Pushing Spider-Man's Buttons

(AP Photo/HO/Activision)

When you exit your local multiplex after seeing a movie based on a book — you know, like "The Da Vinci Code" — you usually hear someone saying "Well, that wasn't as good as the book" or "I liked the book better" or "Let's go get some pie." For the first time ever, The Slug found ourselves saying something very similar but oh-so-now-now-now after playing "Spider-Man 3: The Game" this weekend: "I like the video game better than the movie."

Gasp! Are movie tie-in games finally becoming more than just a quick buck for game developers? Even though the next-gen Spidey game ain't the best action title ever, we definitely heart it more than its long-winded big-screen counterpart. Mostly, we love the ability to websling around a huge virtual Manhattan with our PS3 controller, but we also appreciate the lack of Peter Parker crying and dancing scenes. Now let's go get some pie.