The Amazing Spider-man Game Review

Whilst The Amazing Spider-man Video Game may lack the all out ‘spit and polish’ of some premium titles it does bring something new to movie-game tie-ins of late; it is genuinely fun and exciting to play, is full of features and successfully regenerates the Spider-man franchise under software developer Beenox.

Excuse the pun but Spider-Man’s web franchise has been a bit of a sticky web in terms of quality and variety over the past number of years. When it has been good it has been great, but let’s face it when it has been bad, it has been crap. Beenox have been in-charge of the franchise since the highly acclaimed Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, a game that really showed what could be achieved when game’s developers who love the material actually put their minds into bringing the concept to life and who are willing to put in blood, sweat and tears so that new ideas become reality and that these ideas work well. It was for these reasons amongst others that Shattered Dimensions was so well received. Tragically though, the follow up – Edge of Time saw Beenox dropping the ball somewhat almost spectacularly by condemning our beloved wall crawler to confined spaces, changing the control system so that it was tricky to play and having a ho-hum storyline that did little to engage players.

Listening to the critics of Edge of Time and looking at the efforts put into what some would say the ‘all too soon’ reboot of the Spider-man franchise Beenox knew they had to up their game. Mentality wise, they had to approach this just like Marvel Studios were going to approach the movie – it was going to be a one shot gun; they knew they were either going to re-energise the title or kill it. Restore the hope to millions of spidey fans, or destroy it.

Games that successfully manage to re-create the magic of comic books and movies is no mean feat; superhero games especially have a hard time translating the mass of abilities with ease of control. With the exception of Rocksteady and their Batman franchise there are few others that actually do it well. Thankfully though, Beenox fulfilled what some would say is a tall order The Amazing Spiderman plays very well indeed, in places it is incredibly cinematic and having it linked so closely to a movie which is heavily anticipated does it no harm at all.

The story in The Amazing Spider-Man the video game takes place some months after where the movie ended. After the Dr. Connors’ incident, Oscorp Industries went on to create an army of robots that maintain peace inNew York, scanning and attacking infected life forms. Unfortunately Oscorp also continued Connors’ research into cross-species and in one of the opening stages these potentially walking infectious diseases attack and infect Parker’s high school sweetheart: Gwen Stacey and escape intoManhattan, infecting innocents on the way. This leaves Spider-Man with no choice but to break Connors out of prison and work together with him to come up with an antidote to cure the infection in the city and save his girlfriend Gwen.

Set in a free-roaming open-world you will protect innocents of the city, battle with the infected, come across and battle super villains, tackle muggers and other perps of criminal activity all with the ability to explore and swing to your heart’s content.

The mechanic feels great and both looks and works tremendously well. Out in the city whilst you are web-slinging the camera moves in nice and close, and there is this immense feeling of motion, propulsion, gravity, speed and not to mention impressive grace. Swinging through the city you can swing really low between traffic like the movie, you can also free fall and swing at the last second. If you have seen any of the previous Spider-Man movies, you’ll experience that same feeling Peter Parker did the first time he mastered his new abilities. Sometimes in the game you even hear the character whoop with excitement as he enjoys the rush of flying through the air. This helps bring the game to life and I thought a nice touch by the developers who obviously had the master of movement as one of their core angles for this title. It is something perhaps I might not get tired of for a while and in my view makes up for any lack of online multi-play which could have further benefitted this game.

Combat wise this title doesn’t disappoint either. Spidey can confront enemies head on or attack from the shadows. Much has been borrowed from the control method of the Arkham series of Batman games; a single button to initiate and carry out a combo which builds your combo meter with every successful hit, and when the spider-sense goes off around Spider-Man’s head, you know someone is about to attack you so you tap the reversal button to stylishly take them out.

I’ve heard some reviewers complain that it is ‘too borrowed’ from Batman (including the degradable suit) but how can you realistically complain when a formula works so well. It makes it easy to look like a superhero when you skillfully drop down above an unsuspecting enemy, web them into a cocoon and propel them to the ceiling. If you don’t fancy going down the stealth route then you can take them on one by one or in a group with webs and signature moves galore which can be upgraded. Very nice indeed.

New to this Spider-man game is the inclusion of Web Rush. By holding a shoulder button, time slows down and you go into Spider-man’s ‘eyes’ where you can look at and select locations you desire to zip-line to, interact with or attack. It’s an elegant way to get Spider-Man around quickly and in a room full of enemies it allows you to quickly see objects you can use to your advantage.

