After 18 years and with SpiderMan 2 just around the corner, there is no better time to look back at a classic SpiderMan game!

Edited by Playstayshaun
Shauns Twitter:   / playstayshaun_  
Shauns YouTube Channel:    / playstayshaun  

Support the channel:   / thatboyaqua  
Follow my Twitter:   / thatboyaqua  
Join the Discord:   / discord  
Other Essays:    • Video Essays  

Ultimate SpiderMan was released 18 years ago. Feel old yet? The early 2000s were a great time to be a spiderman fan. We received two excellent games from neversoft, a solid movie tiein game for the newly released Sam Raimi directed SpiderMan, and its sequel SpiderMan 2 solidified itself as the best movie and game in the characters history for years to come. The next SpiderMan game would have a lot to live up to, and in the case of Activision's next SpiderMan title, they would already be at a disadvantage. Their new title was not tied to any mainstream film under the same name, and rather an, arguably more niche, comic book run. As we approach the release of Marvel's SpiderMan 2, there is an ever increasing chance that we will see the greatest portrayal of Venom in a video game. So to refresh our memory let's look back at what I believe to be the best video game portrayal of Venom in one of the better SpiderMan games; Ultimate SpiderMan. And of course, spoilers ahead.

SpiderMan 2 broke the mould in many ways for the wall crawler, and Ultimate SpiderMan aims to refine the fundamental advancements made in that game, while also moving in a new direction. The result is a game that succeeds in many areas, fails in some, and most importantly, has such a sense of identity that it has become timeless. After 18 years, Ultimate SpiderMan is still one of the greatest SpiderMan games out there, with its largest flaw being just how little of it there is. This is a SpiderMan game that is mechanically dense, but prioritises quality over quantity to a detrimental degree, which these days seems backwards to many. Personally, I would prefer a game to be short and sweet than long and boring, but this discussion means nothing, because we can’t buy the game. Due to Activision losing the licence to their SpiderMan games, they can no longer be sold, which means getting your hands on this game is impossible. Of course, pirates are still able to access the game with ease but I won’t condone any of that.

Ultimate SpiderMan takes place within the Ultimate comic universe, and while at first being a canon story likely taking place in between issues 71 and 72, the plot of the game was later reworked and adapted to issues 123 to 128, so this game is in a strange limbo between canon and non canon. Regardless, while having the backstory of the comic series will further contextualise the plot here, it is not needed to understand the simple story. Keeping with its comic book roots, this game boasts a unique visual style that looks like a playable comic all the way from its cel shaded art style to its cutscenes which feature comic panels, onomatopoeias, and other visual styles that are otherwise associated with comics. This allows the game to have an identifiable visual flair that ages at a snail's pace.

Something important to note about Ultimate SpiderMan is that it is building off of the precedents set in SpiderMan 2. It has enough to separate itself, but this game does not get the same slack SpiderMan 2 got because it is not the first to attempt an open world with physics based swinging and organic city events. Now in a poorly made SpiderMan game this would be a problem, but this is no ordinary SpiderMan game, and that is visible through every single frame. The visual style of Ultimate SpiderMan is timeless.

SpiderMan is one of my favourite characters whether its Peter Parker or Miles Morales, both of which are Spiderman and Ultimate SpiderMan to me. The Ultimate Spiderman game which is discussed in this Ultimate SpiderMan review is one of the best games from my childhood. This Ultimate Spiderman review will look at Ultimate SpiderMan 18 years later, and see if 18 years later, it still holds up. This Ultimate SpiderMan retrospective will be of the game and not a comic Ultimate Spiderman retrospective. While we will never get an Ultimate SpiderMan 2, we can at least look forward to SpiderMan 2, and if there never is an Ultimate Spiderman 2, then maybe we can hope for an Ultimate SpiderMan remaster, as an Ultimate Spiderman remaster would make me lose my mind. This is one of many SpiderMan reviews on the That Boy Aqua channel, and this Ultimate SpiderMan analysis will not be the last review before SpiderMan 2, which may be the best SpiderMan game. I'm excited for the new SpiderMan game, and I hope you are too.