Swinging around Manhattan as Spidey on lightning-fast strands of web has always been fun, right back to the days of the original Playstation.
But, lots of Spider-man games later, it takes something special -- snazzy new moves, fantastic visuals, terrific story -- to make it worth shelling out for a new release.
The game tie-in to the latest Spider-man movie promises some of this: but do the Nintendo DS or Wii versions live up to the hype?
In a word, no.  Which is a pity, because this was a perfect chance to revitalise the game series on the back of the rebooted movie franchise.
Graphics? That was never going to be a selling point for a Wii or DS game, they can't match the HD beauty of 360 or PS3 versions, but even the Nintendo machines can do better than this.
Story? It's after the movie's climax, when a gang of mutant creatures are loose on the New York streets, and it feels like Spidey is mopping up villains that weren't interesting enough for the film.
Moves? Welcome to "Web Rush" which allows Spidey to cross Manhattan faster than before, but it doesn't add much.
Gameplay? Not brilliant, but not bad either; pretty simple once you get used to the various combos; a mix of gang brawls and boss fights.  The
On both consoles the game is fun in short bursts but not gripping, challenging or particularly satisfying.
The Wii version is only worth buying if you like Spider-man and don't have one of his games on another console; the DS version is a better bet, similar to a host of other simple beat-em-up arcade games but with the webby twist.
David Knights