Of course, there are some areas in which this title falls short of the mark and whilst they are not in my opinion deal breakers (because they are common issues found in most open world games) they do detract from what would otherwise be a quality title. Firstly, whilst the model for Spider-Man is exceptional, there are ten times as many average looking character models in the game. So many people just look the same bar a few palette changes here and there and many sound the same or say the same things. This equally goes for many of the adventures you have around the city. The first time you stop a robbery and hear Spidey deliver a cool line like ‘Stay frosty’ you are going to be excited and the second time and the third but by the time you take out your 15th armed robber who looks or sounds the same or has stolen exactly the same car, stopping robberies wont be high on your agenda. There’s a lot to do in the life of Spider-man but be prepared to repeat these missions over and over again; you’ll hear the same one-liners from Spidey and help the same police officer over and over again. That’s one of the things I think LA Noire got right; each of the side missions were individual crimes in their own right. This is an area for improvement for any future titles. Secondly, Spider-man falls foul of another typical issue of open world titles which is of graphical dexterity. Some of the surfaces especially those which are indoor just lack that spit and polish and look gaudy up close. I found this more noticeable on the Xbox version than on the PlayStation 3 but really, should it be there at all? There are also some niggling camera issues especially when you are in combat or adopting a stealth approach to attacking enemies. Sometimes you’ll find yourself backed into a corner that brings almost certain death and inevitably, some frustration.

On the PlayStation 3 you can play with the PlayStation Move. Now before you get images of two motion controllers in your hands flicking your webs acrossManhattan, think again. You hold a navigation controller or regular controller in your left hand and then the PlayStation Move controller in the right.

Basically, the Move puts a cursor on the screen and gives you a more accurate way to Web Rush or fire webbing. That is, rather than cycling through your options with the right analogue stick you can now just point. Flicking the Move also does an immediate Web Retreat. Whilst it works o.k. and has some novelty value I found it by no means a necessity. I played through the game with normal controls and never actually felt like more precise aiming would greatly help me or make the game any easier; in fact using the move controller just made my arm tired for all the wrong reasons.

The Verdict

With stunning visuals, decent enough storyline and lets not forget incredible web-slinging, Spider-man might not be the best game but is probably one of the best movie tie-ins of late. Fair play some of the missions get repetitive and some of the graphics are rough around the edges but The Amazing Spider-Man is still fun to play and gets me really excited when I think about the movie release next week.

8.5 / 10

Top Ten Christmas Computer Games

HO-Ho-HO

Christmas is once again upon us and you know what that means: games; but not just any game, only the finest games will do. Only the finest games will still make it past the Boxing day and New Year trade ins. Only the finest games will be the ones that your special lad (or lass) will be talking about, showering you with praise and calling you erm, ‘Love muffin’ all night long.

So when you think about it, you need a Father Christmas like me. I am the fairy tale you can believe in. Follow my top ten and rest assured that although they will be some turkeys out there it all will end happily ever after, ignore it and trust me there will be a lot of booing and hissing and cries of ‘she’s behind you’…

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Battlefield 3

People have got all emotional over which is FPS (First Person Shooter) is better – Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 or Battlefield 3. To quote my special friend out there ‘Hell, why not have both?’. You know what – he is right. Modern Warfare 3 picks up in the explosive aftermath of Modern Warfare 2. With that naughty boy Makarov still at large, you must overcome tougher than tough odds as World War 3 erupts.  In Battlefield 3 you will experience intense fire fights thanks to the all new Frostbite 2.0 Engine. Buildings crumble as you use a variety of vehicles from planes to tanks that seem to do one thing – make the enemy explode. Both titles have great multi-player modes – although my personal favourite is Modern Warfare 3 both titles clock in at around 6 – 8 hours play. Which means you can easily fit them in – both before, and after your turkey coma.

FIFA 12

Having Christmas without football is like having corn flakes without the milk. Running on the all new Player Impact Engine, which incidentally sounds like a piece of PIE to me – FIFA 12 gets you ‘on the pitch’ closer than close to the football action. Of course there are Volleys, dribbles and passing, but thanks to the new Engine even the slightest knock by an opponent can send you tumbling to the ground if you’re off-balance.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Packing around a whopping 90 hours play – Elder Scrolls 5 is the reason why many gamers have just woke up from a gaming coma. Highly acclaimed, highly detailed. This game reinvents the whole the whole idea of what RPG’s should and could be capable of. Skyrim offers action, adventure, huge dragons, and lots of beheadings. There are over 150 dungeons to explore and loads of realms. In your adventure you will travel the countryside, become a blacksmith creating and forging your weapons, talk to people, shoot bows and arrows, and unleash different magic spells. The part that I loved the most was being able to play the entire game in the first person perspective.

Yes, there are faults with this title but not one games player I know would say they are big enough reasons not to get this game.

