Review by: Jeff McAllister

Spider-Man seems like he’d be the perfect videogame superstar considering all the traits he features: the web swinging, the super villains, the acrobatics, the smart-alecky comments – and while Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions manages to get all of those things right it still somehow manages to be a dull and at times boring game.

The game starts when the mysterious Tablet of Order and Chaos is broken into pieces by the bumbling Mysterio during a midnight break-in and gets scattered across the various four dimensions; 2099, Noir, Ultimate and the current dimension known as Amazing. Immediately after the fact, Madame Web pops up out of the blue and tells you that you and your other Spider-Man counterparts will need to retrieve the pieces to make things right again. Incredibly enough, every single one of the pieces has been found by a super villain and it’s up to you and your arachnid brethren to get them back.

The main focus of the game is, as the title suggests, the different dimensions and the Spider-Men that inhabit them. While the Amazing dimension is your regular run of the mill Spider-Man universe that we all know with the red and blue wise cracking webslinger, the Ultimate Universe is the next closest to normality in which Peter Parker still wears the black symbiotic suit and has the ability to unleash its fury with a Rage Mode that lets the suit go on a rampage for a short period of time. The 2099 Universe features Miguel O’Hara as the wall-crawling hero who has the ability to slow down time using Accelerated Vision. The Noir Universe features the most unique setting in that it is a Spider-Man set in a 1930’s style, using stealth based attacks and takes place exclusively at night with a ghoulish undertone to it.

The idea of the four dimensions is an interesting concept, but unfortunately the actual gameplay found within overshadows the various backdrops. Shattered Dimensions redefines repetition. In just about each and every one of the 12 levels you will follow the exact same formula. You will begin with back and forth banter with the boss, or stalk them from afar, and then proceed to spend the rest of the mission chasing after them. Along the way you will have to brawl wave after wave of enemies, hit a check point, rescue a specified number of civilians, beat up some more random schlubs, rescue more civilians and continue until you reach the boss at the end. When you finally do, each battle has a first person sequence where you will dodge an attack and then proceed to pummel the snot out of each bosses face with jabs and uppercuts. The first time you experience this aspect of the game it is both startling and comedic, but after the fifth boss, it loses its pizzazz.

If the unrelenting repetition wasn’t bad enough, you can also add an abysmal camera to the mix. If you thought the Green Goblin was a mean son of a bitch, he doesn’t have anything on the camera. For the most part it acts normal and responsive, but the second you land on a wall and start to climb, all hell breaks loose. The camera also poses a problem in the Noir levels where you need to have it positioned in a specific spot to target enemies. As you turn the camera to see the enemy, it has a habit of moving on its own, returning to its original position, it’s infuriating.

The combat is pretty straight forward and well crafted with numerous combos and moves to upgrade. Holding the left trigger is your dodge and while it’s held, Spider-Man will automatically avoid incoming attacks by bending and twisting, but when a more powerful foe attacks, Spidey’s spider sense will flare up like head stink and you will need to manually dodge out of the way.