First let me state that I'm not a huge Spider-Man fan. I like the character, but I never followed the comics or TV shows regularly and prefer the X-Men or Batman as my superheroic drug of choice. As such, know that my viewpoint is definitely not 'foaming fanboy.'
Personally, I loved the game. Yes, the combat can be repetitive, but frankly I've yet to meet a game where it isn't. Even FPS games devolve into 'find cover, duck, pop up and fire, move to new cover.' Heck, I noticed that one of my favorite games of recent years (Dead Space) is even pretty much 'cut off leg, cut off arm, cut off head, move on to next creature' save for boss fights. As such, I can't hold this game's combat against it. Indeed, for whatever faults you may place on it, the combat is very fluid and acrobatic as it should be for the Spider.
I enjoyed the storyline, which seemed very classic comic book. The story, however, is meant to have a sense of urgency to it and a definite direction. This is NOT open-world, nor was it intended to be. As such, comparing it to an open world game like Spider-Man 2 is unfair. If the story arc and design don't need open world, why hold that against it? For all of Arkham Asylum's acclaim (since that's the other game everyone is comparing this with), it was a railroaded plot and game as well. And let's be honest, if you're comparing every new release to fond memories of a decade old game you once loved, the memory's going to seem like the better deal and every new release will be a disappointment.
Atmosphere was done very well. Young Peter (Ultimate) and his frustrations and kid-style sense of humor, Miguel (2099) and his mildly paranoid anti-corporate focus, Noir's pulp detective based gritty realism and shadowy vendettas, and standard Peter's quippy sarcasm all come through not only through the voice acting but through the approach taken to level design. Does Noir feel similar to Batman by utilizing stealth and having kind of a grim vigilante edge to it? Yes... but really, how is that any different from any pulp inspired super from the Shadow to the modern Batman? Personally I found myself looking forward to the Noir sections as kind of a change of pace to break up the more in-your-face brawling style of the less subtle Spider-Men.
I see this all as a matter of taste. While I respect Funk's opinion, I seem to have walked away from this with a completely different sensation. I went into this game looking for a good story with the great one-liners and acrobatic grace one expects of Spidey and his villains, and was not disappointed. The plot was decent comic-book cheese, the voice acting well done throughout, and the villains weren't necessarily the obvious choices one would make for a Spider-Man game. The only thing that annoyed me? Stan Lee's narration at the chapter breaks. All due respect, but there's a limit on how much cheese you need and with his carnival hawker method of self-referential narration Stan kind of pushed it a bit.
All in all, I'd give this one four stars. While it doesn't break the mold, it's a fine bit of amusement and I don't regret the expenditure.