The Spider-Man franchise is always juggling its two personas, much like how Peter Parker is constantly balancing his personal life with his crime fighting life. You've got the movie that likes to play the franchise a bit on the dark and serious side, while many of the Spider-Man cartoons play on the kid friendly side. Spider-Man videogames also juggle this double personality, choosing to be either one or the other. Spider-Man: Friend or Foe definitely leans more towards the kid friendly side of things, but overall it isn't a bad little game.

THE STORY SO FAR
Spider-Man is out doing his daily crime fighting when he is suddenly attacked by many of his most famous foes – Venom, Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, and Sandman. The tables are turned though when Venom looking creatures appear and make the villains disappear. Transported at the last second to SHIELD's headquarters, Spider-Man must work together with allies and unlikely ones too in order to find out who is behind these creatures and stop them.

The story is mostly told through pre-level CG cutscenes though some of the game's narrative unfolds in-game. The story of Spider-Man teaming up with his enemies to takedown a greater threat isn't exactly a new idea (at least in terms of looking at the Spider-Man comics) and there isn't a ton of progression besides watching Spider-Man move on from one level to the next.

The thing that is appealing and fun about the story, however, comes from the comedy that is often on display, letting Spider-Man get some memorable quips in, while letting even SHIELD's computer and Nick Fury get the biggest laughs of the game. SHIELD's computer is a bit on the sarcastic side, so it's hilarious listening to her describe levels or enemies you'll be fighting, and so these cutscenes were always welcomed and one of our favorite parts of the game.

If you want a serious (or just more in-depth) Spider-Man story then pick the comics up, but if you want a more lighthearted story that will at least appeal to the younger players, Spider-Man: Friend or Foe has a decent one to tell and one that will surely get a few laughs.

SINGLE-PLAYER: GAMEPLAY
The gameplay is ultimately what hampers the game and makes it nothing more than a romp only kids and perhaps diehard Spider-Man fans will enjoy. The sad thing about the gameplay is that the combat is actually quite fun, and would've been killer had the rest of the game used it better.

As Spider-Man you'll head to different levels to take your enemies down and help recover fragments of a meteor for SHIELD. SHIELD doesn't want you to have to go into these hostile territories alone, so they've got help for you – Silver Sable and The Prowler (truthfully, only characters comic fans will know, and even I can't remember The Prowler). Spider-Man's teammates are AI controlled and will act on their own, though they aren't too smart or helpful when all things are said and done; they'll help punch or hold a guy from time to time, but expect to be doing the majority of the work yourself. Though you'll probably want to play as Spider-Man the majority of your time, you can freely switch between him and your field partner by holding the Y-button.

Besides the two characters you start with, the story will also place other characters in your way to be discovered and help you out, such as Black Cat and Iron Fist. Those are the friends as mentioned in the title, but what about the foes? As you move through the game Spider-Man will fight many of his most famous comic foes, who are evil, but it turns out they are being forced to fight against their will. Since the villains don't like being controlled they agree to help Spider-Man out to get revenge on whoever dominated their minds and controlled them. Not every partner is a winner, as some of them seem quite useless at times, but others like Black Cat are fun and work quite well for when you just don't feel like controlling Spider-Man (or you're participating in the multiplayer co-op…more on that in a bit).

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