Spider-man Games

[Azure-Supernova]

So I've recently lost my job and whilst I'm waiting for a new one I've had to get used to days of doing balls all all over again. Part of that time has been spent reliving my childhood through the 1994 Spider-Man Animated Series (it totally still holds up!). But watching it has created an itch, an itch that can only be scratched by playing as the titular web-head himself. The last Spider-Man game I played was Ultimate Spider-Man on the Gamecube and that was a good decade ago.

So I've looked up the latest releases and honestly I was disappointed, with the latest release being an endless runner mobile game from last year and previous titles receiving mixed to negative reviews. So my question is a two pronged one really:

A. Are Web of Shadows, Shattered Dimensions and Edge of Time worth investing a few quid?

B. What does your ideal Spider-Man game look and play like?

 

[WhiteFangofWhoa]

A:
Apparently the Spider Man 2 movie game (original trilogy, not Amazing Spidey) was the best one for good use of Spidey's unique abilites both in story and in side quests. The other three you mentioned have greater emphasis on combat, generally quite similar in style but of the three I found Shattered Dimensions the most attractive due to diversity of settings and villains. Whereas Edge of Time is basically the same game again except fewer villains and environments and only two Spider-Men instead of four.

B:
Something with a control scheme that allowed smooth use of all Spider-Man's talents including ceiling-clinging and use of webbing on a multitude of objects to use as improvised weapons (like Half-Life 2 except webs instead of a Gravity Gun) as well as enemies, and missions and villains demanding diverse use of all of the above. Also make the one-liners an optional taunt command that aggravates some enemies into charging blindly or generally behaving less strategically, thus defeating the valid complaint that they repeat too often in the above games. In fact you could go all the way and allow for witty insult duels with villains Monkey Island style... but maybe not.

 

[CritialGaming]

A. Yes a FEW quid. (i dont know what quid are or how much they are worth compared to dollars)

B. Good web swinging combat, non-mandatory crime missions, free flowing combat ala Batman Arkam games.

 

[votemarvel]

Web of Shadows is my favourite Spider-Man game. I like how your actions can change the ending.

Both Shattered Dimensions and Edge of Time are good games but I could never finish either one due to the Spider-Man 2099 falling sections.

 

[kitsunefather]

Web of Shadows is well made, but didn't really feel like a super-hero game to me.

That said, the arcing choices are different enough to make them worth while, the suits feel different, and it was very nice to see Marvel incorporate more of its characters into the narrative. I liked the evil ending better than the good one, but I have my reasons.

 

[SeventhSigil]

This is going to sound very odd, and it's not even so much about Spider-Man games as superhero games in general, but I always had this wish to play a superhero game that took a slightly wider view on the regular civilian life of said hero. I.e. the option to get around in civilian clothes, maybe even try to keep your identity secret, (or, heck, 'come out' to the city and have consequences arise from that,) and basically have some sort of engaging tedium to contrast all the superness. And I don't just mean the mini-games like Spider-Man 2's pizza delivery, but rather a literal second life, maybe with the civilian identity having advantages- like a level of anonymity and access to regions without conflict- over the superhero one, and vice versa. Of course, it's likely a very niche desire, and obviously wouldn't make for very exciting gameplay. x3 But the option to wander around the normal civvies, only to get super when there was butt to kick, became pretty engaging in a low-key way, because it made the superheroing feel a bit more fantastic.

Again, I'm weird.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

Web of Shadows is the best Spider-Man game. It's more than worth playing. In fact I'm thinking about replaying it. So go for it.

 

[Azure-Supernova]

Thanks guys, I've done a bit of looking around and I've surfed some Youtube channels, combined with your opinions I'm gonna hunt down a cheapy cheap of Web of shadows and give it a blast.

 

[ObsidianJones_v1legacy]

It's been said before, but it really does bare repeating.

Arkham is the best Spiderman game there will ever be.

There will be no spiderman game that will ever surpass it, and that's sad to say. The spider sense reaction time? Arkham already did it. Free flowing combat? The term originated in Arkham. Vertical scaling? Done in City. Using Genius IQ to solve problems? Batman's detective vision would like a word with you. Best stable of villains in Marvel? Meet the wildly considered best stable of villains ever.

