I played this game in it’s entirety on the Playstation 4 standard system and got a platinum trophy. Gamer tag SL_Blank
I would highly recommend this game for anyone who liked the Batman and Arkham games. The fluid fighting mechanics are faithfully re-created to make you a web-slinging bad ass after just a short while playing. Definitely give it two thumbs up. I will go over some pros and cons but will try not to spoil any major story points.
One of the most memorable things I liked about the game was the freedom of movement that felt genuinely… well, Spider-Man. After an opening sequence and tutorial for the mechanics, from the very onset of the game, you can do all of the favorite movements. After some practice you can effortlessly re-create your favorite scenes from the movies including vaulting over buildings and doing graceful back flips between every web swing. The game captures the movement and essence of Spider-Man really well.
The story was also a highlight and I was expecting something a little bit lighter in subject matter. This is definitely a darker and more mature exploration of the characters that have been portrayed countless times in varying media. The cinematics are absolutely gorgeous and rival the best CG films I’ve ever scene. The eyes and basic animations are pretty solid. The voices and movements of all of the characters sound pretty good and are believable. Not a single one of them are super cheesy and ruin it. I genuinely cared about most of the story issues being presented. Most people know the back story of the Spider-Man series so I appreciated that this game dove right in and gave tons of little nods to nostalgia as well as more about he characters and lore of this particular Marvel Game Universe (MGU), although I personally craved a bit more. I enjoyed learning about this MGU Peter Parker and his various friends and enemies. I wish they had have given a bit more back story over all.
There will definitely be more Games in this series. Overall the game does all the basic open world mechanics really well. Base Clearing, random pop-up events, collectables, challenges, leveling up, unlocking new skills, etc is all included. There was nothing super cutting edge that I noticed. I know by now that they wouldn’t put all of the best things in the first entry in the series. What it does well, it does REALLY well, However there was a strong desire for more, and I am not being greedy. I have read other reviews with this exact sentiment. There could have been a lot more interaction with civilians and urban landscapes. I personally would have appreciated a lot more variety in the missions and side missions. Again, this is not to discredit the great moments, but some of the time in between felt repetitive from an early stage and didn’t really abate much.
I understand this is a symptom of pretty much any game you go on to platinum. By the end you have done literally almost everything that the creators of the game put in there for you to do, so it’s bound to be a little repetitive. This overall observation didn’t negate from the fact that I had a blast traversing this accurate portrayal of Manhattan. The game lacked a definitive day and night cycle and eventually gives you the option to change the time of day at your leisure. Both day and night looked stunning from high on top of the Empire State Building. Pretty accurate, as I have been up to the observation deck of that particular building! Spider-Man can just run his happy ass up the side of the building! Screw waiting in lines!
Yep, that is pretty much my basic review, There have been a ton of other reviews discussing the nitty gritty. This is just a strait up review from a casual gamer.
Final Thoughs… Honestly at this point you can probly find it used for cheaper and even more so if you wait till after Thanksgiving. I highly recommend this game! If you enjoy being comic book characters in a fluid and seamless open world than this is a great game for you. If you like tight and cinematic combat, you’d probably enjoy it as an action game. Of course if you love spider man you most certainly will dig. It’s been a long time since a good Spidey game came out and this one was a blast to play. I eagerly await the next installments over the next year or two.
As always Thanks for Reading, feel free to comment and share your experiences!