Review #432: Spider-man - Edge of Time(Nintendo DS)

 And then there were two...

 After Griptonite had managed to make the best Spider-man games on the DS Activision took the only course of action that made sense: Get rid of them and get a new team to make the DS version of Edge of Time. It proved to be a fatal mistake, while Other Ocean tried making another Metroidvania what they actually made was the glitchiest, buggiest game I've ever played.

 The story is very poorly told, but featuring a sometimes great, sometimes poor hand-drawn panels and it has to do with Spider-man 2099 contacting Amazing Spider-man in order to stop Sloane, a a guy from 2099 who aims to control the world by going back into the past and starting the Alchemax company way back then. You'll oftentimes have no idea of what's going on, but that's alright, there're even plot-holes aplenty, like the fact that opening a door back in Amazing Spider-man's timeline will leave it open over a thousand years later in 2099, or how doing stuff in the future affects the past. I don't even.

 Sadly, the story is the least of the game's problems. Let's just say that every single time I turned on the game I came across a new glitch or bug. These are just a few of the glitches I came around:

 - Spidey would sometimes go through walls.
 - A few times this through me out of bounds so I had to restart the game.

 - Climbing platforms can be quite an ordeal, since sometimes Spider-man will fall when switching angles. It seems like climbing slowly helps, but it's not a sure-fire solution.

 - If you hold left or right when shooting web, which you'll very likely do at least once when aiming your shots, will have Spider-man sliding around the floor. A few special attacks behave the same way.

 - If you move too fast the camera will lose track of Spider-man, so you'll have to wait a few seconds for it to catch up to him.

- The Map for certain areas is glitched so that it can't track Spider-man's position, basically, according to the mini-map Spider-man will be going out of bounds or being inside platforms. This is a very common occurrence.

- There's this blue barrier that you must cross as Spider-man 2099, but I never found how to deactivate it... not that I needed to, since I just went right through it. Maybe I sequence-broke it, I dunno.

 - The mini-map will sometimes freeze when showing you your next objective, the only way to fix it was by resetting the game.

 - During a boss I pressed select, which made me switch to Spider-man 2099, so I pressed select again to go back to the boss and... the game froze.

 And most of these bugs weren't a one-time thing either!

 As for the game itself, it's a very simple affair. Both Spider-men control the same and you can switch at any time by pressing Select. Each character gets his own version of the map to explore, although you gain the ability to swap time-lines near the end of the game, and you'll need to, since each Spider-man has three different obstacle clearing 'abilities' . Before you get excited, this aren't usable or stylish or fun to use, Spider-man gets three different colored webs, each breaks a different type of object, while Spider-man 2099 gets the ability to break purple blocks or go through two different types of barriers. Lame. And, for whatever reason, you can only have one ability equipped at a time, instead of them being on at all times... and why aren't they? The different colored webs don't change how web behaves, and Spider-man 2099's abilities don't change a thing for him either, so... why? Why make it so inconvenient? And you can't switch abilities while crawling on walls or ceiling for whatever reason. They are poorly explained too, when you get the Yellow web you're told that 'Spider-man can now break heavy objects'... why not just tell me that I can break yellow barriers? It's not like obstacles have unique looks to them or whatever. As a matter of fact, I got stumped over 30 minutes near the end of the game because I didn't know that I was supposed to use my new web, which was used to break metal doors, to destroy a crate. A crate that looked exactly like another create I could smash with Spidey's knuckles before. Fun.

 Metroidvanias are all about exploration and... it kinda gets it wrong too. The game will always remind you of your next objective on the top-screen, but every time you enter a new room, the mini-map screen will pan towards your objective for a few seconds before returning to where you're supposed to be. This can be extremely disorienting. But what's truly beautiful is that you can't enlarge the full map, so getting your bearing can be kinda tough. It doesn't help that everything looks so unremarkable and unmemorable, areas just aren't fun to explore. Combat is lame as well, you can unlock a few extra attacks by finding them, but there's little reason to experiment, the game is a button masher through and through, and not a very fun one. After the fantastic combo systems in the previous two games it's hard to come to this shallow affair.

 If there's one thing I can praise is that both Spider-men get three costumes each, something not typically seen in sprite-based games. Besides their default looks, you can find an extra suit by gathering all five parts for each(For a total of 10 pick-ups) and a third costume by finishing the game. Also, the sprite work, while simple, is relatively pretty. I won't lie, at times I actually had fun with the game, but that's because I really like the genre.

 It's so hard to review Edge of Time, because as much of a mess as it is... It's not the worst Spider-man game out there. Because for as many glitches and bugs the game has... none vexed me or annoyed me. It's a terrible game on a technical level, but as far as substance goes it fares slightly better. Mind you, it's still a terrible game, and if I didn't take into account the bugs and glitches it would still only amount to a flimsy 3.0 out of 10. Regardless, Edge of Time on the DS is better left forgotten.
 2.0 out of 10

Now Playing: Spider-man - Edge of Time(DS & PS3)

 Holy Glitchfests, Batman!

