Play the Goblin on PS3's 'Spider-Man 3'

Spider-Man 3 is shaping up to be one of the biggest movies of the year, and like any blockbuster it's getting its own video game. Usually video games based on movies based on comic books tend to completely bite, but Spider-Man has so far managed to dodge the bullet. Though repetitive, Spider-Man 2 turned out to be a fun, attractive game that captured the web-slinger's web-swinging beautifully. So I still have hopes for the Spider-Man 3 game.

PlayStation 3 owners have even more reason to be excited about Spider-Man 3. According to IGN, the Spider-Man 3 game will be available in a PS3-only Collector's Edition. This expanded version will have all the standard extras you would expect in a collector's edition--trailers for the movie, behind-the-scenes videos, interviews with the movie's cast and crew, and so on.

Most importantly, Spider-Man 3: Collector's Edition will feature an exclusive playable character, the New Goblin. This New Goblin will fly around the city like the Green Goblin, controlled by the PS3's tilt-sensitive SIXAXIS controller. The New Goblin looks more like an armored, snowboarding leprechuan than the Green Goblin, but the idea's still cool.

Purists might object to playing a heroic Green Goblin-like character, considering the Green Goblin's role as Spider-Man's greatest villain. However, it's important to remember that Phil Urich, an aspiring superhero, took up the mantle as the fourth Green Goblin and fought crime for a short amount of time. In Marvel's alternate-future MC2 universe, Phil works with the reformed Green Goblin Normie Osborne (grandson of the original Green Goblin, Norman Osbourne) to help Spider-Girl fight crime. So it's not like good-guy Goblins are unprecedented.

Did I mention how much I'm looking forward to Comic-Con this weekend?