And the lean All-Platforms List from pop culture trackers Chart Track begins with your friendly neighborhood Spidey, who according to the gamers at the UK, is sitting neatly on top of the list for the third week in a row. Multiplatform Spider-Man 3 actually owes it all to the PlayStation 3 and PS2 fans, especially to the recent release of the Collector's Edition.

It appears that the charts has been dominated by games available for the Nintendo Wii, however, with around five games from multiplatform releases and two as first-party titles. Electronic Arts' Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 takes its hat off to the gamers of the new-gen console, being noted as the biggest jumper in the list for this week - a clear leap from the 10th spot to number 6.

Microsoft and Sony bring around four games a piece, although the Xbox 360 keeps a single exclusive title with Realtime World's Crackdown. Crackdown is also this week's new entrant to the list, leaping in to the 8th spot from the 19th. Sony on the other hand has a collection of titles for the PS2, PlayStation 3, and the PSP on the list.

Sitting comfortably in number two for three weeks is Electronic Arts' Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars, raking in the advantages of topping both the PC and Xbox 360 charts in the region. Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer 6 enters the top three from the 4th spot. Office Create's Cooking Mama steps up from the 6th to enter the top five. Here's a rundown:

1. Spider-Man 3 (Activision)
2. Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars (Electronic Arts)
3. Pro Evolution Soccer 6 (Konami)
4. Wii Play (Nintendo)
5. Cooking Mama (Nintendo)
6. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 (Electronics Arts)
7. FIFA 07 (Electronic Arts)
8. Crackdown (Microsoft)
9. Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training (Ubisoft)

Aeropause never clarified from what source this tidbit came, only to say it was "gossip". But their report notes that this "gossip" claims that the reason why the Wii version of Spiderman 3 sucked was because the review copy from Vicarious Visions wasn't supposed to be the copy delivered to the reviewers.

"It was an early version of the game that was never intended to see the light of day." If this rumor's true, then someone at the Vicarious or Activision mail rooms didn't get the memo. Or it's a case of the unintended old switcheroo (moral of the story: properly label your discs. For example: you do not want your... um, night-time recreational videos to land in the wrong hands).

The more cynical might suggest that this is only a lame excuse (or worse: a bone for the hungry hungry critics to chew on). Still Aeropause's suggestion was that a reviewer ought to buy a retail copy of the game and do a side-by-sider with the review copy he or she has. Of course, that negates the entire perk of being a reviewer - free games via review copies - but the interests of truth and being fair to the game, and the developers, does mean that sooner or later, there will be a followup to this lead, either from Aeropause (who will be calling Vicarious) or some other reviewer.

That said, who wants to shell out money for the Wii Spiderman 3?

 

Activision's shares dropped by 5.2 per cent recently when news broke that their Spider-Man 3 title averaged only 73-74 percent when it comes to review scores. It can be recalled that their previous title scored 80 percent.

Despite the drop, a report on MCVUK notes that analysts are still confident about the title. Todd Geenwald, a Nollenberger Capital analyst has noted that Reviews are not as important for a movie-based game. He says that what's more important for movie based games is how the movie does in theaters.

As sensible as this bit of news is, this blogger can't help but feel a bit affected by it. Something about the implication on sales being more important than quality is er, discomforting. Not that Spider-Man 3 is a bad game, well maybe except for the Wii version, a 7 out of 10 on average just makes it so-so, not bad. Perhaps it's the sad truth in what Greenwald said: It doesn't matter if the game is just mediocre, as long as it brings in the bucks. Oh well, that's how things are.

Despite of the complaints regarding Spider-Man 3's graphics on the Wii, the multiplatform-swinging video game from Activision still proved to be the most wanted game at Gottaplay Interactive's Game Rental Charts.

Apparently, Peter Parker's charms have yet to fail him, and his bad boy alter-ego only seems to up his appeal even more. The "Spider-Man 3" movie spun its webs on U.S. charts last weekend, making history as it tops box-office records of its two previous movies. Said Gottaplay CEO John Gorst, "Our members have been waiting for months for this game. The activity we've seen during the past few days shows that fans are looking to immediately extend their movie experience on their consoles at home."

Spider-Man 3 is now out for the Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PS2, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo DS, and Game Boy Advance.

 

The movie was nice, the game seems to be okay, but the graphics for the Wii version of the game are uncomfortably absent. IGN's review of Vicarious Vision's Spider-Man 3 video game for the Wii has spawned quite a big fiasco over on Digg, as the Game Nation blog's AhrenBa lauded the sad state of Spidey for the Wii.

As IGN's review mentions, there are definitely some things lacking in the graphics department for the game:

While its sheer size is ambitious, the presentation and make-up of the environments are definitely not. The webslinger zips through blurry, unrefined city blocks that pop in and out of existence and are almost entirely void of pedestrian life below... no matter where you go, the area looks pretty much the same as the place you came from.

AhrenBa's entry probably echoes many sentiments gamers and reviewers had when they noticed these sorts of problems for their game: "I am sorry but, as a Wii owner, I am highly dissatisfied with the way developers are handling the graphics for Wii games. The PS2 version looks better than this, and we know for a fact that the Wii has more powerful hardware than the PS2."

How do you feel about it? Do you think some of your Wii games are getting sloppy treatment from developers just because they're Wii games? Let us know in the comments.

Spider-Man fans, here's another treat for you. Hot off the presses are two trailers for the Wii version of Activision and Vicarious Vision's Spider-Man 3.

