Spider-Man: Friend Or Foe is a breath of fresh air. At first, it didn't look like the game would amount to much, as it resorts to a more "family friendly" approach than the movie-based Spider-Man 3 game that came out earlier in the year. Unlike that game, Activision and Next Level Games sticks with what makes the Spider-Man universe so enthralling in the first place -- the power of unpredictable possibilities.

In Friend Or Foe, a mysterious alien presence inhabits New York City, capturing Spidey and several other characters. With a little help from super spy Nick Fury, the web-slinger fights back, beating up thugs and reluctantly saving his fellow villains, brainwashed into doing the aliens' work. Upon their rescue, they become allies in Spider-Man's battle, adding themselves to the list of playable characters. Several allies drop by as well, including Blade and Black Cat.

Instead of relying on a drama-heavy backstory (or the presence of Tobey Maguire), Spider-Man: Friend Or Foe focuses on old-school brawling nature. And surprisingly, it works. Throughout each stage, Spidey and his partner beat the crap out of enemies that get in their way, be it thuggish simpletons or larger enemies that require strategy to defeat. There is also the option of switching off between the two characters at any time with the press of the Y button, introducing a fine teamwork aspect to the game. Spider-Man always remains the most balanced character, with numerous web attacks to fling enemies off rooftops or slam them to the ground with; that's not to say that Venom and Doc Ock aren't able to hold their own, however. The gameplay is very easy to get into, and somehow manages to stay fresh with constantly changing combo levels, which add new moves to the game and upgradeable abilities for both you and your teammates.