Spider-Man

Review

by Brett Alan Weiss

Playing Spider-Man gives you the feeling that if the folks at Neversoft had another month or so to polish and perfect the game, it would rank as one of the all-time classics. It is an awesome comic book adventure in many respects, but it falters in some key areas.

Like so many 3D action games (Earthworm Jim 3D comes to mind), Spider-Man has some seriously whacked camera angles, especially when you are in a hurry or in the midst of an intense battle in an enclosed area. Many of the boss fights occur in buildings and other confined spaces, making for a sometimes frustrating, oftentimes annoying experience. Occasionally, the camera loses Spidey altogether and you have to fumble with the controls to get him in view. Crawling on ceilings is cool, but it complicates matters of the camera even further.

In an effort to make the game as realistic (in the comic book sense of the word) as possible, the designers of Spider-Man equipped the character with a variety of moves. While using webs to trap enemies and yank them across the room, I had a sense of déjà vu dating back to my misspent youth of chugging Grape Crush and devouring Spider-Man comics.

Unfortunately, the best way to dispense with thugs and other common enemies is to simply punch or kick them. True, Spider-Man has engaged in plenty of fisticuffs in his four-color adventures, but most of the fights in this game are routine. The bosses, on the other hand, are much trickier and tax Spidey's agility and web-slinging abilities to their limits. In fact, some of the later bosses are darned near impossible to beat.

Cockeyed cameras and pedestrian punks aside, Spider-Man is a gorgeous game that does an excellent job of bringing the two-dimensional world of Marvel comics to the three-dimensional world of PlayStation videogames. Taken as a whole, the storyline is contrived and muddled, but the individual objectives are for the most part engaging.

Battling Scorpion and Rhino is especially enjoyable. The fights with these two bosses in particular truly feel like an interactive comic book. Just like in the comics, Rhino is stronger and much more durable than Spider-Man, but our hero is quicker, smarter and more agile (Spidey can trick the horned brute into smashing into walls), giving him a slight edge.

Throughout the game, Spider-Man meets up with a lot of familiar faces in the Marvel universe, adding another layer of fun to the action. The voices are top-notch, especially Stan 'The Man' Lee's narration. Also, Rino Romano makes for a likable, quip-spouting Spider-Man.

While many Spider-Man games have ignored the Web-Head's spider-strength, this one has him lifting and throwing furniture and other heavy objects. Also, the freedom of movement in the game is unparalleled. Swinging through New York City is a breathtaking experience, crawling on walls is fun, and flipping and jumping around in and around the various rooms is a blast.

I've played a lot of superhero videogames over the years and Spider-Man comes closest by far to making me feel like a superpowered being in tights. Batman for the NES is still my favorite superhero title, but Spider-Man comes close. For those of you who were ripped off by the dreadful Superman for the Nintendo 64, redeem yourself by picking up or at least renting Spider-Man for the PlayStation.