on Xbox 360, PC, Wii, 3DS, DS)

Age rating: 16+

The Amazing Spider-Man: The Game is a non-stop assault on the senses, as everyone’s favourite wise-cracking web-spinner swings from one end of New York City to the other in a free-roaming adventure full of acrobatic fisticuffs and stealthy takedowns.

Set in the immediate aftermath of the movie, we’re wary of giving too many plot points away, in case you’ve yet to see Spidey’s latest big screen outing. Suffice to say, Manhattan is in dire straits, a number of cross-species monstrosities are terrorizing its inhabitants, an army of killer robots are on the loose and a deadly virus is sweeping the city.

Of course, none of that matters once you’re let loose in the concrete jungle, as you’ll be too busy marvelling at your airborne athleticism. It really is a blast to hold down a trigger button and watch Spider-Man shoot out webbing from his wrists and swing into action. The sensation of propelling yourself skyward is utterly mesmerizing, and undoubtedly one of the game’s highlights.

If cracking heads together is more your thing, the game’s combat elements are pretty solid. You can bash away on the attack button before launching into a well-timed takedown or, if you’re spider sense is tingling, press the dodge button to roll out of harm’s way.

Alternatively, if you favour a stealthy approach, you can attack from the shadows, dropping down on an opponent from the ceiling and encasing them in webbing. Either approach is effective, and you can spend experience points on new moves, a stronger web attack and increased resistance to damage, amongst other abilities.

Don’t expect to be battling a Who’s Who of Spider-Man’s most famous adversaries, as the roster is fairly limited. Recognizable foes include Rhino, Scorpion and The Lizard, but you’ll spend an equal amount of time trading punches with lesser-known villains such as Vermin and Iguana.

Sitting alongside regular missions are a bunch of additional tasks, including participating in races, rescuing infected citizens, clobbering petty criminals and collecting hundreds of comic book pages.

Although it’s disappointing that there are no co-op or multiplayer modes, the single-player campaign clocks in at a respectable 15+ hours.

It’s been 50 years since Spider-Man first graced the pages of Amazing Fantasy 15, and it’s great to find the web-spinner in such fine form. In short, this is the best Spider-Man game in years.

Score: HHHHI

Publisher: 2K Games

Price: £49.99

Format: Xbox 360 (also PS3, PC)

Age rating: 18+

CHANNELLING Joseph Conrad’s Heart Of Darkness via Apocalypse Now, this dark and uncompromising third-person military shooter is set in the near-future when a sandstorm-ravaged Dubai has been taken over by a rogue US colonel.

You take on the role of Captain Walker who has been sent in to the disaster zone to find out what’s going on.

While the single-player campaign’s set-pieces are par for the course, it’s the storyline that grabs the attention, dwelling as it does on the moral consequences of your actions and the horrors of war. It’s convincing stuff as Walker quickly loses his sense of what’s right or wrong and commits atrocities as grim as those he’s been sent in to stop. A suite of multiplayer modes rounds things off in a game that probably won’t gain the blessing of the Dubai Tourist Board.

Score: HHHHI

Publisher: Square Enix

Price: £9.99

Format: PC

Age rating: 7+

VIEWED from a first-person perspective, this enjoyable platform-cum-puzzle game puts you in control of a special glove that can warp the physical properties of the world around you.

You have four reality-altering powers at your disposal, each one having a different affect on various environmental objects, with the game’s physics-based puzzles built around this central mechanic.

You can make objects as light as a feather or ten times their normal weight, slow down the passage of time or reverse gravity, with a few easy puzzles accompanying each new ability, before you have to start combining them in later challenges.

Although the game is full of ‘Eureka’ moments when you suss out what you need to do to solve a particular puzzle, actually executing your plan is tricky thanks to some fiddly controls and the need for pin-point accuracy.

Score: HHHII

Publisher: Chillingo

Price: £0.69

Format: iPhone/iPad

Age rating: 4+

THIS super-quick reflex tester places you in control of a mechanical kitty, whose job is to feed electricity to a giant disembodied head.

To collect this electrical power you have to hop between four giant capacitors that are periodically hit by lightning, siphoning off energy simply by standing next to each one, which is then transferred to your big-headed friend. The trick is to tap your way across the screen, making sure you empty each container without getting hit by lightning.

A flashing white indicator precedes each bolt of lightning, giving you a split-second to take evasive action, but you’ve also got to make sure you drain enough energy from each capacitor, otherwise they’ll fill up and turn to stone. As levels progress, new capacitors and lightning patterns are introduced, while an endless ‘survival’ mode adds an extra challenge.

Score: HHHII

HERE COMES THE SUMMER: This year’s Summer Of Arcade line-up promises to be one of the strongest yet, with the download-only series getting underway on July 18 with the release of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD for 1200 Microsoft Points.

After that, Xbox 360 owners can look forward to playing Kinect-only castle crusher Wreckateer (July 25, 800 MP), zombie survival platformer Deadlight (August 1; 1200 MP), futuristic third-person shooter Hybrid (August 8, 1200 MP) and, finally, gorgeous hand-painted side-scroller Dust: An Elysian Tail (15 August, 1200 MP).

Look out for full reviews of all five exclusive Xbox Live Arcade games over the coming weeks.

GO LARGE: Nintendo has unveiled a supersized version of its popular 3DS handheld system. Dubbed the 3DS XL, it launches in the UK on July 28 at an expected price of £180 and comes with significantly larger screens, improved battery performance and a bundled 4Gb SD card.

Despite the redesigned casing, Nintendo hasn’t used the extra real estate to include a second analogue stick, which seems a bit of a missed opportunity to us. Also mystifying is the decision to launch the device in this country without an AC adaptor, which which will undoubtedly prove frustrating to new users.

NICE AND SLEAZY DOES IT: In an attempt to differentiate itself from other football management-style games, newly announced Lords Of Football puts you in control of both your players’ professional AND private lives.

Due for release on PC this summer, the so-called ‘football life simulator’ still challenges you to guide your team to league and cup glory, but you’ll also have to keep them out of trouble off the pitch. So as well as managing the tactical side of being a first team coach, you’ll need to deal with players turning up with raging hangovers, revelations in the tabloids, night club punch-ups and everything else associated with the seedier side of the modern game.

LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes Xbox 360: Pause the game, select the Extras menu, and enter ‘C79LVH’ to unlock Harley Quinn’s motorbike.

The Amazing Spider-Man PS3: If you want to unlock Spider-Man’s black suit, you’ll need to finish the game with a 100 per cent completion rate.

Metal Gear Solid: HD Collection PS Vita: Keep a ration equipped in your inventory, so when your Life Gauge drops below zero it’ll be automatically consumed, giving you extra time to fight back.

Asphalt 7: Heat iPhone: Equip at least one sponsor before each race to gain that all-important competitive edge.

First published at 11:08, Thursday, 12 July 2012
Published by http://www.whitehavennews.co.uk