Post by Gilvan Blight on May 15, 2007 7:14:00 GMT -5
Out for Multiple systems, I played it on the Wii
Quickly: had a ton of fun, too bad it's not finished and/or broken.
Summary: the latest Spider-man game from Activision, this one tying in to the latest movie. Set up like previous Spidey games you start off in a linear storyline. The intro/tutorial section has Spidey fighting villains and saving civvies in a building just hit by a Mad Bomber Character. Eventually after saving everyone you get placed into the middle of Manhattan GTA/Spider-man 2 style and can kind of do what you want. There are storyline hot spots marked on the map that you can go to, to progress the story with on average at least 2 plots running concurrently (allowing you to jump between them). There is also a huge gang war going on between the gangs themselves and the cops. You can take a side in this and fight against specific gangs or just back up the cops. This runs 'real time' and changes as you help one side, others grow in power, the cops power diminishes etc. In addition there are 'random' events that pop up while you explore/travel the city. These range from all out gang wars, to simple bank robberies. You have the option to get involved or not. All characters are actually voiced by the proper actor and Bruce Campbell returns as the Narrator. There are various pick ups, easter eggs and power ups hidden around the city. Every task you undertake, whether part of the plot or not gives you XP, you spend this to improve your skills and add new moves to your repertoire.
For the Wii specifically: there is a rather unique control scheme as expected. As is becoming typical, to attack you swing the wii-remote. Combos are done through proper rhythm and combining movements of both the nun-chuck and wii-mote. The camera is controlled via the nun-chuck in what seems to becoming a standard wrist twist motion that is really natural. Web slinging is the most interesting, as you actually use either the wii-mote or the nun-chuck, hold down a button and swing the appropriate controller. It's a very similar motion to what spidey is doing on screen which is pretty cool. During key moments in the game you will get action commands popping up on the screen having you do this or that with one or both controllers. These are rhythm game/god of war style and let spidey complete maneuvers that aren't built into the core moves.
The story, as far as I played it, had some mad Bomber Character, The Lizard, the Hobgoblin (or whatever Goblin Jr. is called in number 3, Kraven and 6 rival gangs). You also have the black suit which is uber powerful, but you can only use it for a limited time or it takes you over. You can swap between suits at will with a rather simple command. The black suit is way better at beating people up then your normal, but doesn't seem to web sling as well.
The Good: actually having a ton of fun at this once I got used to the unique controls. Just bombing around the city doing random tasks and looking for collectibles is rather fun. The storyline missions were interesting as far as I saw them. The variety of the mission types is definitely higher then number 2 which is refreshing, as I got really sick of doing the same thing over and over again. The new moves are pretty sweet and I really enjoy the new XP system. The game feels like spidey as much as the others, with great wit added as you beat up the baddies or get smacked down. "What part of, does whatever a spider can, did you miss?" is still one of my faves.
The Bad: the controls definitely take some time to get used to and even when you are used to them every now and then you find yourself flying off the wrong way or bouncing off walls you meant to climb. I think this would be a Wii only issue though, due to the unique control scheme. There still aren't enough types of random missions. I was already starting to get quite a bit of repetition. It was better then number 2, but they could definitely use some more.
The Ugly: it's just not done. I swear they rushed this one out the door before play-testing so that it could be out before the movie. The graphics are horrible, spider man 2 on my PS2 looks better then this on the Wii. There are huge and I mean huge graphic screw ups constantly. These include black artifacts that show up through pretty much every city street and many of the office towers. Cut scenes freeze part way through while playing. NPCs halt mid sentence as you walk away start talking again. Mission end logos come up and it takes half a minute before it realizes the mission is over and you get the next part. The character models are horrible. They are recognizable as their movie counterparts, but only barely. I've seen better likenesses on a PS1 or my Gameboy. Last but not least I had the game hang up on me twice. Total freeze. Buzzing sound coming out all 5 speakers, having to reset the console before I could do anything else. All in all, totally unacceptable quality.
Overall: I have to admit I am disappointed. This game is totally broken, I don't even suggest a rental as it will just frustrate the hell out of you when it hangs up and you forgot to save. It looks like crap, with serious graphical flaws. All of this is too bad, since when it is playing and you ignore the graphics issues it's a ton of fun. It uses the Wii controls in a way that actually adds to the immersion which is great. I just wish the game worked.
Note: Due to the amount of fun I was having playing this when it worked, I am seriously thinking or renting it on the PS2 to see if it's better. If they finished that version. Maybe the Wii was a last minute port or something. If anyone has tried this on another platform let me know if it's worth looking at. Since as mentioned it was fun.
