The quality of Spider-Man’s games has been as wildly uneven as the quality of his comic books. Sometimes he’s seen amazing triumphs, like when he defeated the Juggernaut single-handedly, or when the Spider-Man 2 game released to great critical acclaim. At other times he’s hit dizzying lows, like the Genesis beat-'em-up Maximum Carnage, or the storyarc where Peter Parker sold his marriage to the devil to save his elderly aunt. Fortunately, Spider-Man: Edge of Time is closer to the former category, albeit with a few hiccups.

- Spider-Man 2099 is brutal, whereas Amazing Spidey is quick and lithe -

Quebec-based developer Beenox, creators of last year’s surprise hit Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, has again given us a unique approach to the wall-crawler. The story in Spider-Man: Edge of Time, written by comic book legend Peter David, has the present-day Peter Parker working with Miguel O’Hara, the Spider-Man of the dystopian year 2099. The evil time-traveller Max Sloane plans to kill Peter and change history, so Miguel is communicating with his predecessor from the future to steer him (and the universe) away from that fate. The result has the two Spideys arguing back and forth as they fight in parallel, with Peter’s idealism conflicting with Miguel’s cynicism.

The player, on the other hand, controls only one Spider-Man at at time, while the other chatters in their ear. Unlike many previous Spider-Man games, this is a linear title that has the two wall-crawlers racing desperately towards their shared goal. Some players may be turned off by this approach, but in practice it makes the game more intense, especially when one Spider-Man has to save the other. For example, one mission might have Miguel being strangled by a giant robot, forcing Peter to dismantle the machine in the past under a harsh time limit. If you suspend your preconceived notions of what a Spider-Man game should be, you can enjoy Edge of Time as a straightforward action title.

Combat is also fun and frenetic, and both Spider-Men are impressive fighters. Peter has a variety of moves that use his web-shooters to great effect, while Miguel relies on his genetically-engineered talons and high-tech armor. Both characters can be upgraded with Golden Spider tokens, scattered across the levels. One significant problem with the combat in Spider-Man: Edge of Time is the limited range of enemies, as you will be fighting the same types of goons again and again. Fortunately, the enemy armies get stronger, and the diverse combo moves keep combat interesting. These sequences can also be replayed in the challenge missions, which increase the difficulty but offer extra content like costumes and in-universe documents, extending the game’s replay value.

- The interplay between past actions and future consequences is interesting -

Fans of Spider-Man should not hesitate to purchase Edge of Time, as Peter David’s script is exceptional, the veteran voice actors deliver it excellently, and there are countless nods to the comics’ history (most notably the video game debut of Anti-Venom, a villain who mixes his homicidal rage with darkly comic self-righteousness). Gamers less obsessed with Spider-Man might also want to take a look, as Edge of Time is a fun action game with an entertaining story.

However, the Wii version is probably the weakest on the market. The graphics are severely reduced, with crude textures that would only be passable on the PS2. And the controls suffer from the transfer to the Wii’s Nunchuk configuration, which maps important moves to the awkwardly placed buttons and obnoxious controller-waggling. It’s still a good game, and suffers less from the Wii downgrade than most multiplatform titles, but Spider-Man: Edge of Time needs to be experienced on more powerful consoles.

GameDynamo's Score for Spider-Man: Edge of Time (Wii)

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