Spider-Man
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Review of Spider-Man
Starting out, the player needs to train and learn the Spider-man maneuvers. There are many different training levels offered. Initially, I would recommend taking at least the basic course to learn the basic moves, which are necessary for the first level. Like kicking, punching, crawling, and web swinging. If you really want to progress your skills you can also take advanced as well as expert training courses. Learning aerial combat is also essential.
For those of you that don’t know the story behind Spider-man here is a quick outline. A high school geek named Peter Parker, (alias Spider-man) was bitten by a genetically engineered spider. Much to Peter’s surprise, he discovered that this spider bite gave him super spider-powers. He decided he wanted to test out his new powers, thinking this is too good to be true, things like this don’t happen to HS geeks, right? So Peter joined the High School Wrestling Team. He even made a costume to disguise himself so no one would recognize him. This is where gameplay pretty much begins. The story picks up with these thugs attacking and killing Peter Parker’s uncle Ben. Once Peter finds out about this, he becomes enraged and decided to track down the murderers. In the first level, Peter tracks them down at an abandoned warehouse and kicks their ass. This is pretty much accomplished by tying them up with your web, punch, and kick once or twice, lights out! From that point on, Peter became Spider-man and the rest is history.
The story is interesting enough, but I think the most exciting part of the game is Spidey’s maneuvers. They are plentiful and unique to say the least. Spider-man is pretty much a freaking suction cup…he can stick to almost anything including ceilings, glass, side of buildings, etc. He can web his enemies, and freefall a couple of stories then start swinging again with minimum effort. Spider-man will rescue civilians, battle foes on the ground as well as mid-air making gameplay very interesting.
The controls are straightforward enough to pick up fairly quickly and the moves are abundant. To name a few of the easier ones: the Web Swing is accomplished by pressing the R2 this will allow Spider-man to swing in the air from building to building. The thing I questioned is “what the hell is the web holding onto when swinging in mid-air?” I guess it doesn’t matter it is only a game. The Zip-line is also a simple move, press R1 and Spider-man can move to his destination in a snap. Some of the more advanced controls include Riding Enemies – jump and hold the X button land on your enemy’s head and smack him silly. The Twirl Yank tactic requires a series of combos as well as the aerial combat maneuvers.
There are a few issues I thought I should mention, which is not necessarily negative but the player should beware. For instance the camera is a bit tricky and takes a little getting used to at first. I felt disoriented at times especially when crawling on ceilings. It is very easy to lose your sense of direction. Keep in mind; you will also rely on the camera at times to see oncoming enemies. The compass is also essential in gameplay so get used to using it. It is very easy to get lost in the levels or lose track of where you were going. The compass will help point Spidey in the right direction. On an up note, there are some cool extras like a Secret Store where the player can unlock some goodies like different costumes and mini-games. The player must first finish levels and collect bonus points to trade in the Secret Store so keep this in mind.
The graphics are exceptional in my opinion. The levels are huge and filled with moving objects like cars, and helicopters. The characters and backgrounds are adequately textured and detailed, as well as lush and colorful. Awesome animation!! You will also see great reflection techniques on the mirrored buildings and superb shadowing effects. I liked the transparent ceilings.
The audio portion of the game was inspiring. If the player has a Dolby stereo connected to their PS2 they can play while listening in Dolby Surround. The voice acting is well done as well as entertaining. The thugs shoot off wise cracks and Spiderman comes back with his heroic gestures. The best part about some of the voices such as Spider-man and the Green Goblin is they are the original voices from the movie. The background music is mysterious and is exactly how I would imagine it to be.
OUR PLEDGE: We promise that we have fully played 'Spider-Man' before writing this review. The scores given above are our honest opinion and were not influenced in any way by the manufacturer or distributor of the game.
This review was written by Loretta Mattie © Absolute PlayStation
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