Spider-man: Web of Shadows

What can I say? Spider-man is probably the best Marvel superhero...I mean, everyone knows about him, and practically everyone likes him! His powers are awesome, his villains interesting (mostly), and he's actually a fairly believable character...if you look past the whole superpowers part. The guy has real problems and moral dilemmas, as well as a general failure at social interaction. In other words, Spider-man is the everyday man's hero on a grand scale.

Getting to the review. Web of Shadows is a sandbox game, or an open world game, where you travel the city to stop crimes and see all the majesty of a scaled-down New York City in CG in complete freedom. In a sandbox game you are not limited to roped-off levels; instead, you're able to go from one side of the island to another and beat up people to your heart's content. There are story missions, which you activate by entering a glowing circle or talking to a hero/villain, but there are optional missions you can pick up and do in the meantime. Sure, you have to do missions in order, but there's so much you can do between them. What makes it better, you ask?

You are Spider-man. With web swinging, wall running, and massive agility you can basically zoom across New York and hand gangs, armored troops, and symbiotes their asses with effortless ease. Why? Because for all missions, optional and story, you gain experience points with which you can buy new additions to your moves. One might be an extra swing in your combo, the other might increase its damage.
What's better is that you have two forms: regular Spidey and Black Suit. The differences are mostly number of hits vs. physical damage to begin with, but after you supe up each suit, you'll find the Red Suit is a combo master with aerial proficiency, whereas the Black Suit utilizes symbiote tendrils and hits way harder.

The story's ok, so I won't go into it here; I'd rather you experience the story, but I will say there are multiple endings depending on if you make Red Suit (nice - hero) or Black Suit (aggressive - villainous) decisions. Ultimately only two decisions you make matter, but the game has subtle changes depending on what you do and which suit you really choose to play. Of course, you can switch between the two at any time with the press of a button (analog button), so don't worry about being limited to just one.

Overall, this game is actually really fun. It has its flaws, and if you're not a big fan of bright, colorful, nerdy series' you might want to stay away; however, if you want to play a nearly perfect sandbox game, put aside Grand Theft Auto IV and pick this up.