‘Spider-Man’ creators sling a near-perfect game
Spider-Man’s origin story has been done to death. Everyone knows that Peter Parker was bitten by a radioactive spider and developed superpowers. They can recite his coming-ofage story from the tragic death of his Uncle Ben to his relationship with major villains.
Beyond that, the web slinger’s story goes into a fog. Few mainstream works explore what happens to Peter Parker after he grows up. That’s unfortunate, because adulthood is where many of the best stories lie. Thankfully, Insomniac Games saw the potential in an older superhero and in the process crafts the best “SpiderMan” game to date.
The makers of “Resistance” and “Ratchet & Clank” nail the essence of the character in the narrative and gameplay sense. Insomniac’s version of “SpiderMan” follows Peter after he has successfully defeated a slew of baddies. He works with Dr. Otto Octavius. Aunt May is a leader at FEAST, a charity run by Martin Li. Norman Osborn is the mayor of New York. Peter and Mary Jane have broken up so she could focus on her career in journalism.
These seemingly random threads and characters intersect in an adventure that tests Spider-Man’s resilience as he battles Mister Negative and his army of masked minions. Fighting a big bad is expected in the web slinger’s adventure, but what makes this entry special is how it borrows from different parts of the “Spider-Man” lore and creatively melds them together.
The developer dresses those elements around a vision of Peter Parker in his 20s. He’s a man who shows three distinct sides. One is a genius scientist, another is a mentor and the last is a guy trying to win back his ex. Out of those three, the first
and last show up in the gameplay.
Although it often goes overlooked in films, Peter is off-the-charts smart and his ingenuity shows up as he analyzes substances and programs circuits through mini-games that break up the combat. His intelligence also shows up in the progression system as he cobbles together gadgets that give him an edge in combat.
By undergoing side missions, players earn credits that can be used to buy new suits, upgrades or advancements to Spider-Man’s crime-fighting gear. New costumes come with abilities such as quad damage or improved stealth while gadgets like web bombs or concussive blasts help him fight hordes of adversaries without being overwhelmed.
It’s a rewarding process, but it can distract from the main quest.
His relationship with Mary Jane takes “Spider-Man” into new spaces as players control the woman in Peter’s life. As a reporter, Mary Jane gets herself in trouble and in her scenarios she uses stealth to avoid bad guys. Insomniac gradually gives her more ways to overcome foes with a great mission where Mary Jane and Spider-Man partner up to save hostages.
The combat system is combo based and reminiscent of Rocksteady’s “Batman: Arkham” series. It’s fluid though not always smooth. Players have the license to freestyle as they dodge bullets, launch enemies into the air and yank weapons from foes. In every skirmish, the fighting feels distinctly like it’s straight out of the pages of a “SpiderMan” comic book. The most remarkable part is how they incorporate the environment so that stylish players can knock scaffolding down on foes or knock enemies into electrical boxes.
When Spidey isn’t brawling, he can go the stealthy route by plucking clueless foes in the air and wrap them in webbing. He can also dive bomb them with an instant knockout attack. With the ability to distract enemies, stealth gameplay is surprisingly fun and satisfying.
Despite their similarities, don’t mistake “Spider-Man” for the “Arkham” series. They have two different styles. While the “Arkham” trilogy featured a gated world that required new abilities to access to other areas, Insomniac’s superhero has all of Manhattan to explore from the beginning. What’s notable is how the world changes as the narrative advances and travel becomes difficult.
Toward the finale, it’s outright dangerous, but the developers gives Spidey plenty of tools to traverse the city. That’s a testament to Insomniac’s talent with locomotion. The studio has always excelled at figuring out a way to get players from point A to point B in an addictive and rewarding way.
In “Spider-Man,” they have captured the swing of the web slinger and tied it to the environment. That means each time Spidey shoots a web it has to attach to something in the world. He can’t swing in the middle of nowhere, and this fact grounds the traversal in reality and makes players think about the routes they take. In addition to swinging, he can launch himself by leaping onto a jump point and sprint up walls. In rooms, he can hang from the ceiling and descend on foes.
Like the combat, it makes players feel like the web slinger, and that’s what Insomniac’s “Spider-Man” does so well. The studio captures the comic books experience and throws it on the video game screen for an experience that’s one of the better “Spider-Man” stories ever told.