The Spider Family would be the only way to excel over the Arkham Formula. Each new variation has a power or two that could be useful in certain situations. Spider Girl can glue people to a surface that they are both touching, or violently blow them off the surface. Herself including. Miles Morales has bio-electric shock and camouflage.

But they also have their issues. Spider Girl isn't anywhere near as strong as her dad. Miles's spider sense is a blip of immediate danger compared to the vast "The Stock Market is crashing, better short my stocks" level of precog abilities as Peter's spider sense. You could possibly get a bonus for using Spiderman for a stealth section when Miles would obviously have an easier time of it. In a straight up brawl, pick Spider Girl for a real challenge. That kind of thing.

 

[Rebel_Raven]

The last Spiderman game I played was the ps2 Spiderman 2. My only complaint was the damn kid that lost their balloon crying about it in the most grating way possible.

My ideal spiderman game would involve a decent roster outside of Peter Parker like playing as Silk, May Parker, Miles Morales, Clone Saga Spiderwoman (Coz she's a clone of Parker), Spider-Gwen, Scream, Scorn, Venom, maybe She-venom, and some more symbiotes. Lets get some recognition out there for lesser known characters, and not just focus on Peter Parker. Not saying we can't have Spiderman himself, but lets add other people to the mix. It'd likely create varying play styles, too.

 

[Metalmacher]

I played Web of Shadows. On PC. So yeah, I didn't have a good experience, the game can't run on ANY machine it's just a stuttering fest. AMD, Nvidia, Intel makes no difference, it's one of the worst ports ever made...
Now, if you're planning on playing on a console, well... Maybe you'll have some fun. Missions in the game are very dull and mundane, Spidey's voice is grating, the graphics aren't that great and the plot is not worth mentioning... But aside from that, swinging mechanics are great, it's a total bliss to just swing around, and the combat is great. Lots of options for combat, it's very varied. Plus you can switch between black spidey and red spidey so yeah...

 

[DrownedAmmet]

I would like to echo Spider-man 2 for the PS2/Gamecube, though some parts didn't age well, swinging around the city is still fun as hell.

If they made a Spider-man game that was similar to the Ultimate Spider-man cartoon, with Nova, Iron Fist and the gang, I think that would be an awesome game

 

[Azure-Supernova]

Okay so I played Web of Shadows and it's really not doing it for me. The web slinging was alright and I liked the concept of swapping between the basic and Symbiote suit on the fly, but Mike Vaughn's Spider-Man has got to be one of the most grating performances I've ever heard and the controls are janky as hell.

As for other suggestions I played Spider-Man 2 on PS2 many moons ago and before that I had both Spider-Man 1 and 2 on PS1, though I never completed the second one. Right now the pinnacle of Spider-Man games is Ultimate Spiderman, which I had on Gamecube a while ago.

It's been said before, but it really does bare repeating.

Arkham is the best Spiderman game there will ever be.

I can't help but agree. It was Arkham Knight's release that actually got me watching the 1994 Spider-Man series again and then in turn got me looking for games. Everything that the Arkham series has, Spider-Man needs.

 

[Blitsie]

Yeugh, sadly nothing much you can get that tops either 2 or Ultimate, Shattered Dimensions was a pretty okay brawler and I never tried Edge of Time but I heard it was also just alright at best, if open world Spidey is what you're looking for then it won't scratch that itch but it might satisfy if you want more Spidey and can find it for cheap.

I've yet to try the Amazing Spider-Man movie game but I've heard its not too bad, far from amazing but a satisfying open-world experience overall supposedly. The sequel is rubbish though from what I've read.

Anyway, a sequel that takes everything from number 2 and just improves on it would be the ideal Spidey game for me. Heck a Spidey game that only nails that sense of speed you had in 2 would be awesome.

 

[immortalfrieza]

Thanks guys, I've done a bit of looking around and I've surfed some Youtube channels, combined with your opinions I'm gonna hunt down a cheapy cheap of Web of shadows and give it a blast.

Well, if you can, I'd recommend going from worst game to best, because believe me, if you ever eventually get the itch to try the others you probably will not enjoy them as much as you would have if you had taken my advice. From worst to best, start with Spider-Man 2 if you haven't already played it, it's still a great game that was the first that really makes it feel like you're actually controlling the Web Slinger, but it's mechanics haven't really aged well, it's main story is a retread of the movie's and really thus is really only good when it deviates from that, it's side missions aren't particularly inspired or interesting, and the other 2 games I'll mention do a better job of making controlling the Web Slinger feel more immersive.

