SPIDER

Think Honey, I Shrunk the Kids meets Arachnophobia: You assume the role of a scientist who accidentally downloads his consciousness into the body of a tarantula and then watches as corporate spies, eager to unlock the secrets of his cybernetic experiments, kidnap his defenseless human torso. To an itsy-bitsy spider, rats loom as large as Cadillacs and such mundane objects as the fan blades of a circulation vent can prove lethal. Luckily, your new mutant appendages -- weapons that range from homing missiles to pumps that spray industrial-strength bug killer -- give you an edge in the struggle to repossess your real body. Produced by Boss Game Studios, whose sister company worked on the creepy-crawly effects in Alien and Species, Spider effectively uses Hollywood flash to jump-start a side-scrolling game genre badly in need of a boost.