Celebrity Byte

Black-suited spidey swings through the streets of New York in Activision's Spider-Man 3: The Game.

What's it like to play the Spider-Man 3 game?

Funny enough, playing the video game is more like getting to play Spider-Man than playing Spider-Man in the movie, because of the nature of making movies versus what it's like to play a video game. I really thought the previous Spider-Man games were done really well. I was really impressed. But I think we've taken a serious leap forward with what it looks like. Spider-Man moves in ways that would be unbelievable for us to pull off. There are some cool moves in the game.

How's the game different from the film?

The difference between going to the movie and playing the game is that in the game you're actually affecting what's around you and where you go and who you fight.

I think the game borrows a lot from the movie but then expands upon it because the movie is two hours long and you can spend many, many, many more hours playing the video game. It contains a lot of the movie plot and also lots of different story lines and side missions. And you can also just swing around New York!

One of the things I like about playing video games is that you get to escape and go to a different world and be a superhero for a while.

Tobey Maguire with Kirsten Dunst in Columbia Pictures' Spider-Man 3 - 2007

What's it like stepping into the role of Peter Parker/Spider-Man for the film and game?

One of the things I really love about being an actor is that I get to have all of these different experiences. I get to play different characters and really embody a different person, a different experience, a different life. It's been great playing Spider-Man because it's like being a kid and playing in the backyard and jumping off of things pretending I'm a superhero and now I'm all grown up and I'm still doing it. That's one of the things I like about playing video games is that you get to escape and go to a different world and be a superhero for a while. That will be the joke. Somebody says you have this meeting or this thing and come do this, and I'll go, "Please, I'm trying to save the world right now. This is important stuff."

What do you think of the new Spider-Man game?

From what I've seen of the Spider-Man 3 game, it looks amazing. There are these interactive cinematic cutscenes, the way you fight -- it's just amazing. I haven't tried the game on the Wii yet, but I'm really excited as you can use the wands to actually swing through the air. So you're actually moving like Spider-Man, and your guy moves like Spider-Man through the game. So I'm really excited to try that out. But, of course, as a good company man, I will be primarily playing the Spider-Man 3 game on the PlayStation 3.

Can you talk about the differences between Spider-Man in and out of the black suit?

Some of the differences between red-suit Spidey and black-suit Spidey in the game is that red-suit Spidey is more about using his agility and webbing. By nature, Peter Parker doesn't want to hurt people. He's just trying to help New York's finest with crime and helping to stop the super villains. Playing this character with the black suit that has an influence on him is very different, which is always fun as an actor. It's great, because you're twice as powerful and once you build up the rage meter you get to unleash some vicious attack on your opponents. Once you get that black suit on, it just goes for the action.