SPIDEY’S SPECTACULAR
SPIDER-MAN PS4 ★★★★★
BEING a superhero is supposed to be fun, but there are not many games out there that make it so.
Marvel may well dominate the genre on the big screen, but when it comes to the world of gaming, DC has reigned supreme – until now.
Spider-Man, one of the year’s most anticipated games, has finally swung onto consoles.
For the first 10 minutes of the game I just ignored the story in favour of experiencing the unbridled joy of swinging thorough New York.
Granted, to begin with, it wasn’t very graceful – poor Spidey often faceplanting into buildings, or plummeting to the streets below – but once I’d got to grips with the controls, it was an absolute delight.
This open-world adventure shows you Spidey as you’ve never really seen him before on screen.
It’s a more experienced Peter Parker we meet here, eight years into his stint as the city’s friendly, neighbourhood Spider-Man.
This experience shows in that he’s a faster fighter and has much sharper detection skills, making him a better crime fighter.
Those honed abilities are needed virtually from the get go as within a few minutes of playing, you find yourself facing down Kingpin – and he’s in a very bad mood.
Fighting is precise and frantic, with clear cues taken from the Batman Arkham series. Getting to grips with the controls took a little longer than the swinging, and I felt Wilson Fisk’s hands around my throat more often than I’d care to during the initial few battles.
Stealth also plays a key role here, being able to web-up goons and leave them dangling from rafters and steel work before they realise what’s happening.
If you fancy having some real fun, you can web them up and swing them around like an Olympic hammer thrower, taking out surrounding villains and giving the goon a dizzying thrill.
Spidey’s journey through the city is soundtracked by the radio, often playing the chat show rants of Bugle editor, J Jonah Jameson. When that gets too annoying, you can switch channels.
The environments in this game are stunning. Beautifully rendered skylines, textured rivers and bright, neon lights combine to create a city so real, you feel like you’ve actually been there.
You don’t just have to admire the views, Parker can use his photography skills to take gorgeous landscapes or selfies, adding an extra element of fun to your virtual sightseeing.
In a particularly nice touch, you can take those pictures and create your own comic covers.
Cutscenes are cinematic, the animation so good it’s worthy of Pixar.
There’s an impressive roster of Spider-Man regulars here: Mary Jane Watson – now a reporter for the Daily Bugle – and Miles Morales (both of who are playable characters at certain points in the game), Aunt May, and the obligatory cameo from Stan Lee.
As for the villains, alongside Kingpin there are appearances from Rhino, Taskmaster, Shocker, Vulture (voiced by The A-Team’s Dwight Schultz), Doctor Octopus and Tombstone to name just a few.
The problem is, there’s so many baddies included here, that not one of them is really done any justice.
The storyline is rich and surprisingly moving in places, with Peter and Mary Jane struggling through their recent break-up, while trying to remain friends.
They say with great power comes great responsibility, and developer Insomniac Games has taken that power and created an absolute love letter to Spider-Man fans.
■ Buy it: £44.99, store.hmv.com
■ Splurge: Limited Edition Marvel’s Spider-Man PS4 1TB console, £329.99,game.co.uk