GameShark | PlayStation 2 | Previews

Ultimate Spider-Man

When it comes to putting on a good show at E3, Activision rarely disappoints. The world's first third-party video game company is still going strong and brought their latest wares to show to the eagerly awaiting masses of fans. And while time did not allow me to see all of Activision's games, what follows is a look at some of the biggest titles the company will be offering.

One of the most impressive games at the show was without a doubt Call Of Duty 2, the PC World War II game series that pretty handily displaced EA's Metal of Honor series from the top of the WWII heap. The level demonstrated was a recreation of the Pont Du Hoch cliff assault by US Rangers on D-day. The demo looked beautiful, with incredibly immersive audio and graphics and fluid gameplay. It felt about as close as I'm ever wanting to get to a massive furball of a firefight. The really great news is that console players can also get their hands on CofD2. Activision has plans to release an Xbox 360 version at the same time as the PC version. The PC version is scheduled to ship this fall. Do I hear Xbox 360 launch title?

Spider-Man fans will definitely be looking forward to Ultimate Spider-Man, a new game that is based on the 2000 comic that started the entire Spider-Man mythos over again from the start with a more modern slant. One of the cooler things in this game is the ability to play about 40 percent of the story as Spider-Man's nemesis Venom. Spider-Man will be web-swinging his way through Manhatten and his home area in Queens. The game played very smoothly with excellent attention to using the super powers of the characters. (That is of course what we're all looking for in a superhero game, right?) The graphics look almost exactly like a comic book. Activision calls the new graphics engine they are using on this game 3-D Comic Inking. We should probably think about it as the next step beyond cell-shaded graphics. This engine dynamically varies the outlining thickness of characters, giving them that meticulously hand-drawn look that defines a comic book. Players on PC, Xbox, PS2, GameCube, DS and GBA will all be getting a version of Ultimate Spider-Man in September of this year.

Enemy Territory: Quake Wars

Another superhero game coming from Activision is Fantastic 4 ?a game based on the soon-to-be-released summer movie. Now don't go running away and screaming yet. Remember that Activision published the excellent Spider-Man 2 movie game. In this case the game is a third-person perspective, team game in the same vein as X-Men Legends. The player, alone or with another gamer in the co-op mode, will use all the powers of Reed Richards, Sue Richards, Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm, also known by their alter egos Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Girl, Human Torch and the Thing, as they battle Dr. Doom and his minions. This title will see store shelves in time for the movie and versions will be available for the PC, Xbox, PS2, GameCube and GBA.

Speaking of the popular X-Men Legends, Activision has created a sequel: X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse. This game allows plays to choose from 16 classic X-Men heros and Brotherhood villains to assemble their team of four adventurers. Outwardly not a great leap forward from the original game, this title will be available for Xbox, PS2, GameCube, PC and PSP this fall.

It seems the Tony Hawks skateboarding franchise is getting a little bit long in the tooth, but the game still attracts its share of fans so Activision has once more trotted out a new version of the game for 2005. The look of the game is no great shakes over its predecessors, but it gets the job done. What is great is the way Activision has done away with the loads between areas and created one massive level that is a skateboarder's fantasy version of Los Angeles. A story mode that has the player's character collecting items from the city to build a giant skate park is at least a good reason to play beyond just getting a huge score for tricks accomplished. The game also allows the player to use BMX bikes rather than skateboards on the entire level, should they wish to. Set to grind into retail this fall, Tony Hawk's American Wasteland will be available for Xbox 360, Xbox, PS2, GameCube, DS and GBA.

Call of Duty 2

Finally there is the small matter of Quake 4. Yeah, small like an 800-pound gorilla. Quake 4, while the baby of id Software, is being developed this time out by Raven Studio. It is the continuation of Quake 2's story of an alien invasion by the biomechanical Strogg. Once again the player fights the Strogg, but this time he is with some persistent AI companions in a squad setting. When I say ?ersistent,?I mean that these aren't just cookie-cutter jar heads who are just around for a while, these companions actually stay in your unit and develop a little personality along the way. Of course there is the usual variety of over-the-top weaponry and, since it is a post-Halo shooter, there are vehicles for added mayhem. Based on the Doom 3 engine, naturally the game looks great. With id Software probably looking over Raven's shoulder every step of the way, you can bet it plays pretty well too. And it would not be Quake if it did not have a very robust multiplayer mode in the final version. At this point it is looking good and it should easily make its fall 2005 launch. We can also hope the announced Xbox 360 version will make that system's launch.

As always, Activision did not disappoint show goers. They showed an impressive lineup of AAA titles. With luck all will make their 2005 ship dates and we'll be happily playing come the holidays.

Activision E3 Media