Your friendly neighborhood Spidey is been out on the big screen and on all platforms, but we just can get enough of him. The trailers-slash-tutorial features two of the quick storylines of the title. One of which is the vendetta on the Daily Bugle where unknown villains have placed bombs on the building. The other one features some web slinging around the city, talking with informers and beating up various bad guys.

Better check out the Spider-Man 3 Wii videos to see what we mean. Enjoy!

The other video comes after the jump!

 

Activision has already launched Spiderman 3 in North America for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC, Nintendo DS, Gameboy Advance and Wii in North America. The launch was held in conjunction with Sony Entertainment and GameStop Corp at Studio 450 in New York last May 3. In addition to this, GameStop also held a midnight launch of the game on May 4 in about 300 of its outlets in conjunction with the movie release.

The different releases each offers its own spin on the much awaited film which shares the same name.The Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and PC versions of the game offers free-roaming with multiple movie- and comic-based storyline. City missions are said to be fully integrated into the games as well as stat upgrades which includes additional combat moves, increased agility, and improved speed.

The game is said to have a new combat system that includes suit-specific attacks and an expanded repertoire of air and ground attacks, finishing moves, and dynamic webbing. (We're not sure what dynamic webbing means but it sound cool.) You'll probably be needing all those new moves because there will be boss battles against villains from both the movie and comic versions.

The DS and Wii installments of the game includes free-roaming gameplay as well. Both versions of Spiderman 3 is said to have its own twist on the red and black suited Spiderman combat as well as two exclusive storylines with Shriek and Morbius.

The DS version incorporates the touchscreen in the gameplay for combat and maneuvering. Wireless multiplayer is also included in this version with multiple modes such as Target Practice,Brawler, Combat Challenge, and Hot Potato. The Wii game on the other hand utilizes the Wiimote and Nunchuk very well with both of them acting as webshooters in both travel and combat sequences.

Spiderman 3 for the Xbox 360 version is being sold for US$ 59.99, the Wii for US$ 49.99, the PlayStation 2 for US$ 39.99, and the Nintendo DS, Gameboy Advance, and PC versions for US$ 29.99 each. The console and PC platform versions have been given a T rating by the ESRB with the Nintendo DS and Gameboy Advance rated at E10+.

Buy: [Spider-Man 3 (Xbox 360)]
Buy: [Spider-Man 3 (PS3)]
Buy: [Spider-Man 3 (Wii)]

 

A lot of you folks should already be able to watch the "Spider-Man 3" movie in theaters, but for those who are yet to get their hands on the Treyarch-Activision video game Spider-Man 3, here's yet another batch of game-related excerpts from interviews with people involved in the development of the game. This time it's Senior Producer Ann Bunyik talking to the Firing Squad. Below are the juicier bits of it.

Things to expect: More story-lines, more missions that involve regular super-hero stuff (not just rescuing balloons), and a more non-linear feel to the game.

Things the developers are particularly proud off: The distinction between Spidey in the black costume and Spidey in the regular costume. That and their re-working of the combat system from the ground up.

Things they're thankful for: Sam Raimi and Sony for them being helpful with movie material and guidance.

Things they don't want to spoil for us: the other playable characters in the game. (What's revealed so far is that the New Goblin will be playable on the PS3 version.)

Well, that's that, what followed was your standard spiel on how the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the game really took advantage of next-gen power. Not really worth noting since you're expecting that from the game already, right? For the complete interview, feel free to head to the Firing Squad report by clicking on the Read link.

As expected, the game tie-in of the anticipated motion picture Spider-Man 3 is getting tons of attention from game fans across all platforms. Game rental chain GameFly reveals that rental requests for the week ending April 27, have poured in for the game, topping all other titles across the Sony PlayStation 3 and the Microsoft Xbox 360.

The Nintendo Wii, however, is a different story. Super Paper Mario had something to say about who's boss around there and held Spidey to second place. The red plumber from Nintendo explodes across two dimensions with logic-bending gameplay to thrill audiences globally into joining him in his trip across eight worlds.

Spider-Man 3 on the other hand, flags next-generation special effects and tells the story of Peter Parker's dark side. Missions are playable with the classic wen-crawler and the high-powered symbiote-costumed version. Of course, Sandman, Green Goblin and Venom will all be there to stop you in your quest for a normal life with the lovely Mary Jane Watson.

To see the rest of the chart-topping rentals, follow the read URL.

Video game retail outlet GAME seems to be gearing up for a big buyout of Activision's game adaptation of the "Spiderman 3" movie as their recent press release confirms that they're "expecting a huge demand for [the] game" and will be providing copies for all of their 400+ stores region-wide.

They will also be making limited stock of the Spider-Man 3: Collector's Edition for the PlayStation 3 available to interested gamers who want to also play as the New Goblin.

The special edition has been announced to be only exclusively available at GAME for Europe, but there is no official word to confirm it as yet.

The first and second game adaptations of Spider-Man have jointly sold an excess of 1.6 million and some analysts believe that Spider-Man 3 (for the PC, Xbox 360, DS, GameCube, PS2, PSP and Wii) will probably do just as well as both games did, if not better.

GAME pre-release data has revealed that 74% of the pre-orders for the game have been made through their GAME Reward Card, and that the pre-orders came from males aged 20-24 years old. The game is slated for a worldwide release on Friday, May 4, 2007, coinciding with the world premiere of the highly-anticipated movie itself. No word on the PSP version's release date yet.