Spider-Man: Friend or Foe

Spider-Man: Friend or Foe melds the world of the Sam Raimi trilogy of Spider-Man films with the amalgam of comic-book and license lore of Spider-Man: The Animated Series, and provides players with a campy and fresh look at our favorite web-head and all his villains.

When cornered by his rogues gallery of villains from the film trilogy, Spider-Man and the New Goblin (Harry Osbourne), our hero is rescued by Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. who enlists his help in stopping a mysterious villains using the symbiote that gave Venom is black spider suit. To do so, Spider-Man has to team up with his villains and defeat PHANTOMS with the aid of other heroes and villains he collects along the way.

Prior to this installation, the Spider-Man games gained notoriety when they used the film licenses to create an open New York for players to travel through, which makes a button-masher like FOF seem like a quick cash-in that relies on memorable names and nostalgia from fans. While some faithful fans may enjoy fighting alongside Blade or Doc Ock, this game has more to offer.

This two-team beat-em-up lets players control Spider-Man while leaving their partner, either friend or foe, to be played by another player or the game's AI. With a competent friend, players can perform combos to take out large enemies and find power-ups scattered on different boards to help them clear the screen of enemies in one motion.

Co-op goes even further, allowing players to pit Spider-Man or any other character against the other's choice of hero or villain in a versus mode that challenges their skills learned throughout the campaign. This is a good addition to what the game has to offer, as players might feel bogged down by the number of enemies they'll encounter on their way to boss fights and unlocking new allies. This combined with how easily they fall can make the campaign feel like busywork between the presented fights.

Spider-Man: Friend or Foe has no intentions of trying to woo players looking for a tough experience for seasoned gamers. This is a game that knows that its a decent time sink with characters many fans of the comic book have been wanting to play as for years. Going in with mild expectations and a desire to see the superhero team up of their dreams is the best way for gamers to enjoy themselves with this title.

Pros:

-Veteran cast of voice actors

-Robust and varied cast of playable characters from comic book and movie lore

-Couch co-op

-Engaging boss fights

-Combat trees and upgradable moves

Cons:

-Clearly designed with the younger crowd in mind

-Most of the campaign is repetitive