Spider Man Web of Shadows is the first action game above an E rating
that I have played in a while.  With 2 young boys, the chance to play a
more action packed, complex (and violent) game doesn't come up all of
the time.  But, I am glad I stretched the limits with this one.

First you have to get the swing of things- literally.  The first stage is
basically to train you on the various moves of the web slinger-
like battling villains and yes, web slinging.  It took me a while to
get used to shooting a web, swinging along and then letting go before
forward momentum stopped and the swing started to go in the opposite
direction.  Quick movements with the Wii Remote kept me slinging,
swinging and finally advancing around the city to various people and
places requiring Spidey's attention.

One great aspect of this game is the Spidey sense- it lights up the villains who are hiding in the shadows.  Always
good to see what is lurking in that dark alley before you head down
that path.  Also, you can switch from Red-Blue Spider Man to Black
Spider Man to take advantage of attributes of both (like super strength
when wearing the black uniform to be able to toss cars around).

Game play follows a story line so in between missions and events the story
plays out with the standard characters and villains.  Completion of
missions and the earning of points allow you to buy special abilities
or enhance attack or defensive tactics and attributes.  Graphics are
good for a Wii game and gameplay is well defined and easy to follow.

I guess I am old school in that I have trouble using controllers with 30
buttons and various joy sticks.  The Wii controller use in this game is
fairly easy and intuitive.  Once you get the hang of it, it is fairly
easy to move around, fight off the enemy and track down points in the
city.  Character viewing options aid in climbing walls and swinging
from roof tops.  And even more helpful is the guidance you get from
other characters and on screen displays as you take on new challenges.

Overall I found this game fun to play and less challenging to control as I thought it would be.  The gameplay was challenging but not overwhelming.  And, the character interaction was realistic but not over baked.  The game is rated T for Teen so I recommend it for gamers but not the young ones.