My first review I've ever written so I'd like to ask that you hold back the criticism of my criticism. I also have a blog on which I will review games regularly as well as posting some information on my university course (Games Design) for those who may find that interesting and some musings and thoughts of my own. So if you'd like to follow the blog I'd appreciate it (don't have to read it often just having the numbers wouyld be great).
So without further adue, Spiderman Shattered Dimensions
So what can be said about it? Well it?s not a bad game. Not quite the ground breaking innovation that made the Spiderman 2: The Movie: The Game awesome (better than the film in a few ways). But had some interesting ideas, innovative gameplay and was genuinely fun. The story was a little?bare. Strike that, rather bare, and the level have a quite linear feel yet visually feel unique. Combat is strong and the bosses have some interesting encounters. Enough of the overview though, onto a the closer look. Shattered Dimensions
The game starts off with a cutscene of the Amazing Spiderman (AS from here on) foiling a robbery, of the mysterious tablet of Order and Chaos, by Mysterio that goes wrong when Spidey ends up flying across the room fist first into it, and turning it into a cross between a wanker of a scavenger hunt and self solving jigsaw puzzle. Just then Madame Webb shows up and having conveniently seen everything that happened and took the liberty of filling in the other three web slingers on the debacle without need for a cutscene to introduce any of them and just throwing them directly into game.
Soon after follows a quick tutorial (just as most gamers like) which fills you in on the basics. It does well to introduce the other three dimensions as well as put a bit of a spin on the usual go here and do the obvious scenario of tutorials but feels a bit arbitrary in the sense that it all could have been done in one dimension aside from the stealth tutorial, but the whole level feels broken. Another point that bugs me is the circumstances that caused Ultimate Spiderman (US) to get his black suit. The fact that there were none. Madame Webb just gives him the suit and promises to hold back its effects on his mind. I would have rather have a patronising tutorial level for each if at the end US?s level (or even the start of it) showed him acquiring the suit in some other fashion rather than it being handed to him.
Tutorial aside, let?s talk about the main game. Starting with the levels. I have to say, I was impressed with this game not being four different New York cities (free roam or not). As fun as it was, exploring the same city for the past four Spiderman games (at least, I?m sure it?s four) plus Prototype was getting old, so a bit of linearity felt fine. Notice I said a bit, not a lot. Bar all but a couple, the levels were quite straightforward with little room for exploration. Sure here and you could veer off the webbow brick road and find a hidden spider or a token, but it turned every level into a game of tag where Spidey was always it. However linear they were, they were all varied not only between dimensions but level to level. More so with Amazing and Ultimate but even 2099 and Noir had a nice change of pace between the stages. I?d have to say my favourite level would have to be the Deadpool level. It satisfied the criteria of being both linear enough to feel like the others while giving it that freedom which past Spiderman games had whilst not being another chunk of NYC. The objective of destroy X amount of cameras then X more got old after a while but being a Deadpool level and the exploration factor meant I forgave having to play hide and seek several times with most of the hiding places used again and again.
The controls could go either way. On one hand the combat feels good and intuitive, being varied from one Spidey to the other, yet similar enough to keep track of what you?re doing. Web attacks could do with a little more though (triangle attacks in AS don?t count). It?s been a while since I?ve played a Spiderman game that has paid attention to this. I?m glad that the overpowered web strike from WoS has been toned down, but I wish I could play a Spiderman game that was as diverse with web attacks as the PS1 games or even Spiderman 2: The Movie: The Game (S2tMtG, not as fun to type anymore).
Which brings me to my next point, the web slinging (and the acrobatics too). It feels stiff and broken, which is bad, very bad for Activision. A core part of a Spiderman game should rely on web slinging. What makes Spiderman games fun is web slinging. I?m not saying we need several games worth of upgrades like in S2tMtG for acrobatics alone, but WoS, however more fun it was than this game, felt lacking in respect to the acrobatics gameplay. The web zipping felt more Spidey like than the web slinging, though the aiming was hit or miss a lot of the time.
Moving in from that, lets talk about what makes the game was really about, which was different for each dimension. The Amazing, Ultimate and 2099 levels played out similarly, with focus on fighting large groups of enemies needing six packs of ass kickings and each respective Spiderman being the supplier of this much desired product. The only major differences were that as US enemies could be taken out a lot faster with rage mode and 2099 going a lot slower with accelerated vision. I?d like to point out how annoying it is for 2099 to point out how it makes everything slower every time you use it.
