The game opens with a classy FMV cut-scene that shows Spawn looking over the city, his cape blowing in the wind. It's a great opening, but unfortunately one that sets player's expectations too high for what follows. The story takes a back seat to the action throughout Armageddon, much of it presented in text between the levels with the game finishing with one of the most anti-climactic endings Gameplanet has seen for some time. For a character originating from comic books, this is quite disappointing - we were quite looking forward to an engaging story at the very least.

At its core, Armageddon is a basic beat-em-up. Players move through a mostly linear environment, stopping periodically to fight a wave of enemies. It's the type of game design that we have unfortunately seen too many times before, and that seems to typify the modern action game. Some, like Devil May Cry, get all the elements right to create a classic but most fail to do this, with the resulting game being quite average and hard to get excited about. Armageddon falls into this latter category.

There are, however, a couple of aspects that elevate the game above the mediocre, namely the variety of weapons and enemies, and the level of difficulty. Spawn begins the game with an axe called Agony and a set of chains, which can be used to attack foes from afar. Throughout the game Spawn will also acquire a range of other weapons, mainly guns, for more ranged attacks.

Agony is a fantastic weapon, a large axe that Spawn uses for melee attacks and it could have been used a lot more in the game. As it is there is only a limited range of attacks possible with it. Switching attacks between Agony and the secondary weapons is relatively quick, and quite necessary once the difficulty increases. In addition to the weapons Spawn has, he also has access to a number of hell-power attacks. These powers are both offensive, sending hell energy to one or more opponents, and defensive, enabling a protective shield, and are generally helpful in getting Spawn out of tight situations.

While relatively challenging at the easiest level, Armageddon becomes very challenging at the hardest. Not only do the enemies become tougher, they become more numerous, respawning more often. This can become quite tricky when facing multiple enemies, especially when different types require different tactics. Each of the enemies met is well designed and has a number of attacks, suiting both ranged and melee fighting. Unfortunately most lack intelligence, preferring all-out attack to a measured and calculated strategy.

Constantly having to adjust the way Spawn fights, as well as switching between different weapons, introduces an extra level of sophistication to the action and saves the game from becoming a button-masher. While it is possible to get through most levels on the easy setting just using Agony once the difficulty has been raised all of the available weapons and powers will need to be used.

The enemies themselves come in various forms, from the small annoyances of the leeches to the larger challenges of the claw demons. The story leads to Spawn fighting both enemies from Heaven and Hell, and various types of angel and demon will be met. Each type of foe requires different strategies for success. Some weapons will not cause any damage, while others cause great harm. While slashing away with Agony will generally work the game soon becomes too difficult without resorting to the other weapons.

In addition to the enemies found in most levels, Armageddon features several of Spawn's old foes from the comic books. Characters like the Redeemer, Violator, and Cygor all make an appearance as boss characters. These characters are some of the most memorable, and fans will surely be pleased to see them. The fights themselves, though, tend to be quite simplistic, relying too heavily on the ranged weapons. Battles requiring less raw firepower and more strategy and dexterity would have made these encounters more enjoyable.

The level design in Armageddon is generally very linear and quite boring. Whether it is the bleak, industrial look of Earth or the angry red look of Hell, the environments are uninspired. As is so often the case with this type of game, the playable area mostly consists of a narrow path between buildings, trees or in a subway system. Players move through the level, stopping every so often to fight the next wave of attack. Make it to the end and the level is cleared. Apart from the occasional area where some jumping is required, the levels are quite unappealling.

It is really only the final two areas in Hell and the space station that distinguish themselves as being well-designed. Hell, it turns out, is a platformer's dream, with perilous jumps and obstacles blocking the way. There are some alternative paths as well, some leading to dead-ends, that break up the linear levels so far encountered.

The space station is quite a large level that serves as a giant puzzle. Players will need to put away their weapons for a while and think their way through the stage. This makes a refreshing change after the previous hours of combat, and the bright, sterile look of the station also provides a nice contrast to the dark, gritty appearance of the rest of the levels.

In contrast to the lacklustre level design, Spawn and other characters have been well recreated. Fans of Spawn should like his current incarnation, similar in style to his appearance in Soul Calibur II on Xbox. The Soul Calibur team has helped with some of the fighting animations of Armageddon, particularly the axe attacks. Unfortunately, even so, Spawn's range of moves is quite limited.

With this limited number of moves it is somewhat surprising, then, that the control system itself is also a let-down. Gameplanet sometimes had to struggle to get a response, for instance switching between an attack and a jump. This can occasionally be disadvantageous in tight battles, where a jumping attack or escape from being surrounded is necessary. Adding to the problem are the camera issues we sometimes had. While generally good in open areas, this can cause problems in the tight spaces of the indoor levels.

While certainly not scaling the heights of a game like Devil May Cry, Spawn: Armageddon does still provide a worthy challenge to gamers not too worried about a strong story, challenging puzzles or decent level design. For fans of Spawn there are 100 comic book covers to collect, and while this is a nice bonus it does seem a little meagre compared to the extra content provided with a lot of games nowadays. Gamers looking for an action fix will find the most to like here.