Comic-book inspired movies are all over the place lately, and it's only inevitable that you're going to see their "popularity" bleed over into videogames. The quality of the titles released based on comic book movie licenses has been hit or miss, so it's refreshing to see a developer going a bit against the grain, and rather than pulling material from the movie, they go right to the source. Such seems to be the case with Treyarch's latest endeavor, the upcoming Ultimate Spider-Man. Instead of taking the pop-culture familiarity that the Spider-Man movies have fostered, Ultimate Spider-Man is going back to the basics and taking the appeal of the web-slinging superhero and making a title that is a videogame first, and a brand licensed title second.

Ultimate Spider-Man is set among the events surrounding the origins of the classic Spider-Man nemesis Venom. While pulled mostly from the archives of the comic's storyline, Ultimate Spider-Man makes a few twists by modernizing the story in a way that the character and life of Peter Parker doesn't seem as dated as a story told today. Whether or not this will have a detrimental effect on the title really can't be safely stated without playing through the game in its entirety, but it can be safely said that this one has a flavor all its own. All characters and settings have gotten quite the revamp, and though it's quite the gutsy move, on a skin-deep level most of them still have the familiarity fans are expecting while at the same feeling fresh.

The first thing gamers are going to notice about the game is the art direction, which really is quite incredible once seen up close. The game literally looks like a living comic book. Cells and panes come alive in the cut scenes (stylized in a great comic-book fashion) as the story progresses, and every element of the world you interact with looks like it's right off the page. Treyarch doesn't consider the game a simple cell-shaded endeavor. Honestly, it has to be handed to them, because if you do want to lump the graphical elements of this title into a cell-shaded game, it really looks like nothing ever seen before. Half of the fun sitting down with it was taking in how thorough the artistic elements of the game truly are. The characters, buildings, the sky; it all just feels like an incredibly cohesive and vibrant world.

Gameplay is incredibly similar to Spider-Man 2. Spidey has the freedom and flexibility to swing his way all over Manhattan and Queens, with similar controls to Spider-Man 2. The game is structured predominantly as a mission-based venture, with the little hidden trinkets and nooks and crannies to explore. The game feels just as open-ended as the previous movie-inspired game, except this time a greater amount of detail and area has been crammed into the area in which the game takes place. New York is an enormous city in real life, and it feels just as massive in the game. Treyarch claims that there is so much to do in the core game alone that the speediest run completing one hundred percent of objectives runs to at least twenty four hours. From the sheer size and magnitude conveyed in this game after being with it for only a short time, it's definitely believable.

One of the coolest elements that really have Ultimate Spider-Man sticking out is the ability to play portions of the game as Venom. Playing as everyone's favorite symbiotic villain is a treat indeed, as Venom is equipped with some attacks and abilities that are stronger and just plain nastier than anything at Spider-Man's disposal. Venom can jump, attack with tentacle whips, pick up and throw enemies and trucks, even absorb the life force of hapless victims to replenish his health (a rather gratifying procedure, as he quivers and writhes while feasting on victims the victims trapped within his suit, only to spit their used and empty shell of a body back onto the ground). No complaints there. Sadistic is good.

Controls and mechanics are definitely important, especially in a title like this one. Right off the bat, he web slinging and building scaling take a bit of getting used to. The control layout feels a bit awkward at first, but is consistent and fluid enough to be learned easy enough after a bit of time spent with the game. Combat is decent, and though incredibly similar to the combat in Spider-Man 2, it has more depth and complexity and quite a bit more variety in the moves you can pull off. Both Spider-Man and Venom also have their own feel and personality when it comes to moving them around, and while their abilities in regards to slinging and crawling are similar, both possess a flavor all their own.

Ultimate Spider-Man is poised to deliver as a pretty impressive title for both Spider-Man fans and gamers in general. Having spent some hands on time with Treyarch's latest has shown that you can still make an incredibly decent title with a license and not have it mired and convoluted by trying to satisfy everybody at once. As things stand right now, Ultimate Spider-Man feels and plays like a great game that should be accessible to anyone looking for some traditional comic-inspired action (die-hard fan or otherwise), so intrigued gamers had best keep their eyes fixed here and check out our review when this title is released later this fall.