The cartoon promotion theory explains the cartoony look of the game. Spider-Man and his crew here have chunky, cartoon-like proportions. It's not as exaggerated as the official art you'll see in the gallery, but you can still see the influence in the game. Either way, the art matches up with the mood of the game, which is pretty light-hearted and humorous, even compared to other Spider-Man games.
There are a few CG cut scenes, but most of the story is driven by in-game graphics. Voice-acting is pretty lively and realistic, which is a relief. It could have gone much worse. This game teeters right on the edge of cheesy and corny, but never quite falls all the way in. Spider-Man here is funny, in an almost cute way. If they take it all in stride, this is a game that will get a few laughs out of the older crowd as well as the younger audience.
While you'll get to see a lot of Spider-Man's friends and major foes, the lesser enemies in the game are quite dull. Monsters called Phantoms are going to be your foe 95% of the time. There are basically several variations on 3 main baddie types: big and tall Phantoms, people-sized Phantoms, and flying Phantoms. It gets monotonous - quickly.
As for the rest of the game, the music is unobtrusive, and the sound effects are pretty decent. Big explosions, thuds, thwacks, and swooshes are all there and hit hard like they should, but don't provide any surprises, really.