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Had to return it... Left handed players cant play!!
I got this game for my daughter because she LOVES spiderman!!!! I mean, its seriously an obsession!!! She and my husband both sat down to play it one night... it was IMPOSSIBLE for my husband to play because he's left handed!! The game does not allow you to change things around. You need the stylus and the buttons to play and this made it absolutely impossible for him!! My daughter was upset because it was very difficult for her. Being the huge spiderman fan she was, she politely asked if she could get another game. This said a lot!!! She's the type of kid who would suffer thru a bad game just to watch spiderman! HAHAHA So after 3 days of owning it... back to the store it went!! Fortunately my video game store has a 1 week game grace period. if you dont like it... bring it back!!

Two boys' review: All work and no play makes Spidey a dull superhero
This is the first Nintendo DS superhero video game that I've sold off. My kids were really excited to try Spider-Man 3 (having played the GBA games before). After the first day, my kids won't pick this game up anymore.

Why?

Well, the combination of button controls and stylus web swinging is just too much for their little hands. They are overwhelmed by the controls. I've read a bunch of reviews that like the use of the stylus but even those reviews admit that you get mixed results (your intended move doesn't always translate on screen).

Meanwhile, my kids were underwhelmed by the gameplay. You'd think New York City is populated by 98% felons. Spider-man doesn't meet anyone who he doesn't have to punch, kick or throw around. Quickly, this becomes work instead of play.

My kids prefer Spider-Man: Friend or Foe and frequently play together (Check out my Amazon review: I bought an extra copy so they could play together.)

Much was made about the Tobey Maguire voiceovers but they didn't lend enough to this game to add another star. My kids liked the Iron Man voiceovers better.

Now that the Spider-Man 3 movie release is a year old, I can't imagine most kids would be intested in this title. I hope new superhero games are released on the Nintendo DS, just not games as much work as this.

A good game
I am writing this on behalf of my 9 year old son. He says this game is fun, not too easy and a little challenging which he likes. Definitely recommend

Run, beat up thug, run, resuce, run, repeat.
The best thing about this game is the control scheme. Spider-man jumps and climbs and swings like a pro. It's a lot of fun to use the stylus to manipulate the web slinging, and it is very intuitive, so fighting thugs is fun and can be done in a number of ways.

The graphics are pretty good. I was impressed. It's a 2D game in a 3D world, and it feels natural to navigate through the city by web slinging.

The sound is kinda campy, but the voice acting from Toby McGuire is spot on. It's snarky and Spidy says oddball stuff at the right moments in the gameplay.

The only really complaint about Spider-man 3 is the repetitiveness. It's run, fight, run, fight, run, rescue, run, fight. On to the next level: run, fight, run, fight, rescue, run, fight. There are just over 20 chapters in the story, all consisting of a combination of run, rescue, and fight. It was like playing all of those CAPCOM games from the early nineties like "Final Fight".

There's also a gameplay mode called the "race", which consist of webslinging across the neighborhood looking for floating orbs (no reason is given for why Spidy is looking for orbs). There is a 5 second (yes, second) counter that starts and Spidy has to reach the first orb. The counter resets, and Spidy has to reach the next orb. There are usually 20 orbs in a neighborhood, and if you miss one, you start the whole thing over. Missing an orb is easy, and since you are given only 5 seconds to find it, you could restart the same level many times. I know this game mode was thrown in to offset the "Beat 'em up" theme of the rest of the game, but couldn't they think of something more original?

Decent
This is a solid game, just don't expect anything elaborate for a DS game. The story mode is short, but the use of the stylus in combat is cool. It is an enjoyable game.