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SPIDER-MAN (PS4)
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Publisher: Sony.
Developer: Insomniac Games. Released: September 2018. Genre: Sandbox. Posted 31st December 2018. By Shane Battams © 2018 |
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With Sony and Insomniac Games teaming up once more, Spider-Man quickly became one of the most anticipated games of 2018. Gamers hoped it would do for the titular hero what Arkham Asylum did for Batman: bring a comic icon to life in a fantastic adventure. While some design missteps perhaps stop it from quite reaching the same heights as the Caped Crusader’s adventures, Spider-Man does serve as a faithful tribute to the hero, delivering a great open-world adventure that both fans of the series and those unfamiliar can enjoy.
Taking its cues from the more grounded Marvel Cinematic Universe, Peter Parker has just graduated from college and is delicately balancing working as a scientist at Octavius Industries and fighting crime as Spider-Man. After successfully putting Kingpin behind bars, it seems as though crime is on the rise, as a mysterious masked gang dubbed “the Demons” begins to procure Kingpin’s illegal resources. Parker must balance these precarious elements while series faithfuls such as Aunt May and Mary Jane Watson also make appearances. It’s perhaps the most mature take on Spider-Man to date, with great voice acting and deep motivations powering through some more predictable moments and obvious twists. There are enough nods to the comics to keep fans hooked, but it serves enough origin stories for several villains to also please those unfamiliar with Spidey’s antics.
Unsurprisingly, an urban open-world fits Spider-Man's abilities to a tee.
Taking place in an open-world New York, Spider-Man gives you the chance to partake in story and side missions, collectible hunts and a bevy of other activities. One of the key strengths of Insomniac’s Spider-Man is traversal. Once in the air, you can latch onto buildings and other tall objects to swing. Timing your jump allows you to build speed and swing higher. But it’s the bevy of tricks you can pull off which really add fluidity and style to traversal. Utilising both triggers, you can latch onto an object and by timing your jump, you can then gain a speed boost to zip along New York at a breakneck pace. You can eventually fast travel between key locations, but with such fantastic web swinging mechanics, you’ll often find yourself avoiding that function.
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On the ground, combat is also enjoyable. Taking a few cues from the Arkham series, Spider-Man puts a focus on combos, dodging attacks and crowd control. There are a few neat wrinkles in there though. As you progress, you earn a wide array of gadgets including web bombs, concussive shots and trip mines. These allow you to not only plan stealthier approaches, as often outposts and key areas start in a stealth state, but also spice your offence up, as clearing three criminals at once with a web bomb is always awesome. Webbing actually proves a fantastic tool, as trapping lower-level enemies to walls and objects can help thin numbers even if this isn’t as useful against armed and larger foes. It keeps the action flowing beautifully with a multitude of opportunities for experimentation and flexibility.
FOCAL POINT: SPIDEY'S STRONG STORY
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Spider-Man features a bevy of comic-book villains for you to face, but while many are already in their villainous guise, one character is a slow-burn in his turn to the darkside. One of the best things about dramatic irony is you know it’s coming, but seeing this character unravel into his alter-ego is perhaps the most tragic strand to have featured in a superhero game. He ends up playing a key role in the game’s third act, and his conflict with Peter Parker – who himself feels a responsibility for creating this monstrous character – is genuinely compelling. It reaffirms the maturity of the narrative, and though it’s a twist you can see coming if you know the comics, it still is heartbreaking.
So, all seems well so far. But unfortunately, some design missteps diminish these highs. Mission design can vary wildly, as while story missions are often exciting and intense, Insomniac try to break up the action with a multitude of stealth segments which place you in the role of side characters such as Mary Jane. These just kill the pace of the action, immediately punishing you with a game over if you are caught. They’re tedious and unsatisfying. Side content is also variable. Many of the open world activities borrow liberally from other games. Hackable towers reveal key icons on the map, bases can be infiltrated and collectibles come in many forms. None of it is bad, per se, but it feels lazy and generic when compared to the excellent quality story missions. The strong gameplay keeps some of the activities fun nonetheless, but some of it becomes tedious before the game’s end.
This same inconsistency can plague the presentation, though it teeters closer to great. Generally the visuals are of high standard, particularly the fantastically detailed protagonists and Spider suit, stunning New York landscapes, time-dependent lighting which illuminates the city beautifully and a steady performance. But side characters can look unflattering with poor facials and animation, taking you out of the game, and visual bugs can dampen the polish. Sound is generally spot-on, with high quality voice work bar some goofy reads, operatic music which sways perfectly with the varied action and hard-hitting sound effects for combat. Spider-Man is full of quips to spare both in its story and in its combat, though the latter can suffer from repetitive quotes, which grate.
This same inconsistency can plague the presentation, though it teeters closer to great. Generally the visuals are of high standard, particularly the fantastically detailed protagonists and Spider suit, stunning New York landscapes, time-dependent lighting which illuminates the city beautifully and a steady performance. But side characters can look unflattering with poor facials and animation, taking you out of the game, and visual bugs can dampen the polish. Sound is generally spot-on, with high quality voice work bar some goofy reads, operatic music which sways perfectly with the varied action and hard-hitting sound effects for combat. Spider-Man is full of quips to spare both in its story and in its combat, though the latter can suffer from repetitive quotes, which grate.
Spider-Man offers a stronger narrative and greater character development than the webbed one's earlier forays into gaming.
While Spider-Man does suffer from flaws which can’t be glossed over, it is still a tremendous tribute to the superhero and a solid open-world game. Despite lacking innovation and polish in spots as well as suffering from a couple of questionable design decisions, it benefits from a mature story which grounds the web head in a more realistic yet dramatic tale, incredible web-swinging mechanics and fast paced combat. Insomniac doesn’t necessarily provide interesting activities to engage in, the core gameplay more than makes up for it. It provides a faithful experience for aficionados while also offering some interesting narrative origins for those unfamiliar with the comic.
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VERDICT
"While Spider-Man's flaws can’t be glossed over, it's still a tremendous tribute to the superhero and a solid open-world game. Even if Insomniac doesn’t always provide compelling content, its core gameplay makes up for it.” OVERALL: 8/10 |