Gameitall I’ve had people ask me to make a list featuring my favorite video game movies of all time recently, and Spiderman 2 was one of my top games (specifically my number 8 position.) The reason mainly because it was the first game that got Spider-man swinging around New York right, while making the combat fast and fun.
It’s been a few years after the devastation of Spiderman 3, something that I’d like to forget about as both a movie and a game, and it seems like Sony pictures and Activision seem to agree. While Spider-man has won back the trust of his video game fans thanks to Beenox, creators of the two recent Spiderman games; Shattered Dimensions and Edge of Time. Is this new Movie based web-slinger ready to push Spiderman 2 out of our memories?
The Amazing Spider-Man takes place shortly after the upcoming movie, Allister Smythe is the new research head at Oscorp assigned to disposing of Doctor Connor’s deadly experiments including The Rhino, Vermin and Scorpion to name a few. After a breakout at Oscorp, allowing the cross-breeds to escape; Spider-man swings into action to try to save New York from this deadly new virus that are turning citizens to monsters.
If there is one thing that this game has a lot of in it’s story, it’s Spoilers. Within the first 5 minutes of playing the game, I know 5 major plot twists that are going to happen in the film, definitely not a good for a game in which the movie is being launched side-by-side.
Those familiar with Rocksteady’s Batman: Arkham Asylum and Arkham City will be able to control Spider-man with ease. Combat is broken down by using free-form fighting, using one button for strikes and one for counter, while the web slows enemies and can zipline you into a extended strike combos.
Of course, Spider-man is all about speed, and that is what we see in the open world aspect of the game, swinging from building to building feels perfect with the addition of the new Web-Rush mode, which allows you to actually pick your target to swing to. It works well in closed areas, but in Manhattan it is essential to picking up collectibles and to zoom around the map.
I’m astonished at the amount of detail I saw when I look at each character’s design. Spider-Man’s suit can get war-torn during missions revealing scratches and wounds as you get hit through the levels, along with every stitch in the fabric is noticeable on the character. Not to mention that Rhino and Scorpion actually look like beasts.
What pains me to see though is how the animation glitches out frequently as Spider-Man swings through the city, making some moves bounce back and forth as if you were playing a lag filled online game. Also, besides from the special moves and finishers when your combo meter is boosted, the combat looks like they’re having a slap fest as the enemies don’t seem to react properly to being hit. This is a big departure from Shattered Dimensions where enemies could be kick/webbed back giving you room to breath.
Beenox had improved their re-playability by adding extra costumes, taking pictures of enemies as well as Oscorp containers, and picking up comic books floating around the city; which unlocks actual readable comics including Spider-Man #1, giving us plenty of incentive to play through the game to collect everything. The only problem with this is that outside the main missions, traveling the city can get boring after a while as all the side missions just start repeating themselves with very little variety from quick time car chases, follwoing a computer controlled Spider-man with a camera, and beating up thugs.
The Amazing Spider-Man falls short of it’s name, for a movie based game it is definitely one that doesn’t feel rushed into production, but it does have it’s own flaws that keep it from being the game we really want it to be. The Amazing Spider-man is more of a disappointment.
The Amazing Spider-Man – 6 out of 10
Pros: Graphically great, easy to learn controls, Re-playability for items you would actually want.
Cons: Repetitive, Animation glitches, Massive Spoilers
