The huge innovation of Sam Rami's Spider-Man movie was its CGI web-slinging, which really made it look as if Peter Parker was bouncing around the skyscrapers of New York by his web thread. But movie CGI still isn't up to the task of creating an airborne battle as breathtaking — and air-sickness-causing — as this fight between Spider-Man and the Wizard, from the forthcoming xBox game Spider-Man: Web Of Shadows. The first Web Of Shadows screenshots just came out, and they show the range of Marvel heroes and villains you can play in the game, which is all about Spidey and friends fighting an alien invasion that's using Manhattan as its beachhead. Click through for a gallery.

Your web-swinging looks like it'll work pretty dynamically, with the ability to speed up and slow down. You'll also have "Spider-sense" to help you find the bad guys, and the ability to switch between the red and black uniforms. And there'll be a kind of Matrix-esque "time dilation" during fights, which sounds like it simulates Spider-Man's ability to react at super-speed to people's attacks. You won't just be working to fight those alien invaders, whoever they are — there will also be some missions related to fighting crime. And from hints the developers dropped in an interview, it sounds like the story could turn out different ways, depending on what you do. [Team xBox]

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