Two Spideys, One Cataclysmic Event

As far back as I can recall I’ve always held Spider Man as my favorite super hero. Maybe it’s because I can relate to the Peter Parker as the higher IQ than normal, but not quite Reed Richards level, or the hazing and being picked on in school (not quite as much as Parker) or maybe it’s because we both like to dress up and fight crime. Well, I guess that last one is a stretch. I’ve also always liked spiders in general. With this mindset I’m usually willing to give a Spider Man game a chance. I found last years Shattered Dimensions fun and challenging. And based on my experience with Shattered Dimensions I was excited to pick up Spider Man Edge of Time.

And over the past few weeks when time permitted, I played through the campaign. First I must commend them on the story. The story is well written even though you can’t help but see where a few things were headed. On the other hand, we get some twists and turns that just about made my head spin! Without giving any spoilers, the basic premise is to try and save the world from a time paradox or disturbance that takes place with both our friendly neighborhood Peter Parker and the futuristic Spider Man 2099. They have to work together and you play one then switch to the other and then back again and again throughout. That’s after saving Peter Parker at the beginning of the game.

The controls are fluid and work almost perfect, much as they did in Shattered Dimensions. Crawling on walls is my only major problem here as it is too easy to get turned around or stuck. It was also easy to be running along and find your self starting to climb up a wall. The web swinging works very well and the combat system us still pretty sweet.

How does it look and sound? It looks good, I can’t complain. The in game graphics look good with only a few rough areas here and there. It’s not super realistic, but it does have a good cartoonish/comic feel. The cut scene animations on the other hand are stunning! Almost life-like and at a glance could be mistaken for live action. The voice acting was fair, with both Spider Men sounding almost too much alike. You can hear the difference when they speak to each other, but it other parts of the game you have to think about who is speaking. Sound effects and soundtrack blended perfectly. 

Starting the game sets you on normal by default and this will give most of us a challenge. Once you beat it on normal, you can try hard. Easy on the other hand was too easy. I would suggest playing on normal unless you have trouble. Most villains in this game, save for bosses, are fairly easy to defeat as long a you don’t get hit. The bosses on the other hand require a little more skill and timing. Levels range from running through levels defeated bad guys, collecting orbs, spiders and keys to free falling through buildings trying to avoid getting hit. The latter can be very challenging.

As you progress and earn orbs and gold spiders you can upgrade both Spider Men’s Combat skills and health. Each Spidey has a different special ability you can use and different fighting moves. Even so it’s not difficult to remember most of the moves. We also can unlock alternate costumes and news paper articles throughout the game.

As normal I played this on the Xbox 360 and most of the achievements are story based and combat based. You should be able to unlock quite a few just by beating the game. There are a few tough ones, like completing the game on hard and collecting all the golden spiders. That last one just takes time to look everywhere, but otherwise shouldn’t be too rough.

All in all the game is fun and challenging, but the fighting system does get tedious and I did run into a few glitches. One that required me to restart a checkpoint. Somehow I was able to get into a small room without disabling the shield, thus once inside I could not get back out. It did give me several hours of gameplay, I would estimate about 8 hours total including all those times I died. And then we do have challenges you can complete in each level as well. It’s not a bad game, but unless you’re a big Spidey fan like me – I would suggest renting it first. $59.99 isn’t exactly worth it this time around.

Aquaman Called, He Wants His Octopus Back!

While at E3, I got to check out Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions with Activision. And what I saw really looked good. Thus I took the bait and bought the game for my Xbox 360 and over the last two days have completed a little more than half the game at about four and a half hours of game play.

I ordered my copy from Amazon, which included an sketch art book. I quickly flipped through it and it was all artwork from the game and nicely done at that, then I noticed the last page had a cheat code. I haven’t used it yet, but it simply unlocks the Iron Spidey costume. The one made famous in the notorious Civil War comic series and a suit engineered by Tony Stark.

But what about the game? The basics of the story, without giving two much away, begins with Mysterio and his thirst for a power tablet. Spidey stops him, but shatters the tablet sending ripples through time and space and dimension and all that good stuff. And each level feels like that last run-on sentence, but more about that later. That spidey is are friendly neighborhood Amazing Spider Man and he is contacted by Madame Web. To hunt down the pieces and save the worlds. To aide him are his alternate reality versions in different dimensions and time. We have the sky diving freak of 2099, the hot headed Ultimate Spider-Man, and the quiet as a mouse with mouth Noir Spidey.

So let’s talk about these realities or dimensions or webs if you will. Amazing Spider-Man has a simple cell shaded cartoonish look to it. This is the Spidey we all know and love. 2099 is the a futuristic high in he sky world with a very detailed technological look. This Spider-Man has only half the DNA of a spider and well thinks he is a freak. Ultimate Spider-Man is a retelling of the story with Parker still being a teen and in this game ends up with the symbiote suit rather early in the story arc. Noir is the farthest from the know Spider-Verse. The best way to describe this is simple a comparison. I feel like I’m playing Batman with Spider powers in the 1930s. Dark, stealthy and quick wit. In fact every Spider-Man has quick wit. These four worlds intertwine to form one larger story. And to top of you’ll find some strange and unique version of your favorite villains.

What about the game play? Different. Spider-Man games have always had trouble in the area of bringing a balance of controls and proper abilities. And this one does it a little better, but still ends up in the same basket. You can swing a web, attack with web, jump, hit and box. Yes Box! First we get the third person player aspect and it works well. Then we get the attack combos of the fighting games and tons of them. Add a system for leveling up and using points to unlock even more combos and abilities. Then we get up close and personal with some boss you get to use the two thumb sticks to dodge and punch. And not just one type either. At first this seemed overwhelming, but I grew accustomed to it. I think I prefer the way Web Of Shadows was designed when it came to controls, especially when swinging around on a web.

The story is good, and it seems to be getting better. Dramatic and witty, this game keeps you on your toes. The cinematic pieces look great with that web comic motion mixed with standard CGI type animation. We also get a lot of achievements to complete but a vast majority seem to be the dreaded Secret Achievements. Good luck with those. I’m enjoying playing this game, though I likely won’t see it as much in replay value with the way the controls are setup, but maybe I’ll change my mind at the end of the game. Right now it is the story that drives me to complete it and the simple fact that I grew up with Spider Man comics. Not to mention, I think that was Spider-Pig mentioned in one scene.

In closing this game takes a good stride and step closer to bringing Spider-Man games where they need to be, but they still have a few steps to go. I would rate it a 7 out of 10. Fun to play, but most levels get somewhat repetitive as you battle a boss, then his minions, then chase, the repeat and once in a while rescue people. You tend to battle a boss three times, the third time being when the boss is the most powerful. I would say for those hard core Spidey fans buy it, the rest of you go rent it first or try GameFly!