Batman: Arkham City

Say what you want about superhero games but keep the Dark Knight of Gotham out of it. Rebuilding a franchise in much the same way as Mr Nolan has rebuilt the film series, Batman: Arkham City is just sheer incredibility on a disc. The game mechanics put you firmly into the man of the Cape-and-Cowl and will have you gliding unseen into Arkham City; the new residence of Gotham’s criminally insane. With improved mechanics, free flow combat, and gadgets that would even make James Bond go green with envy the only let down is when the game keeps returning to the ‘Gargoyle’ routine seen in the previous game for taking down a room full of enemies. Other than that it has Cat-woman, Robin, and more than a few other surprises to keep you on the return factor.

Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception

Nathan Drake is back and once again in hot water. You join him as he sets out in search of the “Atlantis of the Sands”.  Head to head against a shadowy group also in search of the lost city, Drake must confront some of his greatest fears as he starts unearthing truths about the lost City. One thing is apparent from the offset, and that is the game looks stunning. Naughty Dog has clearly eked out every last drop of processing power from the PS3 and harnessed it to unparalleled effect. There are some scenes that will make your jaw drop and even the multiplayer stages have multi-levels which is a first. This is one fantastic game to play – but in my opinion way too short on a single player. It is however still a masterpiece and should ride high on any shopping list.

Need for Speed: The Run

EA are certainly going all out to redefine their Need for Speed Franchise. The Run sees you step into Jack Rourke shoes, a character trapped inside a red Porsche Carrera about to be put on a serious diet inside a car compactor. The young man owes the Mob money and they want him dead. Thanks to a Heavy Rain-button press sequence, you are able to escape the crushing and flee. Later you are tempted by a friend into a race across America in the hope of winning a $25 million top prize and getting the Mafia off your back. What is great about The Run is the diversity of environments, taking you to the bright lights of the cities through to the sprawling open highways. The game is really well presented, with great attention to detail in the environments, the cop chases are also heart stopping. However racing is just racing at the end of the day and wont suit everyone.

Legend Of Zelda: Skyward Sword

Proving that there is truth in the saying that everything comes to those who wait. Skyward Sword is the game that Wii owners have been waiting for. Re-energising the entire Legend of Zelda franchise but also legitimising motion controls is no mean feat, but one that is accomplished easily here. Trading sliding block puzzles and fetch quests for full action and motion plus puzzles makes this game infinitely more playable and fun. Equally the graphics are beautifully shaded and easy on the eye. The game that the Wii has been waiting for.

Assassin’s Creed: Revelations

If most gamers are completely honest – Assassins Creed Brotherhood should never have been there – thankfully Revelations brings us right back on track with a quality game that brings a satisfactory conclusion to the Assassins Creed 2 Trilogy. You are Master assassin – Ezio Auditore, returning to walk the path of discovery and revelation as he journeys to Constantinople. But in the heart of the Ottoman Empire is a Templar Army that threatens to dislodge everything.  Aside from a few glitches, this Assassin’s Creed is near as good as it can get – for now.Constantinopleis possibly the best city so far and the few CGI moments are nothing short of stunning. There is a solid 20+ hour single player offering plus an augmented multiplayer mode that could last you for days.

Just Dance 3

Christmas isn’t just about playing games on your own – no way, this Christmas get the whole family together with a ‘dance off’ that pairs granny with uncle and if you really want to have fun breaking down barriers why not get the ‘in-laws’ together. Yes this is Just Dance, featuring over 40 tracks from a wide range of music genres and for the first time properly featuring vocals with lyrics displayed on the screen. As a game it is something you can’t really go wrong with – and don’t even pretend you weren’t thinking about getting it, I the look on your face when it came up in the advert break in TOWIE. Just  make sure you have the Mics and the Move controllers already in the house before you go out and buy.

Saints Row: The Third

Whereas Grand Theft Auto always took itself too seriously – Saints Row: The Third always stood back; tongue firmly in cheek. If you’re not too worried about the realism of a game and more about the fun factor – this is for you.  What other game has a special mode called “Whored Mode”, where you can be chased around by prostitutes in leather “geek suits” wielding long purple dildos?  Yes, it’s that kind of over the top fun that has been a staple of this entire series. Some would say that it is a true sand-box game in that you can do anything you wish, in many ways the most amount of fun that you can have in this game is when you do just that. Wreak havoc.

So there is my list – of course there are games that just missed the top ten; Goldeneye Reloaded, Mario and Sonic at the 2012 Olympic Games, Sonic Generations and of course Ultimate Marvel Vs Capcom, ooh and Rayman – games that are all good in their own right.

I know what you are thinking – games aren’t cheap and its true – however take heart – prices are always changing as everyone feels the pinch and companies try to get one up on their competitors so my advice is get out there and check on-line (from reputable dealers) to see if you can save money. Zavvi for example has a Mega Monday where there is a price drop on most of their major titles, Play has a deal of the week, even Sainbury’s had a deal on Elder Scrolls 5 – knocking an amazing £5 of the asking price. So seek and you shall find.