Amazing Spider-Man video game review

Fans have been hoping that a new Spidey movie might reinvigorate the video-game franchise. But while Quebec-based developer Beenox has given The Amazing Spider-Man some new tricks, it still feels a little threadbare.

Moviegoers beware: The game takes place after the events of the latest film, and it blithely spoils a couple of major plot points. The upshot is that a few more human-animal hybrids (like the movie's villain, the Lizard) have escaped from the labs of Oscorp Industries. Meanwhile, robotics whiz Alistaire Smythe has shifted Oscorp's research focus, creating an army of mechanical behemoths to take down the mutants. Spider-Man, being somewhat of a hybrid himself, is stuck in the middle.

Spider-Man's duels against Smythe's robots and familiar comic-book villains like the Rhino, the Iguana and the Scorpion provide the noisy, somewhat predictable spectacles you would expect in a superhero game. But the main story also includes missions in which Spidey has to infiltrate various Oscorp facilities. You need to carefully plan your attacks here, taking out Oscorp guards one by one so they don't gang up on you. The game play is reminiscent of Batman: Arkham Asylum, but it's frequently marred by awkward camera angles that make it difficult to spot your enemies before they spot you. -- AP

RATING T for Teen

PLOT It's you against Alistaire Smythe

DETAILS Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, $60

BOTTOM LINE Spidey falls a little short