Insomniac’s Spider-Man swings into action in new PS4-exclusive title

I know what you are thinking. “This is a horror fan-site, why is this guy talking about Spider-Man?”

Well, the answer to that is simple. I felt like it… OK, that’s not ENTIRELY why.

The reason this review is on here is because of one video that was locked away in this tweet. Yes, that’s right! The infamous train scene from horror mogul Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2 film has been re-created in the new Spider-Man game. Now that this wonderful moment is out-of-the-way, let’s get right into the review!

Story

In, Insomniac’s Spider-Man, you play as Peter Parker (and obviously Spider-Man through Peter in tights with gadgets). It’s a real shocker. That’s sarcasm, in case you couldn’t tell.

Yes, the game is about the same web-slinging superhero we’ve known for decades, but the story line itself is refreshing and very well-executed.

via Insomniac Games

Instead of the traditional origin story of Spider-Man, Insomniac decides to pick up the story years after Peter gets his powers and begins his tenure as Spider-Man.

That’s right! Mary Jane and Peter have already dated and broken up, Miles Morales is in the game, and more importantly, Peter has already figured out how to be Spider-Man.

This immediately allows the game to spring you right into the action into a very well-executed series of tutorials that don’t feel trivial and don’t overstay their welcome (like many game tutorials do… I’m looking at you Assassin’s Creed).

In an effort to save you from spoilers, I have taped my metaphorical mouth shut and will not go into all the boss fights, enemies, characters, etc that come up in relation to the story, but I will say this. For a game whose story is relatively short, Spider-Man fills every second of the main story with action, intrigue, and drama.

This is a game that is truly cinematic! Almost everything is executed with visuals in mind, yet the game never sacrifices fun or performance for it! The impressive visual graphics, wonderful soundtrack, and amazing writing create a truly impressive story that is bound to have you wanting more, yet despite the urge for more Spider-Man, the game also does a great job of webbing everything up into a satisfying conclusion to the main story.

Gameplay

I am personally a fan of single player story-based games like the Uncharted series or The Last of Us, so of course I appreciate impressive cinematic experiences. But what separates games from film & television is the addition of gameplay. That is why gameplay will always be the most important aspect of any game, in my opinion. And Spider-Man delivers in this category as well.

If you have looked at any other review for Spider-Man yet, you may have heard that the game makes you feel like the superhero. While I despise that I must repeat it, it is crucial to the game.

The game does a great job of making the process of being Spidey both fun and true-to-form. In order to truly do justice for the game, I will break this down into parts.

-Web-slinging-

One of the biggest problems with open-world video games is transport. Many games advertise walking around a gigantic map as a selling point, but for me that’s just a waste of time.

For example, in Skyrim, you’ve got this extremely large map and while the game’s landscape is truly beautifully crafted, it just gets boring after the first few hours due to the amount of time spent getting from one area to the next.

In Spider-Man, you must also transport across a well-made recreation of New York City by web-slinging. This is a key element to the game and, if I’m being honest, is near-flawless.

via Insomniac Games

I never thought I could have so much fun NOT “playing” the game. I found myself working my way to a mission point only to get distracted by the fun of maneuvering NYC with Spidey’s fluid animations, interactive functions, and the creativity that the player can use to combine all sorts of tricks to get where you need to go in your own style.

Heck, I even started making my own makeshift game modes out of the functionality of traversing New York as everyone’s favorite Spider-guy. One example is just me pulling out my phone, starting my timer right when I dive off the Empire State Building’s peak and racing to Avengers’ Tower and back hoping I beat my previous record time.

Yeah, that’s right. Spider-Man’s a racing game ladies and gentlemen!

Aside from what I’ve already mentioned, the game’s web-slinging is enhanced further due to its breath-taking visual fidelity, peak performance, and it’s easy to learn, hard to master control scheme. It’s simple… Insomniac has mastered the art of swinging around New York City as a masked man who was bitten by a radioactive spider thus giving him the respective abilities of a spider.

Wow, that would look good on my resume. Why am I writing this? Oh, yeah, I haven’t been bitten… yet. It’ll happen one day. I’m sure of it! Until then, I guess I should continue this review.

-Combat-

Combat in Spider-Man is not perfect. That’s it. The game is over… right?

I know it’s easy to dwell on the state of perfection, but really there is no such thing as a perfect game! I’m just telling you the facts and the facts are that Marvel’s Spider-Man is not perfect when it comes to combat.

However, the combat system is surprisingly close to perfection.

via Insomniac Games

The game starts you off fighting with real basic controls. You know, the kind you’d find in Batman Arkham (insert any word here, it’s probably been made) . But soon enough, you realize that you are pulling off combos so impressively and it all occurred naturally.

No memorizing combo moves from the menu screen like in Mortal Kombat. No repeatedly tapping a button hoping the game will respond with the combo you want as it randomly selects one like a magician pulling a bunny from a hat. No inconsistent moves and ABSOLUTELY  no scratch-your-head moments wondering why a punch in the arm does more damage than a dropkick to the face.

Insomniac’s Spider-Man just… gets it. The combat makes sense. I don’t know what else to tell you… other than everything else I’m going to tell you.

via Insomniac Games

Spider-Man takes a traditional fighting control scheme and introduces the concept of blissful fluidity to create something marvelous (pun intended).

