Not even nearing release yet, Spiderman: Friend or Foe has already garnered backlash from the Spiderman contingent; being labeled 'too childish', and 'simple' for the hardcore fans. Though representatives of Activision insist it's a game for everybody, it's very apparent that the stimulus of production was an audience of younger children. Developed by Next Level Games, Spiderman: Friend or Foe is a typical Marvel beat 'em up that we've grown to expect, baring resemblance to predecessors Marvel: Ultimate Alliance and the X-Men games. However, there is a twist this time around...

Mysterio, a classic bane in Spiderman's existence, finds a fragment of the Venom symbiote. Using it, he creates an army of teleporting 'Phantoms' that bare odd resemblance to Venom himself, understandably. In a hurry, Spiderman soon discovers that all of the foes he ever knew have been brainwashed with an amulet and instructed to rid of Spiderman once and for all. As the game is heavily inspired by the motion pictures, you must travel to various locales to thwart various villains; the likes of Doc Ock, Green Goblin and Sandman, and in doing so, remove the mysterious amulet freeing them from Mysterio's spell. As a result, they'll then join you on your trek to put an end to Mysterio's reign. Aw, making friends. It's great values, isn't it kids?

Being directed primarily at kids, the developers appear to have decided to make the game look like a 'Before They Grew Up' cartoon. It's cute at first, seeing supposedly ominous villains flying around looking like trick or treating Rugrats, but then you actually look at what you're playing. If I were to only write about the introductory cut-scene, I'd have nothing but praise, however, what follows is not pleasing to the eye. As aforementioned, Friend or Foe bares similiarities to previous Marvel outings. Visually however, Friend or Foe looks more like an Xbox game than anything. While their cuteness makes up for it, the characters, allies and villains, look very bricky, like knock backs from LEGO Star Wars auditions. The playable levels in the demo are also void of detail. Luckily for developers, kids care about graphics just as much as the soundtrack.

You know what they always say; 'graphics aren't everything'.

Fans of the beat 'em up style from previous games, especially Ultimate Alliance, will no doubt find mindless enjoyment in Friend or Foe, as it plays very similar, if not almost identically. Beginning the demo as Spiderman, you're also granted to one ally to use on your quest for justice. For the sake of keeping it's goods under wrap, the demo only gives us a choice of Venom and the Green Goblin. At any desired stage of play, you can press the Y button to change between Spiderman and your chosen ally. As far as the combat goes, it's your standard Marvel beat 'em up affair. Four buttons designated to do everything you need, basically. Jump, attack, grab and switch characters. However, you play as frantically as me, all you'll use is jump and punch. As we've grown to expect from Marvel games, that horrible sensation of linearity returns. Much like Ultimate Alliance, you'll find yourself on a platform fighting a swarm of drones, with nowhere to run. However, as you pick off the last one glitching behind a barrel, a conveniently timed bridge extends out, providing advancement for you.

Coupled with the basic combat commands; punching and kicking. You have the ability to collect power-ups, which you're free to use at those dire stages where you may actually be prone to damage. The power-ups included in the demo are 'Mega Damage', 'Invincibility', and a 'Team Power-Up' move that'll make short work of mostly anything you're up against. And if Friend or Foe couldn't be any easier, objectives are spelled out to you by either narrative commentary from Spiderman, or a voice-over that guides you. Not only that, the voice blatantly disperses sure-fire strategy for success in boss battles, such as the one in the demo (whom is Doc Ock, by the way).

It's with great pleasure, however, I make note that despite his smaller stature, Spiderman maintains his corny, quick-witted humour that fans of the comic, series and films have grown to love. All-in-all, the voice-acting seems quite on par with most Marvel games. Not only that, Friend or Foe's soundtrack consists of the typical epic scaled themes bellowed by an orchestra; and of course, this is more than fitting for the title. So on the ear, this game is rather pleasing.

Scheduled for release later this year, Friend or Foe does look like it'll be an entertaining Spiderman title for kids. However, I do believe it may end up staying that way. Friend or Foe lacks the substance to keep older gamers occupied, and I would guess that if older gamers would choose to play a Spiderman title, they won't hesitate to reach past this one to pick up Spiderman 3.

If you're interested in giving the demo a spin yourself, it's currently available on the Xbox Live Marketplace at a download size of 431MB.

Article by Brodie Gibbons.