New Shattered Dimensions footage fills us with confidence

It's extremely easy to poo poo new Spider-Man games, as Spider-Man 3 was a horrid mess and Friend or Foe wasn't exactly great compensation. The stigma spread so far that even 2008's Web of Shadows was somewhat overlooked despite being a damn decent follow-up.

That brings us to Shattered Dimensions, which you perhaps initially brushed off because of its predecessors. Judging from the footage, you might want to rethink your stance, as the frenetic combos and disparate environments could make this the strongest Spidey game in years.

Above: The footage wasoriginally postedon GameTrailers

Shattered Dimensions puts you in control of various Spider-Men across four dimensions. The first and most obvious is plain ol' red and blue Spidey, which is seen above with a slick comic-style shading technique. The combos look like they string together as easily as Web of Shadows, which IMO had the best combat of any Spider-Man title, so at the very least those portions should be solid. Already loving the various shapes Spidey's webs take mid-combo, from dense blocks to spiked balls.

Above: Kraven getting pounded on his home turf

The other known world is Spider-Man Noir, a lesser-known series from last year that focuses more on mood than overwhelming superpowers. Stealth is the major concern, but we imagine there'll still be plenty of face-caving.

Above: Hammerhead is a perfect Noir villain

E3's a month away, where we fully expect Activision to reveal another dimension (if not both). I passed on Web of Shadows at first, then gave it a shot months later and found it to be delightfully playable and one of the smoothest Spider-Man experiences of late. With this in mind, I'd urge everyone to give Shattered Dimensions the benefit of the doubt - at least until we've had some extensive hands-on time.

What could the other two dimensions be? We made someeducated guessesearlier this year.