This screen is probably the most exploring you'll do in 2099
On topic of 2099, it states on the back of the box ?explore a futuristic New York City.? I have half a mind to petition a massive lawsuit for false advertising against Activision, given how linear the levels are, but what really disappointed me was the free falling sections. With so much promise, it was used so little, the best example of its use being the first 2099 level.
In retrospect, the only dimension that I would say delivered on what it promised would be the Noir dimension. I would say Ultimate and Amazing did but in all fairness the were all too similar in gameplay it felt a little repetitive. I would say that Noir was my favourite. The stealth works great, easy but still a challenge. Scoping out the area, keeping sure to remain in the shadows, and the brutal takedowns were some of the most satisfying scenes. The only bad thing I could say about the Noir levels were that being spotted was too easy to become hidden again with little penalty from becoming exposed, and the Vulture boss fight. In fact another boss I didn?t like was Electro, in a different respect that it was too easy. I mean, really easy. Like?something very easy (tempted to make an ex joke here =P).
I feel like I?ve spent a good while pointing out the bad points so a few praises before we finish up. The combat plays out well, the combos work spectacularly with boss fights varied and interesting despite difficulty issues. The levels had a pleasing visual aesthetic, and enemies may have felt samey fighting sometimes, they all felt distinct at the same time which really complemented the level designs. The Web of Destiny Challenges gives the game an extra (please excuse this metaphor) dimension of gameplay while at the same time giving it that feel of progress towards all the upgrades. The extra costumes are a good reward to unlock during gameplay and changing into new ones between acts, for me anyway, created the illusion that there were more Spideys in the game than the initial four. That and the battle with Juggernaut went from boss fight to battle of ridiculous headwear as any fight is made more epic when faced against ?The Bombastic Bagman?.
To conclude, Shattered Dimension is a good game. With all it?s bad points it is fun, and something new for a Spiderman game. If you wait for it to come down in price a bit, maybe £20, it would certainly be worth the buy, or even a rent if you?re on the fence and don?t want to wait for a price drop. I wouldn?t say it?s a great game but it is good, and for however short it is, it has replay value.
http://pressxreviews.blogspot.com
So without further adue, Spiderman Shattered Dimensions
So what can be said about it? Well it?s not a bad game. Not quite the ground breaking innovation that made the Spiderman 2: The Movie: The Game awesome (better than the film in a few ways). But had some interesting ideas, innovative gameplay and was genuinely fun. The story was a little?bare. Strike that, rather bare, and the level have a quite linear feel yet visually feel unique. Combat is strong and the bosses have some interesting encounters. Enough of the overview though, onto a the closer look. Shattered Dimensions
The game starts off with a cutscene of the Amazing Spiderman (AS from here on) foiling a robbery, of the mysterious tablet of Order and Chaos, by Mysterio that goes wrong when Spidey ends up flying across the room fist first into it, and turning it into a cross between a wanker of a scavenger hunt and self solving jigsaw puzzle. Just then Madame Webb shows up and having conveniently seen everything that happened and took the liberty of filling in the other three web slingers on the debacle without need for a cutscene to introduce any of them and just throwing them directly into game.
Soon after follows a quick tutorial (just as most gamers like) which fills you in on the basics. It does well to introduce the other three dimensions as well as put a bit of a spin on the usual go here and do the obvious scenario of tutorials but feels a bit arbitrary in the sense that it all could have been done in one dimension aside from the stealth tutorial, but the whole level feels broken. Another point that bugs me is the circumstances that caused Ultimate Spiderman (US) to get his black suit. The fact that there were none. Madame Webb just gives him the suit and promises to hold back its effects on his mind. I would have rather have a patronising tutorial level for each if at the end US?s level (or even the start of it) showed him acquiring the suit in some other fashion rather than it being handed to him.