Quickly: had a ton of fun, too bad it's not finished and/or broken.
Summary: the latest Spider-man game from Activision, this one tying in to the latest movie. Set up like previous Spidey games you start off in a linear storyline. The intro/tutorial section has Spidey fighting villains and saving civvies in a building just hit by a Mad Bomber Character. Eventually after saving everyone you get placed into the middle of Manhattan GTA/Spider-man 2 style and can kind of do what you want. There are storyline hot spots marked on the map that you can go to, to progress the story with on average at least 2 plots running concurrently (allowing you to jump between them). There is also a huge gang war going on between the gangs themselves and the cops. You can take a side in this and fight against specific gangs or just back up the cops. This runs 'real time' and changes as you help one side, others grow in power, the cops power diminishes etc. In addition there are 'random' events that pop up while you explore/travel the city. These range from all out gang wars, to simple bank robberies. You have the option to get involved or not. All characters are actually voiced by the proper actor and Bruce Campbell returns as the Narrator. There are various pick ups, easter eggs and power ups hidden around the city. Every task you undertake, whether part of the plot or not gives you XP, you spend this to improve your skills and add new moves to your repertoire.
For the Wii specifically: there is a rather unique control scheme as expected. As is becoming typical, to attack you swing the wii-remote. Combos are done through proper rhythm and combining movements of both the nun-chuck and wii-mote. The camera is controlled via the nun-chuck in what seems to becoming a standard wrist twist motion that is really natural. Web slinging is the most interesting, as you actually use either the wii-mote or the nun-chuck, hold down a button and swing the appropriate controller. It's a very similar motion to what spidey is doing on screen which is pretty cool. During key moments in the game you will get action commands popping up on the screen having you do this or that with one or both controllers. These are rhythm game/god of war style and let spidey complete maneuvers that aren't built into the core moves.
The story, as far as I played it, had some mad Bomber Character, The Lizard, the Hobgoblin (or whatever Goblin Jr. is called in number 3, Kraven and 6 rival gangs). You also have the black suit which is uber powerful, but you can only use it for a limited time or it takes you over. You can swap between suits at will with a rather simple command. The black suit is way better at beating people up then your normal, but doesn't seem to web sling as well.
The Good: actually having a ton of fun at this once I got used to the unique controls. Just bombing around the city doing random tasks and looking for collectibles is rather fun. The storyline missions were interesting as far as I saw them. The variety of the mission types is definitely higher then number 2 which is refreshing, as I got really sick of doing the same thing over and over again. The new moves are pretty sweet and I really enjoy the new XP system. The game feels like spidey as much as the others, with great wit added as you beat up the baddies or get smacked down. "What part of, does whatever a spider can, did you miss?" is still one of my faves.
The Bad: the controls definitely take some time to get used to and even when you are used to them every now and then you find yourself flying off the wrong way or bouncing off walls you meant to climb. I think this would be a Wii only issue though, due to the unique control scheme. There still aren't enough types of random missions. I was already starting to get quite a bit of repetition. It was better then number 2, but they could definitely use some more.
The Ugly: it's just not done. I swear they rushed this one out the door before play-testing so that it could be out before the movie. The graphics are horrible, spider man 2 on my PS2 looks better then this on the Wii. There are huge and I mean huge graphic screw ups constantly. These include black artifacts that show up through pretty much every city street and many of the office towers. Cut scenes freeze part way through while playing. NPCs halt mid sentence as you walk away start talking again. Mission end logos come up and it takes half a minute before it realizes the mission is over and you get the next part. The character models are horrible. They are recognizable as their movie counterparts, but only barely. I've seen better likenesses on a PS1 or my Gameboy. Last but not least I had the game hang up on me twice. Total freeze. Buzzing sound coming out all 5 speakers, having to reset the console before I could do anything else. All in all, totally unacceptable quality.
Overall: I have to admit I am disappointed. This game is totally broken, I don't even suggest a rental as it will just frustrate the hell out of you when it hangs up and you forgot to save. It looks like crap, with serious graphical flaws. All of this is too bad, since when it is playing and you ignore the graphics issues it's a ton of fun. It uses the Wii controls in a way that actually adds to the immersion which is great. I just wish the game worked.
Note: Due to the amount of fun I was having playing this when it worked, I am seriously thinking or renting it on the PS2 to see if it's better. If they finished that version. Maybe the Wii was a last minute port or something. If anyone has tried this on another platform let me know if it's worth looking at. Since as mentioned it was fun.