We've gotten a lot of Spider-Man games in the last decade or so. Some have been great, some not so great. Being a huge Spidey fan I've found some fun in all of them. I still own and play every Spider-Man game I have. But these five are the best of the best.
Runner Up: Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions
Shattered Dimensions has been the best level based Spidey game so far. The story was ok, but what made the game shine however was the stealth missions for the Spider-Man Noir universe. There were a few moments that stood out like Spider-Man jumping from a boat caught in a giant tidal or Spider-Man duking it out with Juggernaut. But like I said, what makes this game really stand out from the rest of the other level based Spidey games was the stealth portions. It didn't hurt that it featured like every single Spidey voice actor ever. Sorry Spider-Man PS1 game from my childhood, nostalgia only goes so far.
5. Spider-Man 3
That's right I said it. I know a lot of people hated this game. Like any game it had its' flaws. Like the stiff combat, terrible stealth segments, and slow paced web swinging. The combat was a step backwards from Spider-Man 2's! But what I liked about it was the story and vastness of New York. You could go from the top of New York all the way down to the sewers and subway system! It was also chock full of Spider-Man lore. The birth of Venom, the birth of the Green Goblin Jr., the birth of Sandman, the birth of the Lizard, Kingpin, Scorpion, Rhino, Jean De'Wolf, and the Daily Bugle. It was covered from head to toe in Spidey mythology. The story line in some places was actually better than the film. Like Venom kidnapping Sandman's kid so he'd help him kill Spider-Man. Way better than the film which had Sandman say "I'm not a killer" in one scene and then had him agree to kill Spider-Man in the next. I even enjoyed defusing bombs. It was also a blast playing as the Green Goblin at the end of the game and in the DLC, even if the game as a whole was mediocer.
4. Spider-Man 2
Spider-Man 2 is full of nostalgia. Which I'm sure is part of the reason many people still consider it the best Spidey game ever. It was our first Spider-Man free roam game. I think it might have been the first free roam superhero game. It doesn't hurt that it's also the movie tie in game for what might still be the best Spider-Man movie so far. The web swinging gameplay in the game is still great (second best in my opinion). And who thought delivering pizzas could be so much fun? The combat was also solid. But why isn't this my number one favorite Spidey game? Because the graphics, even for their time (2004) were pretty bad, and the story was terrible. Spider-Man proving to Mysterio he actually has super powers? Lame. Spider-Man going through a fun house and fighting ballon clowns? Lame. The Rhino actually shows up at one point just to shout "I'm the Rhino! Fight me!" Lame. This game is a lot of fun don't get me wrong. After all it is at number 4! But people have held it higher than it deserves. I just played it the other day and I can tell you that swinging around New York is still a blast. The story line however, isn't.
3. Ultimate Spider-Man
Great story. Great voice acting. Great visual execution of Mark Bagley's work. Tons of characters from the comics brought to life with amazing style. It's a blast playing as Venom, it's fun swinging around as Spidey and racing the Human Torch. This game without a doubt does the best job of capturing the world of Spider-Man. So why isn't this my number one favorite? The combat sucks. Bad. This game has the worst combat out of ANY Spider-Man game. This game would be my number one favorite except the combat in this game is really, really bad. Such a shame.
2. The Amazing Spider-Man
This one is much like Ulitmate Spider-Man but for a different reason. Great combat, great voice acting, great visuals (the best so far), amazing boss fights, stealth take downs that really add to the variety of gameplay elements, tons of things to collect and do, even replayable missions. They even give you like a dozen comics to read. FOR REAL! You can play as the Lizard, Rhino, or even Stan Lee! So again, why isn't this the best Spider-Man game so far? Two big reasons. The first reason is pretty easy to deduce. The swinging gameplay is not very good. It isn't terrible, but it isn't far from being terrible. It has a pre-set animation that repeats itself as you hold down the swing button. Boring. Sure you can let go and launch yourself higher into the sky but that's it. They included a "web rush" feature that adds to the web swing. But the game just plays itself after you press the button. Given, that it does look cool. But after that wears off, is it fun to play? A Spider-Man game should always be fun to go back to and just swing around and beat up bad guys. And this leads us to reason number 2 this game isn't the best of the best. WHERE ARE THE RANDOM CRIME MISSIONS AFTER YOU BEAT THE GAME!? They just stop. The reason we Spidey fans still pop these games in is to swing around and fight bad guys around the city. But this game has a boring swing mechanic and no unlimited crime. I mean really, it's lucky it made number 2.
AND THE NUMBER ONE SPIDEY GAME OF ALL TIME IS...
Spider-Man: Web Of Shadows
Why? It has the best web swinging out of any Spider-Man game,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arftvXlTDps
the best combat,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7dWG_isUvo
the best story,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UL6b4gdtsI
the best music,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGSfJf3YC24
and even multiple endings! It also has one of the best moments in Spider-Man history:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-45Y_76rhQ
I'll give you they could have found a better voice actor to play Spider-Man but I understand why they picked Mark Vaughn. Since Spider-Man goes back and forth from good (red suit) to evil (black suit) they needed a voice actor to be able to go back and forth. He actually does a decent job of it. The developers also allowed fans to vote for things in the game like which voice actors to use and even allowing fans to pick the box art for the game! Nothing to do with gameplay I just thought it was cool and worth mentioning.
Spider-Man: Web of Shadows even lets you replay the game with all your upgrades (I'm looking at you Batman Arkham Asylum!) You can fight side by side with Wolverine, Black Cat, Electro, the Vulture, Rhino, Luke Cage, and even MoonKnight. You can fight on the ground, in the air or even up the side of a building just like Spidey. Spider-Man: Web of Shadows is the ONLY Spider-Man to date that let's you fight just like Spidey would actually fight. And the last boss is just friggin great. A giant symbiote monster with multiple heads on the helicarrier! How do you top that?
So those are the top five given to us so far. All are pretty fun, none are perfect, but only one lets you rip Wolverine in half. Just sayin...