Spider-Man game putsplayer in middle of action

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Superhero and cartoon characters have become integral parts of the electronic entertainment industry. Around the world, youngsters and guys who can't get dates spend countless hours in front of their computers and video-game systems.

With this in mind, I salute the melding of pop-culture character and Silicon Valley with a look at some ...

Comics plugged in

n Marvel Comics' legendary web slinger returns to home entertainment consoles through the aptly titled Spider-Man 2 ($49.99). Activision teams up with Sony to deliver a free-roaming, third-person action game based on the current cinema hit by director Sam Raimi. The lucky owner of either an Xbox, PlayStation 2 or GameCube controls Spider-Man as he protects New York City's fair citizens from his various archenemies.

What's the story?: Two years have passed since the mild-mannered Peter Parker walked away from his longtime love Mary Jane Watson and decided to take the road to responsibility as Spider-Man. Peter must face new challenges as he struggles to cope with the gift and the curse of his powers while balancing his dual identities as an elusive superhero and college student. The relationships Peter holds most dear are now in danger of unraveling as he clashes with the powerful, multi-tentacled villain Doctor Octopus.

Characters' character: Activision goes above and beyond the call of duty in delivering an incredibly authentic superhero cinematic experience. Utilizing the vocal talents of the film's primary stars Tobey Maguire (Spider-Man), Kirsten Dunst (Mary Jane Watson) and Alfred Molina (Doc Ock), developing a physics-based, realistic swinging and web shooting game engine, and creating a virtual Big Apple -- including bridges, the Statue of Liberty and two memorial beacons where the World Trade Center towers once stood -- the game will completely immerse the player into Peter Parker's complicated life.

Spider-Man must work through 16 chapters of his life that require he confront such super villains as Doc Ock, the Shocker, Rhino, Mysterio and the alluring Black Cat while carefully amassing Hero points by performing rescues ranging from delivering an injured worker to a hospital in a set time limit to chasing down a stolen car filled with robbers.

He must also complete some fairly routine objectives, including taking pictures for editor Robbie Robertson at the Daily Bugle, delivering pizzas and meeting Mary Jane Watson for a movie.

His abilities perfectly mimic his sequential art counterpart with massive jumping, acrobatic swinging, wall climbing and the webbing of criminals chief among his crime-fighting arsenal.

My only gripe with the game comes in the on-screen, pixilated versions of the human characters, which just look terrible. Mary Jane especially bears no resemblance to her real life, gorgeous counterpart, and that's really too bad considering how perfectly this dynamic and activity-filled interactive experience delivers.