From the moment I saw the trailer last year, I had the feeling this could be the best Spider-Man game since 2004’s Spider-Man 2.
And from the moment I got my hands on it today, that feeling was pretty much confirmed. The freedom of swinging around New York with plenty to do, alongside the awesome feeling of comboing strong attacks, well-timed dodges and a whole bunch of webtastic abilities make for a damn good time.
The large, open map was dotted with different markers, that I could go to (or not) at my leisure. I could do story missions, side-quests, stop a crime in progress or collect random shit (I happened upon one of Parker’s lost backpacks webbed to a building).
Swinging, sling-shotting and wall-running throughout the city felt great, and had an easy-to-learn-but-hard-to-
The mechanics are simple and I had no problem getting where I wanted to go fairly quickly; but I knew with some time I could move a hell of a lot faster. Being able to course correct mid-swing is a helpful addition, even if it does look a bit awkward.
At its core the combat is Arkham-esque, which I don’t think is a bad thing. If the wheel ain’t broke, why reinvent it (or something like that)? What they do do (ha!) is expand on it with, you guessed it, web shit!
Being able to pull yourself from one target straight into the next made me strive to take out entire gangs without stopping or getting hit. Needless to say, this didn’t happen during the demo.
The boss fight against Shocker was fun, though mechanically formulaic as fuck. The bank environment was memorable, and our combined effect on the terrain portrayed the superhero/villain dynamic as something truly powerful.
Even if the main story ends up being a short or boring, slangin’ web as a truly amazing Spider-Man is something everyone should experience (at least through a rental).
And if the campaign and side missions are even half-decent, I’d still throw down full retail for this beautiful and just pure fun game.
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