Title: Spider-Man
Platform: PlayStation 4
Cost: $59.99
Rating: Teen for violence, occasional language and some blood
Score: 9/10
Marvel's Spider-Man is a fantastic foray into the web-slinging exploits of the titular hero, and undoubtedly the best superhero game since Batman's Arkham series.
Right from the start, developer Insomniac Games makes you feel like Spider-Man, with his snarky one-liners, improvised-looking combat and effortless swinging through New York.
The game drops in on Spider-Man, aka Peter Parker, midcareer -- he has been active as the city's protector for about eight years. The opening sequences have you putting away nasty nemesis Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin, who warns that he was the one keeping order in the city and now that he's off to prison, villains will come out of the woodwork.
Kingpin's foreshadowing comes true as Peter, already having a hard time balancing his obligations between being the secret guardian of the city and having an actual life, is beset by a wide cast of villains, such as Vulture, Rhino, Electro, Mister Negative and Doctor Octopus.
The main storyline of the game can be completed in 12 to 15 hours, but tackling a treasure trove of collectibles, optional side quests and petty neighborhood villainy will more than double that amount of time. True to form, Peter's attempts to attain that work-life balance are constantly interrupted by spotting a drug deal, car chase or mugging to deal with as he sails through the city.
Gracefully swinging through New York City is a real treat, and it gets even easier and cooler over time as more of Spider-Man's abilities are unlocked. Defeating enemies, completing side-quests and advancing the main story earns experience points and unlocks the ability to buy a veritable closetful of Spider-Man suits, as well as a wide array of gadgets, such as spider drones and web bombs, that would make Batman jealous.
And speaking of the caped crusader, it's clear that a lot of inspiration for fighting and storytelling came from Rocksteady Studios' excellent Arkham series, as the combat at its core involves well-timed punches, kicks and dodges that use a similar control scheme.
As Spider-Man levels up, he also unlocks perk points that add new moves to his arsenal, making fights and merely traversing the city more epic. Spidey makes full use of his skill set, doing acrobatic backflips over the enemies or sliding between their legs, and using his webs to yank weapons from their hands or hit them in the face with a slingshotted manhole cover.
There are also stealth combat sequences, as Spider-Man creeps through air ducts and crawl spaces to take out unsuspecting enemies from behind.
Insomniac also has put effort into the story, which weaves together several tales and brings in many iconic Spider-Man characters. Players will get some insight into Peter's relationship with Mary-Jane Watson, who is a reporter for The Daily Bugle. They will witness Peter's being mentored by Otto Octavius (who eventually becomes Doctor Octopus) and experience the parallels of Peter's mentoring of Miles Morales, who in the comics was Spider-Man's successor.
Who would've thought it would be fun to play not just as Spidey, but also as Peter Parker?
Boss fights are pretty spectacular, although they require quite a bit of memorizing of attack patterns and mastering of "quick-time events," which require pushing buttons with the right timing. Also adding to the cool factor are several stealth sequences in which the player gets to control Mary-Jane.
There's no sign of famous love interest Gwen Stacy, but with the game setting up Miles Morales for a possible role as Spider-Man in a sequel, it's also possible we'll see a version of Spider-Gwen, too.
In a sign of the effort that went into even the little details, Spider-Man's dialogue in phone calls was recorded twice, and depending on whether he's in combat or standing still, he'll sound either out of breath or calm.
Aside from the story, aside from the combat, there's a lot of entertainment in Spider-Man purely from the aesthetics. Acrobatically swinging around the open-world city is just fun, and one of the side quests entails taking photos of famous landmarks. The world at street level is a bit shallower than games such as Grand Theft Auto, with the main interaction with passersby being giving them a finger-guns greeting or a high five, but the view from the top of the Empire State Building at sunset is impeccable.
Spider-Man is a single-player game with no online component, and to many players' relief, no microtransactions.
There will be three DLC chapters that will be added later, starting in October, available to buy separately or as a bundle. Spider-Man is one of the best recent examples of a AAA game done right, and whether you want to rent or buy, you can't go wrong picking this game up.
ActiveStyle on 09/17/2018