Spider-Man: Web of Shadows is a breath of fresh air in many respects, but needs a good breeze in others. The smooth combination of RPG and acrobatic combat is most welcome, but the developers lengthened the plot by inserting thug-killing filler missions that create some unintentional boredom. The inclusion of Heroes is nice, but it feels like they're unlocked almost randomly, and they really don't ever need to be called. The graphics are a nice blend of cel-shaded appearance and real-world character models, but the fast camera is hard to control at times and actually gets in the way of maneuvering through the big, open world. In short, Spider-Man: Web of Shadows feels like a game that takes two steps forward and one and one-half backwards, eventually leading to a game that only Spidey's most staunch supporters will deem a "must own" title.
