Spider-Man: Web of Shadows First Look

While it may be a while before we see another Spider-Man movie, Activision and Northern California-based developer Shaba Games are teaming up to give fans of the superhero something to help pass the time, Spider-Man: Web of Shadows. The new game features an original story drawn from Spidey's comic roots, which offers considerably more material to work with than a film. We visited Shaba's San Francisco-based offices to get an early look at a work-in-progress version of the Xbox 360 game to find out what sort of trouble the webhead has gotten himself into this time.
The game's original story appears to steer clear of the polarizing Brand New Day story arc that's been going on in the comics and focuses on Spidey dealing with a big mess. His arch nemesis Venom is back, and this time, the symbiote-powered villain has figured out a nasty new trick: infecting civilians to create clones of himself. Our friendly neighborhood hero is a bit slow to catch on, so before you know it, the city and its residents are under siege. The level of threat presented by the symbiote infection leads local law enforcement to call in SHIELD to help get things under control. Unfortunately, the counterterrorism and intelligence agency's solution is a mixed blessing: Manhattan is quarantined and cut off from the outside world, leaving those inside to fend for themselves. The good news is New York is fairly overflowing with heroes (and more than a few villains); the bad news is recent events have left the city in chaos resulting in a hefty "to do" list for Spidey. To save the day, Spidey will have to assist SHIELD in evacuating the uninfected, as well as work with both heroes and villains to fend off the symbiotes. He'll also have track down Venom and figure out how to undo the symbiote infection running rampant. If all that wasn't enough, Spidey has a bit of extra incentive to deal with the symbiote infection problem: He's been reinfected himself. While this makes for an epically bad day for Spidey, it's fertile ground for the game's premise.