As the highly anticipated Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions nears its release, Total Sci-Fi was invited to a special preview of the game, hosted by Activision.

Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions takes place across four different universes from the Spider-Man mythos: Amazing, Noir, 2099 and Ultimate. Each of the four worlds has its own brand of the webslinging superhero, with the Spider-Men on a quest to retrieve the shattered fragments of the Tablet of Order and Chaos.

Each universe has its own unique style, which is tailored to the Spider-Man that patrols it and enables him to navigate through that world in a particular way. The Amazing universe showcases classic Spidey, which uses web-based attacks to defeat his enemies. The 2099 universe uses free-fall elements and three-way fights to display the prowess of a futuristic Spider-Man in a loud and vibrant environment.

Total Sci-Fi was lucky enough to play as Spider-Man in the Noir and Ultimate universes. The former took place in a 1930s Depression-era train yard, with a stealthy-looking Spider-Man dressed up in black garb and goggles. In this universe, Spidey uses the shadows to his advantage and stalks his prey in a bid to save civilians. The environment feels claustrophobic, which is a good thing, as it plays to the strengths of the wall-crawler’s abilities in the Frank Miller-inspired gritty universe.

The Ultimate universe, however, is faster and more open, which allows Ultimate Spider-Man to use his black symbiote-enhanced powerset to full advantage. The player can attack and grab enemies by shooting out tendrils from Spider-Man’s body and confront his opponents using a number of high-powered fighting combinations. It really is an “all guns blazing” kind of universe.

The level ends with supervillain Carnage threatening to finish Spider-Man once and for all in a first-person perspective, one of several similar moments dotted throughout the game where the player literally comes face-to-face with the enemy.

Even from our brief play of the game, it was obvious the developers have really taken their time over the style of each level, aiming to differentiate not just the visual layout but also the playability of each specific Spider-Man. Aside from the usual Spider-Man tropes that we’ve come to expect – wisecracks, web slinging and wall-crawling – that maintain Spidey’s characterisation, there is a feeling you’re playing as four different characters, which is incredibly refreshing in a game based on the same individual throughout.

We hope that writer Dan Slott (writer of The Amazing Spider-Man bi-weekly comic) is able to bring these threads together in a way that services the gameplay and the intricate plot.

Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions is released on September 10 for PS3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS, with a PC version following later in the year.

Read our exclusive interview with producer Stephane Gravel next week!