The controls are simple with one button for each various action, then you mash whichever button you are interested in using for that combo and watch Spider-Man knock down a few enemies while telling terrible knock-knock jokes throughout the process. I repeat, TERRIBLE knock-knock jokes. They’re just awful, okay? I’m pretty sure Peter carries around a joke book because that’s where he got his jokes from.

Dear other games, do YOU have knock-knock jokes in your combat sequences? No?! Well, there’s your problem! It’s an easy fix really. Just go to your local Elementary school and ask the kids there to tell you a joke and then put that in your game. Combat systems are fixed. You are welcome. By the way, you can mail me the paycheck whenever.

via Insomniac Games

On a serious note, the addition of Spider-Man’s personality does, in fact, improve the experience of combat.

Oh, you thought I was just going on a tangent and making a joke when I was talking about my paycheck. Listen to me… I NEVER joke around. I am ALWAYS 100% serious, in case that wasn’t clear. That means don’t forget about the paycheck. I actually really need the money. It’s bad.

You see what I did there, I injected my own personality and humor into this obviously very formal review. And what happened? You guys hated it. But when you do the same thing with Spider-Man’s very likable personality & his corny, yet chuckle-inducing jokes and mix it with a combat system that matches his witty draws, you’ve got yourself an experience that comes straight out of our dreams.

What? Don’t even try to pretend like you never dream of zipping around wrestling people and pinning them down in tights. After all, you wanted to be a WWE Wrestler and, just like Sam Raimi made clear in his first Spider-Man film, Spidey is the best wrestler ever! They are pretty much the same character, Spider-Man just uses webs to accomplish the same thing. Oh, and he’s cooler. Yeah, I said it.

-Missions-

Moving on, the missions in Spider-Man follow a very similar style to most open-world RPG games. You’ve got your typical story arc missions of course, then you’ve got a number of other possible side missions to complete.

Why would you waste your time on these side missions? GASP! You should do it because you want more pieces of the story or to see the many easter eggs within the game or simply because you enjoy the game and want to achieve 100% completion.

You don’t want any of that? Welp.

via Insomniac Games

Oh, I got it. Why not complete the side missions to unlock new Spidey suits, combos, abilities, gadgets and more?!

There we go! That got people fired up.

Spider-Man consists of a plethora of side missions which result in the gain of all types of tokens which you can collect & save and then redeem it for… a brand new car! Nevermind, it’s just a new Spidey suit. I got my hopes up for nothing.

Don’t get me wrong. I love the fact that we can unlock new suits and I have nothing against it.

No, seriously, I have nothing against it. I honestly really love swapping suits and being a “different” Spider-Man when I want to. From the meme-sanctioned Spider-Punk suit to an iron suit which is obviously designed by Tony Stark, the suits are plentiful and each are well-designed.

So why are the suits not the focal point? Because it’s nothing compared to suit powers, mods, combos, and abilities that come with all those collectible tokens! With all the collectibles you can earn through missions in this game, you better believe Peter is a mega-nerd who pre-orders the collectible box set for all his favorite content (and honestly, that’s why he is my favorite hero. Love ya, Spidey).

-Enemies-

Enemies in Spider-Man are a bit of a coin flip. Going against enemies are really fun due to the combat system and the bosses in the game can be truly daunting and/or entertaining.

The problem is mainly with the street thug-style criminals. One might argue it was a stylistic choice to make all the lower-threat enemies act, talk, walk, and fight the same in order to show how Spider-Man has more important enemies to go after. I don’t buy it though. To me, it just comes off as lazy.

via Insomniac Games

Okay, put the pitchforks down. Hear me out.

I don’t think the enemies are bad. In fact, they are far from it. But that’s why it makes me so upset to see the game not take advantage of their glowing combat system and make some truly memorable lower-tier criminals.

And no, I don’t think they were actually lazy because this game is brimming with passion throughout. I just think they overlooked this concept and that it was a mistake.

Other than that one complaint, I’d say the enemies are adaptive, they strike a wonderful difficulty balance in that they aren’t too easy or too difficult, and they all have sets of moves and combos which work particularly well on them, which in turn forces the player to stop relying on the dodge-attack combo.

And trust me, you WILL get punished with counter attacks if you spam your one “go-to” move. Just… don’t do it. Take my word on this.

Verdict

We’re on our final section now. I told myself I wouldn’t get teary-eyed.

Sam Raimi should be proud. Because as we all know, Sam Raimi is the creator of Spider-Man, and anyone who tells you otherwise… is right. I can’t lie to you guys. I love you too much.

I know it’s hard to believe but Sam Raimi did not invent Spider-Man. I’m sorry you had to find out this way, but it’s time to move on.

via Insomniac Games

Look, it’s simple. I could break this down into an even more descriptive and analytical review, but I’m not going to because nothing will convey what I think of this game better than this next statement.

Insomniac’s Spider-Man is an amazing game that was created with tons of passion (and dollars) that brings justice to the blockbuster hero that is Spider-Man and it is a Game of the Year candidate, easily.

So, what would I rate it, you ask? Drumroll please!

I rate it…

“I wish I was Spider-Man”     out of      “Please, no more Batman Arkham games!”

Okay. I’ll rate it for real this time.

Spider-Man Review Score Chart – Courtesy of Asad Ali Jamal

Do you agree with me? Let me know in the comments below!

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more content on video games, movies, television, and more!