Nintendo 64

According to ESRB, this game contains: Animated Violence

Like any red-blooded, American boy, I was drawn to the superheroes that filled the pages of Marvel Comics and DC Comics. While I was a follower of the likes of Batman, Superman and even Wonder Woman, I would say that Spider-Man was my hands-down favorite. I made it a point of getting up at 5 a.m. every morning to catch the latest adventures of Spider-Man on TV. I was pretty much obsessed with anything Spider-Man related. I had a Spider-Man lunchbox, notebook, pencils, action-figures and coloring book. I even followed his adventures in the newspaper comics. As I grew up, I slowly put away my Spider-Man obsession only to engage in it again—albeit fleetingly—years later with the launch of the, then new, Todd McFarlane Spider-Man series. Looking back, I always though it strange that I never played any of the Spider-Man videogames with much interest. After playing Activision's Spider-Man, I can only surmise it was because those games were nothing but one-dimensional fluff; because this game is the one Spider-Man game I've played that got it right.

Game Description: Take a look overhead—Spider-Man is arriving to the PlayStation just in time. As the beloved photojournalist-cum-webslinger, you'll freely explore New York's skyline, sewers, and hideouts to fulfill several missions. Use Spider-Man's superhuman strength to fight such notorious foes as Scorpion, Venom, and Rhino. Use his spider abilities to spin webs (any size) to disable and detain bosses, swing around buildings, and creep along walls and ceilings. And thanks to your spider-sense, you'll detect impending danger from a distance. There is no wealth or fame at the end of this game, however; action is your reward.

In his opening paragraph, Dale said that this is the Spider-Man game that "got it right." While I don't doubt this is probably the best Spider-Man videogame ever made (though the old Atari 2600 one was pretty awesome for its time), I still think the developers missed the mark ever so slightly.

This is the game that managed to outsell all competing PlayStation 2 software for two straight months in Japan? I asked myself this question practically every second I played this game. I must confess that I am not at all a Kirby fan, but that isn't why I was so perplexed as to why this game was made. I do agree with Scott on all of his points, but I have to say something on two aspects to the game.

To resolve this, Nintendo and HAL, a second party of Nintendo, created a game featuring a slow-moving character that was little more than a circle with feet and put him in a sidescroller, similar to Super Mario Bros. The result was Kirby's Dream Land.

Game Description: Kirby, that cute mushy star of other Game Boy, NES, and Super NES games, has arrived on the N64 in this nearly 3D game. For those of you who don't know Kirby, think of him as an adorable action hero with an eating disorder—in battle, he often swallows his enemies whole and then spits out everything except their powers. Absorbing the attack style of a rock enemy, for example, allows Kirby to later apply a rock shield in his defense.

If there's one thing that Nintendo has in its corner, it's the huge collection of franchises that it can go to time and again when in need. With the Nintendo 64 needing to prove itself to the masses, Nintendo tapped Super Mario to showcase the system in the form of Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Kart 64. As things became more dire, Star Fox 64 and The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time appeared in all their 64-bit glory to quiet the naysayers. But now as the console reaches the end of its lifecycle, Nintendo seems to be tapping even more of its properties lately. Donkey Kong saw some action last year, and this year Nintendo picked its ancient racing classic that hasn't seen the light of day since the 8-bit NES console was in the talk of the town. I'm talking about Excitebike, the high-flying, 2-D, motoracing title that was a hit in the '80s, but is back in full 3-D under the name Excitebike 64.