Hell is where this belongs
Written: Jun 18 '05
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Product Rating:
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Pros: eh...I'll get back to you on that
Cons: Controls,most graphics,gameplay...the list goes on
The Bottom Line: If there was ever a prime candidate for being an example of why comic-game transitions are bad, this would be it
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| flash-hammer's Full Review: Spawn for PlayStation 1 |
There was once upon a time where Todd McFarlane's most famous creation, Spawn, wasn't that famous. Created in the 90s, and proving a huge success in the comic and action figure markets, towards the end of the decade, McFarlane, naturally, tried to take his creation to the next level of superhero stardom, bringing him into the limelight next to your Spider-Man and Superman and company. Around this time the world recieved the adult orientated HBO animated series, the live action movie starring Michael Jai White, and the videogame Spawn The Eternal for Sony's high flying PlayStation console.
For those unaware of the story of Spawn, he began life as a government operative named Al Simmons, who wanted out, sick of all the killing, to spend time with his wife Wanda. However, Simmons' superior, Jason Wynn, was none too pleased with this, and had Chapel (from Image Comics Youngblood) kill Al.
At this point, Malebolgia, ruler of the Seventh sphere of hell, makes Al an offer he cannot refuse, to return him to Earth, in exchange for his services as a 'Hellspawn', a general in his army. However, Al gets screwed, is returned 5 years later, with Wanda remarried and with a child, and him looking like he is made of hamburger,held together by necroplasm and a symbiotic costume. Al has finite, yet amazing power at his disposal, power which he decides to use against Malebolgia for tricking him. However, the forces of Heaven still see him as an enemy, and he constantly has to deal with attacks from Angels, and 'The Redeemer', an 'anti-spawn' of sorts, not to mention the other, non supernatural enemies he makes.
I'm unsure exactly what the story of the game is, because it never really makes clear, but the story of Spawn really should cover it, beause this is more a general plodding through of the rough comic story than any sort of unique adventure, which was points off it right off the bat.
At the time of the game's release, about 1998, I was without a games console, and very, very into comics, Spawn in particular. I really wanted a PlayStation, and the fact that every issue of Spawn, and it's spin-offs, seemed to advertise this game, where you could rip enemies arms off and batter them with them, made me want a PlayStation and a copy even more. My parents will held strong and for years I went without a PSX. When I finally did get my hands on Sony's grey box of wonders, I discovered that it wasn't all it was cracked up to be, and at this point I had given up on my comics, so Spawn's game wasn't really a priority in my mind. To be honest, I completely forgot about it's existance until I stumbled accross it in a preowned bin one day. It cost more than I usually pay for preowned games, but remembering my history with it, I jumped right in and tackle the prospect of this game I had wanted so, so badly a few years prior. For the first time in history, I actually thanked my parents for not buying me a games console and game at my request.
Spawn The Eternal was actually the second videogame outing for the character, his debut, titled simply Spawn was released for the Super Nintendo, which I didn't have at the time and since attaining one I haven't been able to find a copy of the game. From what I can tell it was a platform game based around some issues of the comic, and it looked pretty decent. Sadly, the same cannot be said about this game. A sort of cross between a 1-on-1 fighter and a 3D adventure game, where you take on the role of Spawn, and run around in some 3D areas finding keys and such, and whenever you are faced with an enemy, the game turns into a 1-on-1 fighter. For the most part you are dealing with random street thugs, but occasionally you come accross some comic villains such as Overtkill,Violator and the Redeemer(the latter of which is found wandering around Chinatown aimlessly).
The enemies are possibly one of the funniest aspects of the game, the random street thugs can be split into 3 categories: punk, bum and businessman. I have no idea how any of these relate to Malebolgia, hell or anyone else after Spawn, but it is pretty funny fighting a suit with the Hellspawn. Each 'zone' of the game has it's own enemies, and the game also features werewolves and demons as enemies, but the fact is, I only played past the fist zone once, because the game is actually that bad that if you are unfortuneate enough to play it, you probably won't even complete the first zone.