 Edge of Time is the final Spider-man game before we dive back into movie-tie in territory, so let's see what Beenox cooked up this time, shall we? Except that let's talk about the mess that is Edge of Time on the DS. First, the good things: The sprites are kinda neat, they look cheap, but in motion they look pretty. And it seems like it will be the first 2-D Spider-man to feature costumes, that's bound to be cool.

 And then you play for 11 minutes and come across three different kinds of bugs. And you play 10 more minutes and come across even more. Where to start? If you move too fast the camera loses sight of Spider-man until it catches up, the map of certain sections is all screwed up, with Spider-man, apparently, going out of bounds. Sometimes Spider-man will glitch when climbing platforms, dropping down. I went through walls once. Spider-man slides when shooting web, so let go of that directional input!... Yes, this game is broken. Oh, and the combat sucks when compared to the previous two games. And while the mechanics make sense, the logic doesn't: Opening a door a thousand years in the past will open it in the 2099 universe. How does that work? And as much as I liked the sprites, the 3-D objects suck, like when using the web to break down barriers, the barrier kinda disappears? It looks very odd. It's not a good game, not at all, but I'd lie if I said it was devoid of any fun.

 Goodbye Noir and Ultimate, at least we got your voice actors! Josh Keaton returns as Amazing Spider-man and Christopher Barnes as 2099, and they fit these characters oh so well. The combat seems pretty similar to before, which is a good thing, and hopefully it has more room for creativity. And I'm loving the fact that there's a gazillion costumes in here.

 My favorite part in Shattered Dimensions was at the end, when all four Spider-men interacted with each other, well, now we've both Spideys interacting from the get-go, that's pretty cool. What little I've played so far is, well, pretty cool, in contrast to the awful DS follow-up. Apparently this game scored lower than Shattered DImensions, so we'll see what it holds for me.

Review #431: Spider-man - Shattered Dimensions(Nintendo DS)

 And then there were three.

 When it came time for Shattered Dimensions to come to the Nintendo DS, Griptonite was assigned to the task, although Ultimate Spider-man didn't make it in. Who needs him anyways? We've already had plenty of Symbiote themed Spider-man games! Once again, this game takes the form of a Metroidvania, adventure-exploration games in which you explore large areas, with paths and upgrades hidden behind obstacles that require specific upgrades to proceed.

 The DS version of Shattered Memories follows a truncated version of the plot from the console game, Mysterio wants to collect all the shards of a Tablet of Ultimate Power, shards peppered throughout time and space, so three Spider-men band together to retrieve the shards from their dimensions from the grasps of the evil doers. While the presentation is rather lackluster, it features voice acting from the same voice actors of the same game(Albeit Josh Keaton takes Neil Patrick Harris' role as Amazing Spider-man... not that I mind, I think NPH makes for a good Spider-man, but Josh Keaton is the best).

 The game follows a two steps forwards-one step backwards design, since for as many improvements that the game received, it also brought a few new detriments. The combat feels as fluid as before, it's a pretty robust combo system for a handheld, but the game no longer runs on Experience Points, which made combat feel superfluous. Enemies can take a lot of damage, as to encourage players to try to rack up high combos, but there're no rewards for indulging in it, by the end of the game I was just skipping as many enemies as I could because I simply could not be bothered to deal with them.

 The exploration aspect has been enhanced, however, there're 65 power ups hidden behind different obstacles which will raise your life bar, your strength or even grant you new moves, either for exploration or for fighting. The map does a much better job of showing you exactly where you are, and it even tells you if there're power ups waiting to be found in a particular area. As much as I loved the new level design, it came with a huge new flaw: Switching dimensions. It's a Spider-man DS game, so of course they needed to tack-on touch-screen minigames. And it's awful. Every single time that you wish to switch dimensions, and if you are a Metroidvania aficionado like me, you probably want to do so after each new upgrade, well, you will have to go through a tedious mini-game that has you rotating a tablet while touching enemies. If enemies touch it, or if you spun too weakly, the tablet will stop and will lose power.... it's a HUGE waste of time that has no place in this game, and it really soured the experience for me.

 Each of the three Spider-men can only traverse their respective dimensions, and while they start out with different abilities, by the end of the game all of them will be able to perform every move. While you'd think that having three maps and three characters would make for a long game, you'd be wrong, it's even shorter than Web of Shadows, however, playing through the game unlocks all sorts of extras, like challenge maps or modes like Time Trial and Boss Rush, so it makes up for it.

