Keith Mathew | Freelancer
With the popularity of Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe, “Marvel’s Spider-Man,” released Sept. 17, decides to go a different route. This new action-adventure game starts years after the masked hero acquired his powers — so no Uncle Ben trauma to go through for the tenth time.
The opening cinematic tells the player right away that Peter Parker has been in the hero business for years and is now a veteran. There is a high energy tutorial which shows the basic abilities without leaving out any moves that may be needed. This is especially helpful because this game leans heavily on combo attacks to build up the focus bar, a resource used for instant takedowns or to heal during a fight.
Combat in this game is very fluid; dodging attacks is natural. However, learning the timing of the dodge takes some time to get accustomed to. A combination of melee and ranged attacks in the form of gadgets sets the foundation of fighting enemies along. Additional skills picked up later in the game augment combat to make a personal style.
What is great about “Marvel’s Spider-Man” is the characterizations. Peter Parker is the awkwardly sarcastic and caring college graduate outside his Spidey-suit, but when he starts his crime fighting, he becomes the well-known quippy web-slinger we all know. One liners and hilarious character interactions are abundant. Aunt May and MJ Watson both make appearances. In the customization of suits and abilities department, “Spider-Man” has succeeded. Unlike similar games, “Marvel’s Spider-Man” has separated abilities obtained from different suits and the suits themselves. These suits can be purchased using different varieties of tokens found in the game, or can be awarded through the completion of tasks or collection of items.
Tokens come in six different varieties and can be obtained through the collection of backpacks or pictures, the clearing of a base, challenge or crime. Tokens are also used in upgrades and passive abilities. The customization of a Spidey-suit consists of the look, the suit power and the passive abilities. Once the suit and suit power are purchased, the suit power can be applied to any suit. This game gives what gamers want on that level of personalization.
With so much that is good about “Marvel’s Spider-Man,” there are also elements that could have been done better. Knowing that the tokens collected throughout the game are helpful for powers and upgrades, I didn’t enjoy the vast amount of items to collect and complete. The game makes me feel it is padding the runtime by having so many collectables.
Further into the game, enemies become large hordes and the dispatching of them becomes tedious. The gadgets are powerful but have limited ammo. Thus, after all the ammo is gone it’s all punching and dodging from there.
For those who like Easter eggs or references, this game is chock full of them. Each suit is a reference to a different iteration of Spider-Man in comics, previous games or movies. Suits include the Iron Spider from “The Avengers: Infinity Wars,” Spider-Man 2099 and others. Additionally, Pride flags can be found scattered throughout the city and one theatre’s signage can be seen with a proposal.
Despite the critiques, I think “Marvel’s Spider-Man” is a well-rounded game with great elements. I would score this game an 8/10.
Contact the author at kmathew14@wou.edu
Photo courtesy of Insomniac.games
