Forlorn Spidey has nowhere to sling his webs

by Alisha Karabinus { May 7th 2007 at 5:25PM }

No wonder Spider-Man 3 got such mixed reviews on the Wii version of the game -- someone forgot to finish the graphics. We can't think of any other possible explanation for something this atrocious.

What's going on here? How can this be considered acceptable ... and how can anyone bestow even a middling-good score on such a sight? We love us some Spider-Man and all, but this game would have to be the best thing ever (moreso even than sliced bread) to wrangle an 83%. Maybe we're just pickier than most, but this looks like a sign that not only is there something wrong with how some third-party Wii games are being handled, but maybe the review system isn't all it's cracked up to be, either.

[Via Digg]

Tags: 3, activision, graphics, image, nintendo, screen, spider-man, venom, vicarious visions, VicariousVision, wii

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

AJ Vaynerchuk @ May 7th 2007 5:36PM

Everyone I have talked to has said the game is pure garbage! This is a major PASS.

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Okane @ May 7th 2007 5:51PM

What the hell, just to think that i was thinking of getting this game. It looks horrible!

Fortyseven @ May 7th 2007 6:03PM

I *just* rented that this evening. I haven't put the disc in yet, however. This should be good for a laugh. And then a punch through the wall.

Joseph Elwell @ May 7th 2007 6:43PM

I am reminded of a scene from Super Paper Mario Brothers.
"I love going on message boards and complaining about games I've never played!"

AhrenBa wrote a review about a product he's never played. You can already see more astute comments on his blog like so, ". I just picked up Spiderman 3 for the wii on May 5th and the graphics are NOT as bad as those screens. Play the game before you curse it out."

I think it's safe to say that AhrenBa is a GEEK.

A side note, is this even news? Most LICENSED games are crap. Developers pay tons for a quality license and then don't have any money left over for development. This is just par for the course people. Maybe it sucks, but it's not new.

shep133 @ May 7th 2007 6:46PM

This is not from SP3 on the Wii! There are no word bubbles...

Ahren @ May 7th 2007 6:51PM

@Joseph Elwell

I can appreciate your views, but please remember, I did not write a review of the game, but simply reinstated IGN's thoughts on the graphics. I showed the screenshots and posted their review score, but in no way wrote my own personal review. I was simply commenting on the screens that IGN provided.
-AhrenBa

Kenny @ May 7th 2007 6:53PM

So wait, you're giving the game a bad review because of screenshot?

Ahren @ May 7th 2007 6:56PM

@Kenny

My point was that I did not review the game at all, but simply gave my views on that screenshot...nothing more. That is the reason I linked to the IGN review. I trust their scores, and hoped that you guys could read up there for a detailed perspective on the game.
-AhrenBa

Mr Khan @ May 7th 2007 7:37PM

I've heard that the game is graphically sub-par on all the levels: the PSP2Wii level, the PS360 level, the DS level

all bad i've heard

who was responsible for this game, again?

sphetr2 @ May 7th 2007 8:25PM

You know what- I happen to like bad graphics.

Seriously, though, is there anything wrong with this game besides the graphics? If not, I'll actually pick it up. Big spidey fan here.

Nick @ May 7th 2007 8:40PM

..whats worse is the spelling of 'shoot' on that screen.

Ahren @ May 7th 2007 9:01PM

@Nick

I noticed that also. I thought it was pretty funny! :) Unless the grammer/spelling is on the same level as the game's graphics? Just kidding... :)
-AhrenBa

Shadow El @ May 7th 2007 10:14PM

.whats worse is the spelling of 'shoot' on that screen.

It's an internet joke. There's a picture of Spidey from the old comics with his hands at his shoulders and head tilted to the side, asking, "How do I shot web?"

I DUNNO LOL

Kenny @ May 7th 2007 10:36PM

Except... you did review it:

"How can anyone bestow even a middling-good score on such a sight? We love us some Spider-Man and all, but this game would have to be the best thing ever (moreso even than sliced bread) to wrangle an 83%."

Sounds like a review to me.

Ahren @ May 7th 2007 10:43PM

@Kenny

Oh! I see what you were referring to now! You were talking about this NintendoWiiFanboy article (I am not with NWF), and I was referring to my own article at GameNation (the picture links to it) that Joseph Elwell was complaining about. That is my mistake, sorry about that.

Soiden @ May 8th 2007 1:11AM

Is there a review system? I think the reviews are totally subjective, and don't have any structure. Those numbers mean nothing [to me].

Joseph Elwell @ May 8th 2007 2:56AM

@Ahren
You called Spiderman 3's graphics "Inexcusable", yet you've never played the game. I hope you caught my GEEK reference, because it is fitting.

I have not played the game either, so I can't say if the graphics are good or not. While it might be true that the graphics are as bad as the IGN screenshots you are still a certified GEEK for complaining about gameplay graphics for a game you've never played.

Steve @ May 8th 2007 10:23AM

Those graphics look terrible! Every picture I've seen from the game looks terrible too. You'd think that after Ubisoft set the bar so low that a company like Activision wouldn't have any trouble reaching it.

Is there a sound reason the graphics are so bad? Does the game contain such an enormous game world that the Wii's weak hardware wouldn't be able to handle a large environment with a lot of detail?

Pawsie @ May 9th 2007 7:07AM

my only beef with the game is the fact there seems to be a glitch.. when you do a mission that require going to the police, there's not always a police person there.

It 'could' be a glitch.. considering sometimes a real police person is right there. But besides that I enjoy the game. though the graphics does suck majorily

Pawsie @ May 9th 2007 7:12AM

though to be honest.. GTA SA had problems like that.. and no one complained too much about it.

Though I can see how the controls can be a problem.. but after getting use to them and learning how to really use them (like the C nunchuck steering), it became playable.

blasphemizer @ May 9th 2007 12:02PM

Oh well the game couldn't possibly be worse that the movie. Unless Venom still has the voice of the guy from that 70's show. I mean c'mon how can you take him seriously, big scary monster little wienie voice.

Discosis @ May 12th 2007 8:48AM

I wonder if there's something amiss in the middleware that developers are using to get their games out in time on multiple platforms.

Perhaps its not the developers of the game that are at fault here, but that developers of whatever system they've used to port Spidey 3 to the Wii.

Perhaps thats a problem in general with third party releases? It's been noted elsewhere that we just don't see these problems with first party games. Maybe Nintendo needs to talk to the middleware developers and/or get better SDKs out there?