Whats hot and sticky? No not that, it's Spider-Man! (XBOX)
Written: Jun 10 '02 (Updated Jun 16 '02)
Product Rating:
Pros: The aerial levels
Cons: The ground levels
The Bottom Line: While there is no doubt the game is fun, I can't help but feel as if the Spider-Man license saved the game a bit from being a total dud.
System: XBOX (also on GC, PS2, and GBA)
Players:1 (up to four for the mini games)
Genre: Action Adventure (Action/Adventure)
ESRB Rating: “E” for Everyone
It would have been idiotic for the blockbuster Spider-Man movie to not appear on a video game console. The movie has broken records left and right and with that being said, it’s not a surprise that Spider-Man is appearing everywhere. He’s on the television, radio, Internet, billboards, and more importantly, on your video game consoles. Now you’ll probably assume that the video game version of Spider-Man focuses entirely on the movie’s plot, so you’ll most likely dismiss it for the pure fact that the game will most likely suck hard since it’s just a copy of the movie. However, your wrong; while the game does focus on the movie’s plot, it also mixes it up a little bit by adding new super villains such as The Shocker, Scorpion, and Vulture. Which really works well with the game since all the characters are connected to each other in one way or another, but most of the attention is of course spent on the Green Goblin.
Visually, the game --for majority of the time-- is great. The outdoor, aerial stages are sight to behold. You get a small taste of what Spidey’s neighborhood with towering buildings shooting up to the sky with reflective panels surrounding them as the bright sun reflects off giving off a shimmering effect during the day while in the evening you’ll see certain sections light up as others remain pitch black as you speed past them using your talented web slinging skills to get from point “A” to point “B”. Oh and down below, you’ll see cars actually move through the jammed streets of New York. Plus best of all, you get to view all of this without any fog, clipping, slow down, or jump in; it’s all perfectly laid out to you just as it would be if you were actually Spider-Man. The indoor levels at times can be quite impressive, such as the subway station, which is HUGE for where height goes, which is great due to the fact you can actually do whatever a spider can in this game. Yet, other levels, such as the sewers, are extremely shallow and linear, making it not to impressive. The character models appear to be eerily realistic with muscle tone and definition, which is more noticeably sought when looking up close. For majority of the time, the visuals in Spider-Man are a visual treat; however, it’s at certain indoor levels where you’ll notice some of the areas appear to use the same patterns over and over, which in this case is not a good thing.
I don’t know if it’s just me, but the sound in Spider-Man is at best, sub-par. The in game music seems over dramatic at times due to the unnecessary orchestra pieces playing at the wrong times, as if the programmers didn’t take the time to program a better timing for the music tracks. Thankfully, the game does contain spoken dialogue from the cast members in Spider-Man. Toby Maguire and Willem Dafoe do the dialogue for the characters they play in the film during the game’s cut scenes and levels (depending on your actions). While Dafoe recites his lines with enthusiasm and feeling which add feeling to the game; it’s Toby Maguire’s spoken dialogue is shallow and tedious, as if he didn’t want to give the time or day for the video game recordings. Thankfully, Bruce Campbell and Stan Lee step for the training sessions and cut scenes. Sound effects are basically what you would expect for a comic book based game; there are the basic “whacks” and “wham’s” along with the characters speaking with villains threatening you to spider-man reciting one of the dozens and dozens of classic one liner’s you’ve all come to read in the spider-man comics. Overall while there are easily some noticeable faults such as the lack of dull dialogue and oddly created soundtrack, the sound is not a complete lost, thank god.
While I may have trashed the sound in the game pretty bad, it’s nothing to how the camera performs. The camera in Spider-Man is pretty much crap. The camera shows you everything except your battles and whats worse is that the placement of the camera effects your movement; I can’t tell you how many times when one second I was walking down a simple hallway when within a second later I see Spider-Man waking directly into a wall. It’s not only aggravating, but it could have been prevented! The only way to get around the buggy camera is by activating the enemy lock in, which is surprisingly easy to use and navigate. The control scheme itself puts practically every button to use. Such ordinary moves such as web slinging, zip lining, and yo-yo’ing are easily pulled off by a push of a button. However, when in combat, you’ll be asked to memorize combinations that will open the doors as to how you approach your enemies. Will you switch your punches to a donkey kick or a upper cut? By using (and finding) these combinations, it prevents the game from being boring.
With just 10 hours of game play, Spider-Man may seem skinny, but it’s what you make of it that makes the game a flop or not. Besides the game’s story mode, the training mode allows you to play over a dozen mini games that hope to improve your web slinging skills. The gallery mode is where you’ll be able to view unlockable mini-movies from the video game (why not the motion picture?) as well as production art. But it’s the bonus gallery mode where the fun is at. Here you’ll be able to play the game as different characters such as Peter Parker or the comic book style Spider-Man; there are tons more which are either unlockable by completing the game through the numerous difficulty modes or by simply entering a password. And if your more into finding mini game’s, the Spidey bowling game should suit you will, it’s surprisingly addictive. Yet how many times are you willing to put the time and effort into beating the game 4 or 5 times for the sake of playing the game as the Green Goblin (glider included)? If your able to get past the camera issues, then you shouldn’t have a problem. Truth is, Spider-Man is one of the better movie to game ports, but for obvious reasons, it’s nothing truly spectacular.
1.) Sonic Adventure 2 - ”Sonic Adventure 2 still keeps things fresh and worth playing with the new additions such as the game play, characters, visuals, sound, and mini games..” - ****
2.) Jet Set Radio Future – So would I recommend this game? Heck yeah! This is some of SEGA’s best works in my opinion." - *****
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