By Kevin "Berserker" Hall

Not to be mixed with the more recent Spider-Man games that have been released, Spider-Man: Friend or Foe is a light-hearted stage-by-stage beat'em up. Whether this is for better or for worse, it really depends on the player. Those expecting a gigantic city with multiple missions will be disappointed, but those that would like a decent brawler might find some fun here.

Disaster strikes several places around the world and Spider-Man is called in by Nick Fury, agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. to put a stop to this new menace. Spider-Man joins up with several of his enemies and allies while traveling from place to place in order to stop this new threat. Altogether there are 14 playable characters - 3 are playable from the start (Spider-Man, Silver Sable, Prowler), 10 are unlocked from advancing through the various stages, and 1 is unlocked after completing the game.

Spider-Man starts each stage with a chosen partner and that partner is either CPU-controlled or can be controlled by another player if a second player is available. Just about all characters feel different and have different moves, so it is fun to experiment with other characters besides Spider-Man - Doc Ock uses his metal tentacles to attack, Blade uses his sword, Green Goblin has pumpkin bomb attacks, etc. Spider-Man is still the main focus however and, good lord, he is cheap as hell once he has been powered up. Normal enemies really don't stand a chance against the web-slinger once he is fully powered.

Each character has basic combos, a few special attacks, and about 4 different grabs. A super move can be launched once a certain power-up is gained. The game switches to a cutscene of Spider-Man and his ally performing the super move as each super is launched then everything on the screen ceases to exist as chaos ensues - think of an over exaggerated Capcom fighter super move or a Final Fantasy summon spell.

Characters can be upgraded by collecting tokens that are spread throughout each stage. Enemies dispense tokens much like Kingdom Hearts' enemies drop munny. There are also a few hidden items that can be found within each stage that will unlock extra art pictures or open up a new VS arena for two-player mode.

The game itself spans across 5 areas and each area contains four stages. Yes, the game is rather short! In each stage, Spider-Man will team up with a chosen partner of the player's choice and fight their way through multitudes of baddies. The enemy setup basically repeats itself per area. Though the enemies change appearance, their attacks differ only slightly. Just about every enemy is a punching bag waiting to be hit.

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