Web of Shadows is the next one. The fighting is more fun, fluid, and dynamic than Spider-Man 2's, it's story is gripping with choices and thus multiple endings available due to the Red Suit/Black Suit mechanic which allows for a good deal of replay value that the other 2 games I mention lack. It sacrifices the necessity of buildings for web slinging that Spider-Man 2 has as does the next one, but that's not a really big issue and it just makes web slinging around less annoying. The only real issue is Spidey's voice actor which takes some getting used to but he's actually pretty good after a while.

Amazing Spider-Man 1 is easily the BEST Spider-Man game yet, hands down. If you're looking for a game with gameplay that makes you truly feel like you ARE Spider-Man nothing yet does this better, and it's combat system takes cues from the Batman Arkham games modified for Spidey's usual superhuman fast paced combat style. It has a well done and impactful story and even many of it's side events are interesting and chock full of references to Spider-Man history. If it had a choice mechanic and thus replay value it would be even better, but once you've done everything there isn't much reason to bother except if like me you're the type that likes to replay great games. Word of warning though, lower your expectations if you play Amazing Spider-Man 2 afterward, because it took a few steps back compared to the game it's a sequel of.

 

[Azure-Supernova]

Amazing Spider-Man 1 is easily the BEST Spider-Man game yet, hands down. If you're looking for a game with gameplay that makes you truly feel like you ARE Spider-Man nothing yet does this better, and it's combat system takes cues from the Batman Arkham games modified for Spidey's usual superhuman fast paced combat style. It has a well done and impactful story and even many of it's side events are interesting and chock full of references to Spider-Man history. If it had a choice mechanic and thus replay value it would be even better, but once you've done everything there isn't much reason to bother except if like me you're the type that likes to replay great games. Word of warning though, lower your expectations if you play Amazing Spider-Man 2 afterward, because it took a few steps back compared to the game it's a sequel of.

I was really disappointed by Web of Shadows. I'd have said it was age, but Ultimate still holds up really well and Web of Shadows only came out in 08. The choice thing was really hammered in and maybe it's just the PC version, but the controls were awkward, as in the transition from slinging to wall crawling. I'm going to give Shattered Dimensions a try next, but I have heard good things about the Amazing Spider-Man game so I'll give that a shot next.

 

[Soviet Heavy]

Spider-Man 2 is worth it for Bruce Campbell's passive aggressive harassment/encouragement you get through the whole game. Plus, free roaming web slinging stunts.

 

[immortalfrieza]

Amazing Spider-Man 1 is easily the BEST Spider-Man game yet, hands down. If you're looking for a game with gameplay that makes you truly feel like you ARE Spider-Man nothing yet does this better, and it's combat system takes cues from the Batman Arkham games modified for Spidey's usual superhuman fast paced combat style. It has a well done and impactful story and even many of it's side events are interesting and chock full of references to Spider-Man history. If it had a choice mechanic and thus replay value it would be even better, but once you've done everything there isn't much reason to bother except if like me you're the type that likes to replay great games. Word of warning though, lower your expectations if you play Amazing Spider-Man 2 afterward, because it took a few steps back compared to the game it's a sequel of.

I was really disappointed by Web of Shadows. I'd have said it was age, but Ultimate still holds up really well and Web of Shadows only came out in 08. The choice thing was really hammered in and maybe it's just the PC version, but the controls were awkward, as in the transition from slinging to wall crawling. I'm going to give Shattered Dimensions a try next, but I have heard good things about the Amazing Spider-Man game so I'll give that a shot next.

Well, I didn't have any issues with the controls for Web of Shadows, but I played the console version. It might be compatible with the Xbox 360 controller for windows though, I don't know. Now that you mention it, the choice system is kind of hokey, and there's no way to keep the black suit and still be a good guy, but it's better than nothing. It's replay value gives it the most bang for your buck out of the three games I mentioned.

I never played Edge of Time but with Shattered Dimensions it didn't last me all that long. They are both pretty similar to those old PS1 Spider-Man games and the main story is about as long as those if I recall correctly.