Spider-Man: Total Mayhem

Spider-Man: Total Mayhem – If your spidey senses aren’t tingling about this then you need to get bitten by the bug!

It’s not very often that a game makes a critic speechless, and although this hasn’t quite happened on this occasion (as you can see), it’s really terrific!

OK, there’s been nearly too many Spider-Man games of late and yes, some are good but let’s face it some rely a little too much on the big budget movies to make them a success and wouldn’t stand up as a game on their own right. Thankfully this isn’t the case on this occasion and I can only hope that this starts to be a trend!

Anyway getting off my soap box for a moment and getting on with the review; Spider-Man: Total Mayhem is a really entertaining web-slinging fun title. Movement is managed by a ‘joy-stick’ type control under your left thumb, meanwhile the action controls are achieved by using the appropriately logoed button on the bottom right side of the screen. Punch, jump and web slinging are the main three buttons you will see. However, as the game progresses through the level you will have a variety of actions which will appear on screen which you can either use or ignore as you desire. The flashing spidey-sense will be triggered when facing multiple opponents or big bosses for example. Triggering this special ability will enable you to pull off a slow motion manoeuvre that will leave your opponents stunned and more than likely, kissing the dirt. As for the super special move, once you have done enough combos your power bar (below your health bar in the top left) will become full and when you tap this, you will unleash a blistering attack upon your opponents worthy of the big screen.

Some cut away scenes do away with these buttons entirely and you must simply move a button in a certain pattern to avoid being struck.

The graphics are slick and appear to be lifted straight out of the comic book. Unfortunately unlike the animated shows the mouths don’t move but this is something which can be glanced over in the light of the script and action.

In short, by moving around, jumping about and hitting everything you can, you will be climbing walls, throwing enemies, swinging from place to place and performing some wicked moves which will keep you playing for quite a while. This game is quite steep to buy but it’s a well polished article and certainly blows away a lot of the competition. Simply put, you really should get this game.

Rating: 92%

Positives

Smooth graphics

Entertaining plot

Excellent action

Different difficulty modes to master

Negatives

Moving around is quite sharp but sometimes a little tricky to do right

Thumbs could need plasters from all the frantic tapping

Sometimes the camera angle and having your hands in position prevent you from seeing opponents

Due to the position of the action keys - the menu button can easily be triggered losing your progress – really frustrating!