You have 4 'Zones' to fight through, from Spawn's home in Rat City, to Medieval times, to Savage Realm and finally to Spawn's creator's home in hell. As I say, these bring with them their own enemies, but the fact is, it's basically exactly the same with different graphics.
The gameplay of Spawn is, pardon the pun, hellish. The adventure parts play like an even clunkier version of a Lara Croft vehicle, with no acrobatics or such to liven it up, you basically wander about, find keys, kick buckets and occasionally find power ups to use in fights. These sections are not only pathetic in terms of ambition on the developers part, but they are just crap in terms of design as well. It's never clear what you are meant to be doing, so you often find yourself wandering around aimlessly looking for something to do.
To further hinder matters, the game is buggy as all hell. Prepare to get stuck in places you shouldn't even have been able to go, to walk through solid walls, and Spawn to just go into some sort of fit occasionally.
The fighting parts are moderately better, but even then the game plays like a worse version of Tekken, and I'm sure anyone who has played the original game in that series will testify that it sure isn't a good thing to have comparisons drawn to. The likeness comes in the form of the controls, and the fact that you fight simply by mashing all the buttons. Sure you have a few special attacks at your disposal, but the commands rarely respond, so mashing all the attack buttons is usually the safe option.
They have tried to incorporate Spawn's powers and his 'Power Meter', which counts down his remaining energy, but this is basically used for a few special attacks and replenishing your health after a mash fest/fight/whatever you want to call it.
Graphically, the game fares better in some respects, and even worse in others. The character models all look decent. The generic enemies are a bit blocky, but Spawn and the main characters look ok, not great, or even good, but ok is an achievement in this game. The one aspect where they did get it right was the animation, which is actually very smooth, especially when it comes to combat. The arm-ripping move is rather realistically animated in terms of body movement, as are all the fighting moves, meaning that at least the game isn't a complete eye-sore.
Initially, the stages look ok as well, they are grimy,dark coloured and generally good at capturing a Spawn-like atmosphere. Then you get close to a semi-detailed area and realise that they are actually pretty terrible, and everything is incredibly grainy.
Sound in the game is another mixed bag. The music is decent, broody rocky stuff for the most part, which also does a decent job of creating a Spawny atmosphere, but the sound effects are simply laughable, especially the "bleh" noise Spawn makes when he dies that sounds as if it's been lifted from an 8-Bit game.
Controls that are universal include:
D-Pad: Move Spawn
L1+L2: Heal Spawn
In 'adventure' mode, the controls look like this:
Triangle:Jump
Square:Break Punch
Circle:Break Kick
X: Activate Switches
L1:Roll Forward
L2:Precision movement.
In combat mode:
Triangle:Right Punch
Square:Left Punch
Circle:Right Kick
X:Left Kick
R1+R2: Swap between Cape and Chains
L1:Side Step Left
L2:Side Step Right
As I say, there are special moves, mainly performed by tapping the d-pad in a variety of directions before pressing an attack button, but the fact is, it rarely responds to this command, which is odd, because the button response for the game actually isn't bad at all. The layout is pretty good as well, although exactly what the purpose of rolls and precision movement is I've truly got to wonder, but the game's main control problem is the D-Pad's control of Spawn, which is poor at best. It's impossible to fluidly turn corners with Spawn, you have to stop, take an eternity to turn him around and then progress running forward, the controls in this field are absolutely disgusting, and how Sony thought they would get away with this is anyone's guess.
On the whole, it's hard to think of this game and try to even attempt to put a positive spin on it. It's clunky,uninspiring, and generally a disgrace to the license placed upon it. Even as someone who considers himself at least, to a degree, a Spawn fan, there really isn't anything to recommend this horrible,horrible game on. Thankfully the game seems quite rare now, which is actually a service to the gaming public, that innocent gamers won't accidentally stumble upon this steaming pile of faeces and mistake it for a decent looking game. If I were in a good mood, I may be lax enough to give Spawn The Eternal 2-Stars, but the fact is, it's hard to remain in a good mood after playing a rubbish game like this, so it can take 1-Star, and not even bother asking about recommending it.
Recommended:
No
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flash-hammer
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