Ultimate Spider-Man

Ultimate Spider-Man for Nintendo DS is a 2005 action-platform game developed by Vicarious Visions and published by Activision. Drawing on Marvel's Ultimate Spider-Man universe, this handheld edition is a separate game from the open-world PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, and PC release. Its story places Peter Parker and Eddie Brock on opposing sides of a symbiote crisis, and its stylized presentation uses the DS screens to make encounters and scenes resemble animated comic-book panels.

The campaign alternates between Spider-Man and Venom, giving the two leads sharply different approaches to the same conflict. Spider-Man is the fast, acrobatic hero: he runs, jumps, wall-crawls, web-swings through compact three-dimensional spaces, and takes on missions built around rescuing civilians and stopping criminals. Button controls handle movement and combat while the touch screen supports special moves and context-sensitive actions, such as manipulating obstacles. The result is a focused, stage-based adventure rather than a free-roaming recreation of New York.

Venom's sections reverse that perspective. Eddie Brock is heavier and more destructive, able to use the symbiote's tentacles against enemies and objects. These attacks make especially direct use of the DS touch screen, letting players tap and interact during Venom's combat. His power and menace contrast with Spider-Man's mobility, so changing characters is more than a cosmetic switch: each has a different rhythm, set of abilities, and relationship to the levels in front of them.

The narrative follows the game's Ultimate Marvel setting, with Spider-Man and Venom caught up in events involving figures such as Silver Sable, Rhino, Electro, and Beetle. Rather than simply retelling a single comic issue, it builds an original game storyline around Peter and Eddie's history and the Venom symbiote. Fully voiced scenes, illustrated transitions, and comic-style frames link the action together, while the dual displays allow the game to show combat and visual storytelling at the same time.

Ultimate Spider-Man Nintendo DS also includes a local wireless multiplayer option for head-to-head superhero battles. Players can unlock characters and arenas for these matches, extending the game beyond the single-player story. Released in North America in September 2005 and in Europe that October, this version stands as one of the era's purpose-built DS superhero games: a compact platform adventure designed around two playable rivals, two screens, and the system's touch controls rather than a reduced console port.