Activision tries to rejuvenate the Spider-man franchise by giving us Spider-man: Shattered Dimensions.  Is this enough to get video game fans interested in the friendly neighborhood Spider-man again?      Spider-man: Shattered Dimensions delivers a story that only Spider-man can, it’s a cheesy comic book plot that you would most likely see in the 70’s or 80’s, but it was so cheesy and comic book like that it made it compelling and actually semi-enjoyable to see the story unravel.  Spidey is seen in four different parallel universes, and each universe truly does look unique.  The universes that you travel to all have a different art direction that really puts you into the story.  The story isn’t complex at all; Spider-man has to gather a piece of artifact known as the “Tablet of Order and Chaos” from each dimension after it gets shattered by Spider-man and Mysterio in the opening sequence.  It’s a simplistic story, but it honestly feels like a story that would be seen in an early Spider-man comic book or cartoon.       Spider-man is seen in four different parallel universes: Amazing Spider-man (which is probably the most recognizable), Spider-man Noir (a stealthy look at the world of Spider-man if he were active in the 1930’s), Ultimate Spider-man (sporting the symbiote suite; shows the youthful side of our hero) and Spider-man 2099 (which allows our hero to free-fall and glide across vertical buildings in a futuristic setting).      The visuals in each world [and cut-scenes] are truly eye candy for comic book nerds such as myself.  The cut-scenes featuring the main storyline are amazing, and even the game-play in the game is highly enjoyable to watch.  Unfortunately, that doesn’t help the game too much.  I enjoyed the fact that we get to see Spider-man in each different world, and the fact that you have different skills that are unique to that universe… but… the game-play just got too repetitive.  In fact, there were a few elements that are very similar to one of the worst comic book games ever made… Superman: Shadow of Apokolips for the Nintendo Gamecube – mainly the fact that there were many scenes in which you had to save civilians during a chase sequence.  The layout of each and every level seemed identical to the prior level: Spider-man enters the scene… bad guy is seen… the chase begins… armed enemies come in through various doors… it was just a vicious repetitive cycle that was seen in each level of the game.  Sure, it was fun for a little bit, but after awhile it gets tiring.  And that’s when it was nice to get a new look by entering a new Spider-man world, it was somewhat refreshing even though the game-play in each level felt the same - it was still nice to get a new look and new sound in each level of the game.  Which brings me to my next point, the acting.       The acting in this game was surprisingly well done, in fact I highly enjoyed the voice-actors that supplied their voices for Spider-man himself.  Even though his cunning sarcastic humor would get a little annoying, especially in the Ultimate Spider-man levels.  And every other character throughout the game was well voiced – some may say that they were over-acting, but it reminded me of an early comic book cartoon such as SuperFriends or the old Spider-man cartoons.  In fact, the fact that there were Spider-man voice veterans on board definitely helped out in the acting category.  Neil Patrick Harris, who voiced Spider-man in ‘Spider-man: The New Animated Series’, voices the Amazing Spider-man section.  Christopher Daniel Barnes, who portrayed Spider-man in ‘Spider-man: The Animated Series’, voices Spider-man Noir.  Dan Gilvezan, who played Spider-man in ‘Spider-man and His Amazing Friends’ lends his voice for the Spider-man 2099 portion.  And Josh Keaton, who was the voice of Spider-man in ‘The Spectacular Spider-man’, is heard as the Ultimate Spider-man in this game.  And of course who could forget Stan “The Man” Lee himself – the creator of Spider-man is heard once again as the narrator of the story.      Spider-man: Shattered Dimensions is no Batman: Arkham Asylum, fans of that game and genre will definitely be disappointed.  It may be a lot of fun for a younger crowd, but it was lacking substance and replay-ability in my eyes.  All I can say is rent it before you buy.