Review: Spider-man: Web of Shadows

Graeme Virtue

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May 23, 2008
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Review: Spider-man: Web of Shadows

Web of Shadows doesn't completely suck - and that's saying a lot for a Spider-Man game.

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unangbangkay

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Oct 10, 2007
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I loved Spidey 2, but the dual-shooter option is a fair trade for the vastly improved combat, which were the biggest sore point in all of the Spidey games to date for me. This has come the closest ever to capturing the feel of fighting "as Spider-Man!", and there wasn't even a need to include Spider-Sense as a mechanic other than a (admittedly squishy) lock-on.

The aerial boss fights (Vulture!), web-strike, finally making it (relatively) easy to kick someone in the middle of a swing, they finally made it fun not just to swing but to fight and transition between the two.

The little trivia quiz in the Wolverine boss fight and opportunity to humor Black Cat also helped a lot (though I have to admit I prefer her Spidey 2 incarnation more).
 

John Tacos

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No. Just No. Spiderman doesn't do well in games, we've already figured this out with E-V-E-R-Y other spiderman game.
 

unangbangkay

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John Tacos said:
No. Just No. Spiderman doesn't do well in games, we've already figured this out with E-V-E-R-Y other spiderman game.
The operative word being other. Web of Shadows and Spider-Man 2 actively work to disprove this, and in at least large part they succeed.
 

Akas

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I disagree. Check out the DS version of Spiderman: WoS. It's actually decent and fun, and it actually might be the best version out of all of them even though (and perhaps because) it plays like a side-scroller beat-em-up.
 

John Tacos

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Okay then, just a question: How? I'm not being hostile, I just am a little hesitant to believe considering the track record. While you explain Ill look at the website.
 

unangbangkay

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Akas said:
I disagree. Check out the DS version of Spiderman: WoS. It's actually decent and fun, and it actually might be the best version out of all of them even though (and perhaps because) it plays like a side-scroller beat-em-up.
But is it on par with X-Men Arcade?

John Tacos said:
Okay then, just a question: How? I'm not being hostile, I just am a little hesitant to believe considering the track record. While you explain Ill look at the website.
Ok, as I mentioned above, it's mainly the combat. Y'know how Spidey's always tended to fight with both feet off the ground in comics, using webs to great effect, but none of the games before WoS really managed to make that possible? That resulted in a great disconnect between swinging (great, mostly) and fighting (meh at best) almost as great as that between overland and battle screen in a Final Fantasy game.

The major twist in formula this time is "Web-Strike". It kind of acts like an "auto-attach" button for a nearby or locked target. Hitting a web-strike slows time for a second while Spidey flings a thread out to the enemy in question, automatically rocketing him to that enemy's side, allowing the initiation of combos and special throws and all that. The same enemy can be web-struck again, starting a new combo, or a new enemy can be hit. This really conveys the sense of getting spidey to bounce from foe to foe, hitting them or setting them up and all that fun stuff.

Web-striking also facilitates a lot of awesome aerial combat, as as long as there are enemies in reach, you don't necessarily need a building to latch onto. For that matter, most of that great Vulture boss battle takes place in the sky, with you grabbing onto his flunkies, bouncing off, and then pummeling the Vulture himself.

Changing suits also opens different combos. Switching to black in mid-throw.

In fact, web-strike is just a bit too effective at times, since it's a guaranteed hit, but some enemies (like Wolverine), can break a strike, countering you unless you break the strike and flip over at the right second. It's almost breathtaking once you get the hang of it, and all the little effect graphics are brilliant.

I'm talking this up perhaps a bit more than it really deserves, but it's definitely worth a rental if you're desperate for something to recapture the glory, or at least do justice to Spider-Man.
 

John Tacos

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Alright, so it looks nice, but so did Ultimate Alliance, and that lost playability like halfway through. Listen, I'm a big Spiderman fan, I must have 6 or 7 first editions of certain issues in my possesion, so when I think of Spiderman, I have high expectations. This just seems like marvel wants to keep cashing on this Venom-Craze thing from the 3rd movie. (which I refuse to watch) I love being able to play as my favorites, but I love to be able to play the without saying, "I rather wish I hadn't spent the money on this." If they release a demo, Ill try it out. I can't promise Ill like it, but Ill let you know once Ive played it if I should start to change my mind about Comic-book games/Movie-games.
 

unangbangkay

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John Tacos said:
Alright, so it looks nice, but so did Ultimate Alliance, and that lost playability like halfway through. Listen, I'm a big Spiderman fan, I must have 6 or 7 first editions of certain issues in my possesion, so when I think of Spiderman, I have high expectations. This just seems like marvel wants to keep ashing on this Venom-Craze thing from the 3rd movie. (which I refuse to watch) I love being able to play as my favorites, but I love to be able to play the without saying, I rather wish I hadn't spent the money on this. If the release a demo, Ill try it out. I can't promise Ill like it, but Ill let you know once ive played it if I should start to change my mind about Comic-book games/Movie-games.
I've located a gameplay video of that Vulture fight on Youtube.

I exaggerated a bit on how much of the fight is in the air, but it's pretty sweet when you're doing it. And that particular fight didn't have all the possible combos and strike attacks unlocks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rEN2JOYFjk

Also, WoS's NYC has the Sentry's Watchtower! Power Man wears his yellow shirt, and Moon Knight is...around.
 

John Tacos

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Nov 25, 2008
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Okay, so that was cool. I wont keep my hopes up, because alot of games LOOK cool. You call me a pessimist, I call me a realist.