Two crime fighters

Spiderman 2
Rating: MA15+
Producer: Activision www.activision.com/microsite/spider-man

Competition

The Gamesman has a copy of Spiderman 2 (XBox) and True Crime – Streets of LA (PC). E-mail your entry, one only, to ADFgamesmen@telstra.com with the name of the game you would like to win in the subject line. Please include your full name and mailing address in the e-mail.

There’s just something about slinging web and swinging from buildings that screams cool points.

Do whatever a spider can? Oh, I think so and just a bit more. Patrol the streets and skies of a living, breathing Manhattan, scaling buildings, slinging webs, fighting crime, and confronting villains, including Doc Ock.

You can go wherever a spider can in the city that never sleeps. Voice overs provided by cast members add to the realism. Basically, the storyline follows the film – a good thing – and you can fling endless amounts of web at buildings, objects (aircraft are good fun) and even baddies.

Running up walls, swinging on flagpoles (be wary because the AI is familiar with pendulum physics) and solving random crimes are all in a day’s work as you blaze through New York.

It’s the first superhero game that challenges players to interact with ordinary citizens and embark on missions designed to protect them.

You can even upgrade your spidery abilities by successfully protecting pedestrians. You have true freedom as you can scale the city from bottom to top whilst fighting all the latest villains.

I mentioned before cool points – how about disarming opponents, blinding enemies, web multiple opponents, rodeo up to four enemies and bring down the sledgehammer?

You can even lift opponents in the air, swing them around and then come at them in a vertical attack.

The only disappointing thing about Spiderman is the fighting mechanics – it is not smooth or realistic. Flashes on the screen represent strikes on opponents – very 1960s cartoonish.

If you can ignore that short fall then you’ll dig doing what a spider can – taking down baddies.

True Crime – Streets of LA
Rating: MA15+
Producer: Activision www.truecrimela.com

Make no mistake, this is a big game with hard driving, furious fighting and intense gun battles.

Activision are a favourite among XBox gamers and PC gamers have not missed out with this gem.

You are Nick Kang, a rogue cop and part of the Los Angeles Elite Operations Division founded to protect the citizens of LA at any cost.

There is a brief training schedule before you step onto the streets and dictate your terms to the people of your choice.

You are in charge of your own destiny, as you can choose to solve crimes in an ethical manner or blatantly disregard collateral damage to punish whomever you wish.

Cruise through 240 square miles of LA and “borrow” cars, drive-by shoot or run down criminals in an effort to clean up the streets – all to the sound of the latest hip hop songs (depending on the car you steal).

Be careful though, as you can easily transgress the boundary of good/bad cop, cause civil unrest and become the target of random attacks by vengeful gangs.

There is intense car to car combat, brutal martial arts brawls and even multiplayer showdowns in 2-4 player modes.

If you enjoy car chases, spectacular stunts, fighting, first-person shooting games without much thinking and strategy, then this is your game.

I personally have it on XBox and regularly revisit the game to “cruise the streets”.