Hello there Blerders and Nerders. I’ve been slowly re-doing some older posts while I’ve had the time. This is one I’ve had in the vault for a while so here we go!
I’ve had some time to go back and play through some of my back log and decided to share my thoughts of the games I finished! Later, I will be reviewing some retro games (from my personal collection) so look out for those in the near future.
I rented this game when it first came out and couldn’t put it down for anything. Before work and after, I was slinging webs all throughout New York and loving every second. Marvel’s Spiderman came out September 8, 2018 developed by Insomniac Games (the studio behind Spyro and Ratchet and Clank series). This game was highly anticipated and hyped up at the year previous E3 (or was it the Playstation conference, I forget). Most thought of it as an extension of the MCU version and rightfully so, Infinity War came out that past April and we wanted more content. It wasn’t connected to the MCU which made the game that much better, in my opinion. This game was (is) as damn near perfect as a video game can be. The studio really took their time making this game and we appreciate them for doing so.
The Basics:
Developer / Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment/Insomniac Games, September 7, 2018
Platform(s): PS4, PS5
Genre: Action
Playtime: 96 hours
Mode/Difficulty (optional):
What Works:
- Story- I feel like I have to remind you guys that this game has NOTHING to do with the MCU. And it’s loosely based off the many comics written. This game’s story seems to be completely original and unique to this game with wonderful references to the comics as well as the MCU. The story starts out (I’ll try my best to be spoiler free) with another routine crime stopping of the Kingpin. As you fight Kingpin, you discover that there is another villain with a even bigger plan for the city brewing. You meet some of Spiderman’s rogue gallery along with some classic characters associated with the story of Spiderman. The story is very well thought out along with some very interesting turns.
- The Gameplay– This is what set this game apart when it came out. Yes, it is an open world game like other games like GTA V or Final Fantasy XV. The difference is the little things. No one usually sticks with the same outfit they started the game with but when there is a cutscene, somehow your character reverts back to it no matter what. Marvel’s Spiderman doesn’t do that. Throughout the game, you can unlock and don many different variations of the Spidey costume and they don’t change when you enter a cutscene, story or otherwise.
- The Open World– There is SO much to do in this game. Stopping robberies, detecting bombs, rounding up escaped criminals, dismantling Fisk’s operations and literally so much more. Yes, it does get repetitive and at times tedious but you will more than likely not be without something to do. But exploring the skylines of New York is something I haven’t gotten tired of doing (yet). While web-slinging through the city, it is also a great opportunity to take interesting pics. The camera mode included in the games gives you the opportunity to play around with the city and it’s characters.
What Doesn’t:
- Mini-missions– The mini-missions go along with the story (some side missions) but they are annoying. SPOILER ALERT: Some missions you will control either Mary-Jane or Miles and after playing as Spider-man for a certain amount of time…their missions will piss you off. They do add a sort depth to the game and story but goodness I wanted to skip those missions SOOOO bad. When I tell you I got tired of Mary-Jane and her non-powered self, I mean it. But luckily, there is not a lot of these so you are only annoyed for a little bit.
- Graphics disparities– Now this is to be expected for basically every video game created and Spiderman is no exception. While visually amazing, there are sequences when you are fighting enemies where the animations make so sense. You’ll be punching an enemy and looks like your not hitting them but your combo counter continues to increase. I’m not mad at increasing my combos, it’s weird to see. There are times where you would swing through part of a building or some object and the camera angle would be horrendous so you can’t find your way out that spot. But this doesn’t happen too often so it’s not a total issue.
- Objective complexity– When you do most missions, there is usually a set of goals/objectives that you can complete (totally optional of course) to earn extra XP. For example: as your clearing a Fisk business, the optional goals are 1) Web toss 5 enemies 2) Throw 3 objects 3) Perform 100 hit combo. These seem doable right? Sure the first 2 are most definitely doable but the third would be hard when the mission only has 3 waves and getting consecutive hits on enemies is damn near impossible with snipers and rocket launchers. Now this doesn’t happen a lot but after awhile, you get goals like that when you want the extra tokens for that mini-mission.
Final Verdict:
Overall, this game is one of the most complete games I have played in a long while. The story is interesting with a lot of nostalgia. It has a lot to do and you more than likely will have fun doing it while having parts that you will like less. Obtaining new suits, powers and gadgets will have you playing around with different combos on enemies to pass time. The DLC presents even more opportunities to do other things and explore Spiderman’s NYC. If I had to score this game, I would give it a 9 web slings out of 10. Not perfect but as close as you can you get.
Have you guys played it? If so, what did you think? Let us know in the comments! If you haven’t played it yet, go ahead and cop it! I would suggest the Game of the Year edition to get the DLC’s included. Click on the link here and get it from Amazon (it’ll help us out!)