Spider-Man 2 Activity Center - E

Seven fun activities to play with Spider-Man.

Publisher: Activision Category/Genre: Computer Software - Activity Center Platform: Windows Price: $20 Graphics: Cool Playability: Easy to play Reading Level: 1st grade-up Release Date: 02/24/2005 ESRB Rating: E

Common Sense Note

While this software doesn't keep track of your child's performance, it does offer seven activities that are a nice blend of learning and fun.

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Common Sense Review

Reviewed By: Jinny Gudmundsen

Spider-Man's popularity among kids is like his web-slinging -- it sticks. If you have a child who likes Spider-Man, the Spider-Man 2 Activity Center offers seven activities that are a good mix of learning and just-for-fun. The software, which features the voice of actor Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man, invites kids ages 6 to 12 to help Spider-Man fight evil.

Some of the games are variations on typical arcade gaming such as stopping falling debris with Spider-Man's webbing before it hits the ground, moving Spider-Man through a maze, and directing Spider-Man's progress up the side of a building.

Other activities are more educational. In one, kids try to identify the perpetrator of a crime by putting together a mug shot after looking at him for a short time. Kids select from a set of eyes, noses, mouths, and hair features. In another, children help Peter Parker (Spider-Man) finish schoolwork by following directions about mixing and measuring ingredients in a laboratory setting.

Kids even get to fly with Spider-Man as he web-slings between skyscrapers in hot pursuit of escaping criminals. Before the activity starts, kids watch the path of the crook's getaway car on a color-coded overhead map. As buildings zip by, kids make split-second decisions about where to turn based on their memory of the color-coding. The realistic sounds of Spider-Man's webbing expanding and stretching, coupled with the rapidly-passing graphics greatly enhances this activity.

The games offer multiple levels of play and keep track of the highest score earned. But there are no sign-in and no save features, so every time kids play, they start on the Level 1 of an activity. Kid-testers didn't mind the replay, and they enjoyed finishing levels to unlock printables and video sequences from the Spider-Man 2 movie.

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