Holy smokes! A review of a full-length game that might actually be considered vaguely timely! (If a week later. Oops!) Wonders never cease! Yep, it's time to go back to our old pal Spider-Man as he's gotten himself a new game. Brought to us by Insomniac Games and published by those guys who totally think they can float Venom without him being connected into the MCU (and no, I don't care that Amy Pascal insists that the new Venom film will be interconnected with the MCU, she's full of it), I have only three words that are fitting of this title.
This. Game. Rocks!
After the Amazing Spider-Man game I reviewed way back in 2012, I didn't focus too much on the games about everyone's favorite webhead. Sure, there was Amazing Spider-Man 2, but I didn't get it mostly because I didn't really have any interest in it at the time. But now, it's been six years. While Amazing Spider-Man was able to keep my attention, will I be able to say the same for Marvel's Spider-Man? Let's have a peek!
It's a brand new continuity for Webhead this time around. Nothing from the Raimi films or the 2012 reboot films this time, no we're well into another continuity entirely. Rather than being stuck in school, Peter is now 23 and is working under the brilliant Doctor Otto Octavius in the feel of cybernetics, trying to create the perfect artificial limb(s). He's also dated Mary Jane Watson, though that went bad some months ago, and Aunt May is currently working with a charity called F.E.A.S.T. which is headed by a kindly man by the name of Martin Li who-
Yes, if you haven't noticed, this game does throw us right in the middle of the continuity river without a paddle. While I am excessively glad for a reboot that doesn't put Peter back in high school, the game makes us feel as though we've been thrown into the second or maybe even the third part in a line of stories in this particular continuity. Once you get past that, however, you quickly adapt.
Also, I feel as though ti doesn't have to be stated due to the jump, but spoilers will follow on from this point.
You have been warned.
This game is, simply put, a love-letter to everything Spider-Man. From the overt references to the tiniest (and most subtle) of Easter Eggs. From the subtle to the gross, there is something that references nearly every bit of Spidey lore that there is, and even a lot from Marvel in general. The Avengers Tower, well, towers over Manhattan. At one point, Otto has to pull funding from AIM of all groups. It's beautifully done and shows that a lot of work and care was put into crafting even the very fine details of the setting.
Also, ten points if you can tell me who Karla Sofen is without Google.
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| "Incoming message from the big, giant head!" |
And while Spidey is known for his tinkering and gadgets (as Linkara has put it, Peter Parker is a SCIENCE MAJOR!) both this and certain sections of the game where he goes around taking out enemies by stealth is very clearly influenced by the Batman: Arkham games. That's not so much a criticism as it is Insomniac realizing something good that worked well and applying it to Spidey. After all, Spider-Man and Batman both have a very similar approach to their work, though very obviously coming at it from different ways and from different paygrades.
Also, there are alternate costumes that can be unlocked after collecting enough of the appropriate tokens assigned to them, as well as a few that can be unlocked through the course of the story. While I've gotten all of them by now, I went with one in particular that carried me through most of the game, and you'll get no bonus points for figuring out which one.
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| YAH BOIIIIIIIIIIII! |
But yes, mechanically, it all feels like it fits. The addition of the gadgets and Spidey's usual by the seat of his pants improve style of combat (enhanced by his Spider-Sense) makes combat very enjoyable on the whole.
But the story..as I said, the story kind of throws us into the deep end of continuity. The basic set up, I've mostly gone over. Peter is having issues with his landlord, with helping Doctor Otto Octavius definitely not become Doctor Octopus, and dealing with Mary Jane...well, being Mary Jane.
Now, don't get me wrong. I do actually like Mary Jane as she's portrayed in the game for the most part. Part of her arc with Peter is Peter trying to allow her to be more independent, which is fine. The problem is, in order to do that, she keeps throwing herself into very, very obviously dangerous situations where even Peter would be (and occasionally is) in over his head. And she doesn't have superpowers in this version. The game tries to pass this off as Peter having to learn a lesson about letting the people he cares about make their own decisions...or something.
Personally, I would argue that as much as the stereotype of the superhero saving his girlfriend might be a bit outdated, that getting oneself into stupid situations pretty much invalidates your right to be complaining about being saved. If you go into the dragon's den without the proper equipment for handling the situation, then you have no right to start screaming at the knight that comes and slays it that you totally could have done it yourself.
Also, they kind of made her Lois Lane, which is fine by me since it helps drive the plot.
Beyond that, however, the MJ and Miles sections of the game give some stealth segments that occasionally have a gimmick or two to mix things up a bit. And yes, that's Miles as in Miles Morales who is a secondary character. They have kind of a mentor arc for Peter with him, with the very obvious conclusion to it being Miles getting spider powers in the post-credits scene. Spoiler alert. Again, I wasn't lying when I said this game touches upon almost every bit of Spidey lore in some way.
But I've spent three paragraphs talking about a relatively minor point in the story. The nitty-gritty is that Peter's been Spider-Man for eight years and has developed a rogues gallery of a few foes, soon to be joined by Mr. Negative (the aforementioned Martin Li's split-personality...sort of) and Doctor Octopus as mentioned before. The plot involves Mr. Negative's gang, the Demons, encroaching on the territory of Kingpin after Spidey puts him in jail. Indeed, for most of the game, we're given to believe that Mr. Negative is the definitive Big Bad.
Alas, that isn't the case...as Otto Octavius has a few words for the Webhead...and for Norman Osborn, who is not only the Mayor New York, not only directly tied into the backstories of both Martin Li and Otto, but is also...not the Green Goblin? Yes, shockingly, Norman Osborn has not yet become the Green Goblin...though there are hints within certain parts of the plot that things are going that way and quickly. But yes, Otto is the Big Bad, bringing together Spidey's villains Mister Negative, Scorpion, Electro, the Vulture, and Rhino into a Sinister group of six that Spidey has to contend with, giving him his greatest challenge yet.
I will say, I do very much enjoy the deeper connection that Peter has to Otto in this version. Even more so than the 90's animated series or Spider-Man 2, there's no ambiguity about it - Peter is at least partially responsible for the creation of Doctor Octopus as Ock's audio logs tell you. Also, in an interesting change...Ock knows that Peter is Spider-Man. So does Aunt May (though, admittedly, that's been something that's been toyed with for decades at this point). And so does Mary Jane. And so, too, does Miles by the end of the story.
It really emphasizes how this iteration of Peter is a good bit different from his main 616 counterpart. He keeps his secret identity safe from his villains (and Jolly Jonah - who is running a totally not-Bill O'Reilly-esque radio show in this version), but things have happened in the last eight years that allowed him to at least trust Mary Jane with that information. May worked it out on her own, saying that she is proud of Peter while on her deathbed.
...oh, yeah, May dies. It's a really touching scene and extraordinarily well done. Bonus points because that means there won't be a One More Day in this universe.
SUCK IT, MEPHISTO!
If I had to sum it up, and I do, then I would say that Marvel's Spider-Man brings enough of the old and plenty of the new. It pays respect to virtually every corner of the Spider-Verse (not the Spider-Verse, thankfully) while bringing some fresh, new concepts to the table, or managing to rehash concepts in a more fresh way. The combat and the webswinging are both exciting. Like with Spider-Man 2 many years ago before it, it's really just fun to move around New York, now even more so than before.
If you haven't gotten it because it's an exclusive, I encourage you to do otherwise. It's a great piece of work. Insomniac, you've outdone yourselves and I look forward to the DLC!
Marvel's Spider-Man is brought to us by Insomniac Games and Sony Entertainment for Playstation 4.
For the latest from the MadCapMunchkin, be sure to follow him on Twitter @MadCapMunchkin.
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