What I'm Playing: Spider-Man (PS4)

I did it. I finally finished play the new Spider-Man game by Insomniac Games and not only did I finish the game, but I did everything it had to offer and I’ve got a platinum trophy to prove it. I had fond memories of playing the game adaption of the first Sam Raimi Spider-Man movie back on the PS2 and was eager to play another Spider-Man game. Boy, did Insomniac nail it. From the beginning to end I had so much fun just swinging around New York. The fact that I fully completed the game is a big indicator. I don’t really cover that much of a game unless I really liked it.

Story

The main story of this game is a deeply engaging and personal story about Peter Parker’s life as Spider-Man and the relationships that he has with the people around him. I am going to stay clear from most spoilers but from the beginning of the game there should be at least some idea of where things are going when players are introduced to Peter’s boss, Otto Octavius.

The writing for most of the main players of the story is interesting and well done. Peter is relatable and funny while his quips never verge into sounding whiny. Mary Jane and Aunt May also are endearing and their relationships are well written. Peter’s relationship with Miles Morales is particularly well done. They have a great mentor/mentee relationship. The relationships especially come to a head at the end of the game in the finale. I won’t give any details about it for the sake of spoilers but the it pulled on the heartstrings.

I think the only points that I felt somewhat let down on was in some of the side quests. As a big fan of the Arkham series of games for Batman by Rocksteady, I guess I expected some slightly more involved side quests that featured a bit more from the classic rogues gallery. Which I guess was hard because a good number of them were tied up with the main storyline but there could have been a cool quest that lays the ground for the future in hinting at something sinister going on with Norman Osborn or something teasing the Sandman. There wasn’t really a need for three quests dealing with corrupted demons.

Gameplay

Simply put, the web swinging is fantastic. Every swing feels natural and fun. Moving around the citing bounding over rooftops and diving towards the ground only to shoot out a web at the last second is so incredibly satisfying. It is so enjoyable, that I only used the fast travel subway system just to get the trophy for riding the subway five times.

The combat is very familiar to any fan of the Batman Arkham games with attacking with square and then countering attacks when the Spidey Sense indicator appears. It’s a great system and I don’t have many problems with it being similar. It’s not broken so no reason to fix it. It’s very successful at making the player feel like a super power. The combat is also modified to work with Spidey being more acrobatic than Batman. The ability to immediately start swinging around to gain some distance between Spidey and some enemies is incredibly useful for strategizing in fights.

I think the one thing they could do to improve the combat would be quick use combos for Spider-Man’s gadgets while in combat. I did not mind using the gadget selection wheel thanks to it slowing down time while I pick what gadget I want. However, it would be nice to have the option to use the gadgets without disrupting the flow of the combat.

The World

New York City is fun to swing around and there are a lot of fun things to see. Thanks to Insomniac’s decision to set the game within a world that has other super heroes like the Avengers in existence, there are multiple fun Marvel landmarks on top of the already present New York City landmarks. Between them and Spidey’s multiple lost backpacks containing trinkets from his past, there was some fun things to find around the world.

The street crime system is also fun and together with the ability to interact with the citizens on the street help to push the “Friendly Neighborhood” part of Spider-Man’s character. The crimes are simple and don’t take too long but they are good diversions from the main story.

There all also bases to take out for three different types of enemies, Sable Agents, Prisoners and Demons. Each have their own bases that involve players defeating waves of enemies in different environments that offer their own advantages and disadvantages for players. They are all fun and good open world objectives. There isn’t too much else to say about it except for the Sable jetpack guys are annoying.

Audio

The voice acting in this game is fantastic. Yuri Lowenthal does a great job at helping to make sure that it never gets old listening to Peter quip at every enemy he comes across during the game.

The soundtrack is great too. The music is great to listen to while swinging around New York and helps to highlight the emotional moments. It is nice touch that the music gets quieter when the player is perched on a ledge but gets louder once the player starts swinging.

Closing

This game fun from beginning to end. Bravo to all involved in the creation of this awesome experience. I hope that we get a sequel for at least Spider-Man but I hope that this universe has the chance to grow with the inclusion of more Marvel heroes. I think this game has the ability to be in contender ship for Game of the Year. However, with God of War and Red Dead Redemption 2 also out this year, I think it’s going to have some stiff competition. Add this one to your list of games to play.