Tutorial aside, let?s talk about the main game. Starting with the levels. I have to say, I was impressed with this game not being four different New York cities (free roam or not). As fun as it was, exploring the same city for the past four Spiderman games (at least, I?m sure it?s four) plus Prototype was getting old, so a bit of linearity felt fine. Notice I said a bit, not a lot. Bar all but a couple, the levels were quite straightforward with little room for exploration. Sure here and you could veer off the webbow brick road and find a hidden spider or a token, but it turned every level into a game of tag where Spidey was always it. However linear they were, they were all varied not only between dimensions but level to level. More so with Amazing and Ultimate but even 2099 and Noir had a nice change of pace between the stages. I?d have to say my favourite level would have to be the Deadpool level. It satisfied the criteria of being both linear enough to feel like the others while giving it that freedom which past Spiderman games had whilst not being another chunk of NYC. The objective of destroy X amount of cameras then X more got old after a while but being a Deadpool level and the exploration factor meant I forgave having to play hide and seek several times with most of the hiding places used again and again.
The controls could go either way. On one hand the combat feels good and intuitive, being varied from one Spidey to the other, yet similar enough to keep track of what you?re doing. Web attacks could do with a little more though (triangle attacks in AS don?t count). It?s been a while since I?ve played a Spiderman game that has paid attention to this. I?m glad that the overpowered web strike from WoS has been toned down, but I wish I could play a Spiderman game that was as diverse with web attacks as the PS1 games or even Spiderman 2: The Movie: The Game (S2tMtG, not as fun to type anymore).
Which brings me to my next point, the web slinging (and the acrobatics too). It feels stiff and broken, which is bad, very bad for Activision. A core part of a Spiderman game should rely on web slinging. What makes Spiderman games fun is web slinging. I?m not saying we need several games worth of upgrades like in S2tMtG for acrobatics alone, but WoS, however more fun it was than this game, felt lacking in respect to the acrobatics gameplay. The web zipping felt more Spidey like than the web slinging, though the aiming was hit or miss a lot of the time.
Moving in from that, lets talk about what makes the game was really about, which was different for each dimension. The Amazing, Ultimate and 2099 levels played out similarly, with focus on fighting large groups of enemies needing six packs of ass kickings and each respective Spiderman being the supplier of this much desired product. The only major differences were that as US enemies could be taken out a lot faster with rage mode and 2099 going a lot slower with accelerated vision. I?d like to point out how annoying it is for 2099 to point out how it makes everything slower every time you use it.
This screen is probably the most exploring you'll do in 2099
On topic of 2099, it states on the back of the box ?explore a futuristic New York City.? I have half a mind to petition a massive lawsuit for false advertising against Activision, given how linear the levels are, but what really disappointed me was the free falling sections. With so much promise, it was used so little, the best example of its use being the first 2099 level.
In retrospect, the only dimension that I would say delivered on what it promised would be the Noir dimension. I would say Ultimate and Amazing did but in all fairness the were all too similar in gameplay it felt a little repetitive. I would say that Noir was my favourite. The stealth works great, easy but still a challenge. Scoping out the area, keeping sure to remain in the shadows, and the brutal takedowns were some of the most satisfying scenes. The only bad thing I could say about the Noir levels were that being spotted was too easy to become hidden again with little penalty from becoming exposed, and the Vulture boss fight. In fact another boss I didn?t like was Electro, in a different respect that it was too easy. I mean, really easy. Like?something very easy (tempted to make an ex joke here =P).
I feel like I?ve spent a good while pointing out the bad points so a few praises before we finish up. The combat plays out well, the combos work spectacularly with boss fights varied and interesting despite difficulty issues. The levels had a pleasing visual aesthetic, and enemies may have felt samey fighting sometimes, they all felt distinct at the same time which really complemented the level designs. The Web of Destiny Challenges gives the game an extra (please excuse this metaphor) dimension of gameplay while at the same time giving it that feel of progress towards all the upgrades. The extra costumes are a good reward to unlock during gameplay and changing into new ones between acts, for me anyway, created the illusion that there were more Spideys in the game than the initial four. That and the battle with Juggernaut went from boss fight to battle of ridiculous headwear as any fight is made more epic when faced against ?The Bombastic Bagman?.
To conclude, Shattered Dimension is a good game. With all it?s bad points it is fun, and something new for a Spiderman game. If you wait for it to come down in price a bit, maybe £20, it would certainly be worth the buy, or even a rent if you?re on the fence and don?t want to wait for a price drop. I wouldn?t say it?s a great game but it is good, and for however short it is, it has replay value.
http://pressxreviews.blogspot.com
