Format – PS3
Spider-Man, Spider-Man. I think ever since the second Sam Raimi movie adaptation, we’ve known what to expect from a Spidey game. NYC is your sandbox. You webswing across the city, saving innocents and stopping crime. As you swing or fight, Spidey makes little quips – sometimes clever, sometimes not. Either way, by a couple hours in, they start to grate.
Developer Beenox has a history of subverting our expectations of what a Spidey game can be. First with Shattered Dimensions, then with Edge of Time. They reverted to a more traditional approach with The Amazing Spider-Man, this game’s direct predecessor, and overall I think they did it well. Even if the game isn’t technically great or revolutionary in some way, Spider-Man games usually provide you with at least some cheap entertainment.
Considering that this hit both old and new generation consoles (as is often the case during these periods of limbo), I was a bit taken aback by how dated the graphics seemed. It felt like it regressed to Spider-Man 3’s PS2/PS3 shift, which is not a good thing. Spider-Man himself looks great, especially in action, as do the bosses (and, of course, Stan Lee). Unfortunately, Peter Parker and Aunt May look awful, as do most of the NPCs. The music and voice acting aren’t wonderful or memorable, but neither are they very annoying.
Web swinging is one of the most important parts of a Spidey game, and for the most part, it’s been improved. Left and right triggers control left and right arms, and you always have to have a place for the webbing to stick to. Well, except when you’re in a villain’s lair – even if that lair is outside. In those instances, you can just swing from thin air, a la the PS1/N64 Spider-Man.
They tried hard to emulate the Batman: Arkham games combat, but it doesn’t feel half as polished. You can punch, jump, counter, and shoot webbing, just as Batman can punch, jump, counter, and cape stun enemies. There are a few differences. You can web rush an enemy, pouncing on them, or web-pull an enemy – especially useful for disarming enemies with guns. Later on, you gain seismic blast webbing, using the Shocker’s compressed air tech, and you can use ionic webbing to erode enemy body armor. The fighting system’s biggest problem is targeting. It’s automatic, and usually does a poor job.
The suits you equip are more than aesthetic. Each has its own strengths and weaknesses, and each can be leveled up. Also present is a very ‘Detective Mode’ style spider-sense. You can see objects of interest, enemies and their line of sight, and collectables, when upgraded.
Stealth is another aspect of gameplay, particularly in gang hideouts. While it’s a welcome idea – one that Beenox pulled off quite well with Shattered Dimensions’ Noir levels – in practice, it leaves much to be desired. Spidey is the perfect stealth character. He can cling to walls and ceilings, he’s light on his feet, and with a little webbing, he can make short work of unsuspecting guards. It’s unfortunate they didn’t make better use of it. The camera can be a problem when you’re crawling along a wall or ceiling. It gets frustrating.
The first villain you face – the Shocker – fits in nicely, as does Kraven the Hunter. There’s a nice bit of game-to-game continuity showing the fates of some cross-species bosses from the previous game when you meet him. The presence of the film’s antagonists – the Green Goblin and Electro – seems forced. They don’t fit into the overall game story. Kingpin could have been handled better, but at least he felt like he belonged in the story. The true star of the show is Carnage, who was pretty much spot-on in terms of look, sound and characterization.
The Hero or Menace system is interesting. Stopping crime and saving lives yields some rewards, plus a little newscast praising Spider-Man follows. Ignore crime or endangered innocents, and the Daily Bugle will print some bad press (which you can web up to decrease notoriety.) Try and fail at an act of heroism, and you’re treated to a newscast by J. Jonah Jameson going off on you. It gives you a reason not to ignore civilians or petty criminals, but it can also be annoying when you’re swinging around post-game, trying to get a good shot for Jameson or find some collectables only to be gunned down by a task force on high alert.
Areas for Improvement
- More creativity and diversity needed for quips
- Graphically dated. Improvements needed for some character models.
- Combat needs further polish
- Combat targeting is automatic and poorly implemented.
- Stealth sections feel lacking
- Camera presents issues, needs fixing
Final Analysis
All in all, it’s a very flawed but still very fun game once you get used to it, and there are plenty of secrets hidden to add a little extra value to the experience. I’d recommend it after a price drop. It has some issues, but it offers hours of great, mindless fun,
Technical Competency: 6/10
Graphics: 6.5/10
Audio: 7/10
Overall Score: 7/10
You must be logged in to post a comment.