It's lonely out here.

I'm one of a handful of game critics that will, with little provocation, defend most of Activision's Spider-Man series (Friend or Foe can eff right off). We are not a well-liked or understood group, united only by our love of swinging through a virtual New York and our ability to forgive punishingly repetitive gameplay.

With Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, Beenox has closed off Spidey's world, containing him to strict levels rather than an open city. It may make for a better game, but those like me -- who are interested only in doing whatever a spider can -- may find Shattered Dimensions has broken what they loved about the series.