Just because it’s a kiddy’s game, doesn’t mean it has to be rubbish, does it? That’s an adage we’re reluctant to dispose of, as it’s served us well over the years. Viva Piñata is a fairly recent example and, while it’s of a distinctly higher quality than this offering from Activision, the ethos seems to be the same. Yes it’s a kiddy title – and one with little of real note at that – but no, Next Level Games hasn’t plumbed the depths of mediocrity to chuck out a pile of complete junk like so many others would be tempted to do.

Friend Or Foe is the kind of title that you can, quite literally, complete with your eyes closed. It’s fierce mashing followed by more fierce mashing, followed by a little, and welcome, RPG element. The planet’s been invaded, you see, and every superhero, supervillain and his superdog have been kidnapped. So it’s up to Spidey to sort things out. Activision is toting this as the only game where you can play alongside Spidey with all his nemeses. We’d have to say big whoop. It’s nice to work your way through the abilities of Doc Ock, Venom and the like, but ultimately, we don’t care. That’s probably the strongest emotion you’ll feel about Friend Or Foe: warm apathy. You see, while you may not be interested enough to carry on playing, doing the washing-up involves effort, so you might as well stick with the webbed one.

The game works nicely, we admit, and in many respects it’s actually one of the best Spider-Man titles ever made. Certainly it’s one of the most complete Marvel titles, as it actually feels finished – a discovery that was quite surprising for us. However, sadly it isn’t impressive in any sense, and if you like Spider-Man you might not necessarily appreciate this slightly left-field storyline. For our part, though, we found it enjoyable enough in multiplayer (and incidentally in single-player, switching between the two characters) to stave off the chore of housework. It’s not much of an accolade, granted, but it’s still an accolade nonetheless.

Tom Leclerc