The 2000 Spider-Man video game was one of my favorite games growing up, right before I got my Nintendo GameCube. I had the Nintendo 64 version, but I later regretted not going with the PlayStation version, since it had at least one extra level, presumably thanks to storage space, given that a PlayStation CD holds a lot more data than an N64 cartridge. I also don’t think it was officially tied to the 1994 cartoon, though you’d swear it was.
If I’m not mistaken, this was actually the very first 3D Spider-Man game ever made. So the developers essentially had nothing to build on beyond the general idea of Spider-Man himself. It was Neversoft behind it, and from what I’ve heard, they built it on the same engine used for the Tony Hawk games, which sounds surprising at first, but looking back, actually makes a lot of sense. Regardless, they nailed it, because this game genuinely made you feel like Spider-Man. Swinging across the city felt fantastic, and they wisely kept it simple rather than forcing you to actually aim your webs at real buildings the way the real Spider-Man would have to.
The game was also packed with Easter eggs and references pulled straight from the comics and the show. There were tons of unlockable costumes, and I always preferred swinging around in the black suit. Nearly every notable Spider-Man character imaginable made an appearance, along with plenty of broader Marvel cameos, including The Punisher and Captain America.
I was also thrilled to see Black Cat show up, since I’ve always considered her one of the sexiest and most underrated characters in comics. I’m genuinely glad Marvel Rivals has reignited interest in her lately, because she hasn’t gotten a proper adaptation in ages. And while this version differs a bit from her ’90s cartoon incarnation, it’s close enough in spirit.
I was also a little surprised to see Venom included, though he functions more as a rival than a full-blown villain here. You’d think they’d have saved him for either the final boss or a sequel, but they came out swinging right from the start, and honestly, it worked really well.
The final boss was actually pretty clever. Doctor Octopus serves as the main antagonist throughout most of the game, but the true final battle is against Carnage. When the symbiote gets knocked off Cletus Kasady, it ends up bonding with Doctor Octopus through sheer bad luck, effectively creating a brand-new supervillain on the spot. It wasn’t the greatest final boss fight ever designed, but I still remember it fondly.
I was genuinely disappointed that the sequel ended up as a PlayStation exclusive. Even though I technically had a way to play it, I felt a bit slighted by the whole situation, kind of like my reaction to Soulcalibur III, and ended up skipping it out of quiet protest. Though from what I heard, Spider-Man 2: Enter Electro wasn’t particularly good anyway, so I didn’t feel too bad about missing out. Still, this first game clearly gave Activision a strong foundation to build on when the time came to develop games based on Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man movies with Tobey Maguire, and those turned out pretty solid too. But if I had to pick my all-time favorite Spider-Man video game, it’s still this 2000 one, hands down.