 Shattered Dimensions case is a bit sad. All the new enhancements make for a much better game than its predecessor, but making combat so unrewarding and the unnecessary and tedious mini-game for switching dimensions really put a damper on the whole thing. It's still a fun game, but it's disappointing to see just how much poor decisions hurt what could've been a fantastic little game.
 7.5 out of 10

Review #430: Spider-man - Shattered Dimensions(Playstation 3)

 And now there're four of them.

 Beenox is our new developer for the next batch of Spider-man games, and their first effort, Shattered Dimensions, is very different from what we have seen before in the realm of 3-D. This is not a free-roaming, sandbox-style game, but rather a linear beat'em up game in which you get to play as four different Spider-men: Spider-man 2099, Amazing Spider-man, Spider-man Noir and Ultimate Spider-man.

  There's this Tablet-thingie of great power that shatters after Mysterio and Amazing Spider-man get in a fight. The pieces of this Tablet travel across four different universes and Madame Web recruits the help of the Spider-man of each to collect the pieces. The world hangs in peril, as each of the 13 stages features a boss that has come to possess a fragment of the tablet, granting them awesome powers. While the story is alright as an excuse to bash badguys, they really went all in on the presentation. Each Spider-man and his universe have an entirely different aesthetic, each Spider-man is voiced by someone who voiced the character in the past and they even designed new versions of villains, like Hobgoblin 2099 or Noir Hamerhead, just for this game. The game is pretty lengthy too, with each stage lasting between 30 to 50 minutes and it also features the return of alternate costumes! Each Spider-man gets 3 alternate outfits, unlockable in-game and not by paying for DLC, for a total of 12 different costumes. Pretty neat!

 Core gameplay mechanics are the same for every character, a weak and strong attacks that can be linked together, web to make Spider-man dash-in and attack an enemy, jumping, dodging, swinging and crawling on walls. Your goal on every stage is to make it to the end, by defeating hundreds of enemies, but each stage also has a lot of 'challenges' to fulfill. Some you'll clear automatically as you go through the stage, while you'll need to go out of your way to clear others. And you should try to complete as many as you can, since you can't buy certain upgrades until you've amassed a certain amount of cleared challenges. I really liked this system, as it encouraged me to clear challenges and rewarded me for my trouble. Said upgrades range from new moves, a few which are character exclusive(For instance, every characters' charge attack is unique, Noir Spider-man can't disarm enemies, etc) to health bar extensions or costumes.

 That's as far as core elements go, because the different Spider-men not only have different aesthetics, but also different mechanics. Spider-man Noir is based around stealth, and even gets take-downs to compliment his stages. Spider-man 2099 featured, surprisingly, the most puzzles, but also has the ability to slow down his surroundings in order to avoid incoming attacks or attack enemies before they know what hit them. Ultimate Spider-man's levels were a bit more action-based, and he has Rage, which temporarily strengthens him, giving him stronger, wider attacks and more defense. Amazing Spider-man was, unlike his title, the most mundane, with nothing noteworthy to talk about!

 The combat is very nice, crunchy and satisfying. They even shoe-horned in some first person fist-fights with a few bosses that feel very out-of-place... but oh so fun to engage it, since the audiovisual feedback makes it feel so good to repeatedly punch the boss using both analog sticks to perform different types of punches and hooks with each arm. However, it doesn't matter how many new moves you unlock, the combat system is rather shallow, with not a lot of window for the player to create combos, which means that the game gets old a little bit before it ends.

 There were a few control issues and design choices too. Arbitrarily, Spider-man won't be allowed to swing on his web, which is hilarious because, when allowed to, he will stick his webs on thin air. This also extends to clinging on walls, since the Web-heads can't stick to every wall, even if they look the same. Trying to climb out of a perch, hook or cable can sometimes prove troublesome as well since Spider-man has a hard time jumping down stuff, because he sorta gets magnetized onto the ground he is standing on. Luckily, this will mostly be an issue only in Spider-man Noir's levels, when trying to silently take down some baddies.

 Seeing how Beenox was new to the franchise, had they tried to match what Treyarch did would've probably ended in a disaster, since Web of Shadows was the product of years polishing the formula, so going for this new approach was, probably, the best idea. And it worked, Shattered Dimensions is a very interesting game that does many things right even if it got a few wrong.
 7.0 out of 10

Now Playing: Spider-man - Shattered Dimensions(DS)

 Griptonite does it again!

 After making the best Spider-man game on the DS yet, Griptonite was in charge of the next entry on the DS, and boy, is it shaping up to be something great.

 The first thing I noticed was that we now have a proper Metroidvania map that tracks your position, and it's made in the Metroid style of also telling you if there's an upgrade yet for you to find. Combat feels as satisfying as ever, but it's also a bit faster and with even more options, you can disarm enemies with your web, which feels as cool as it looks.

 I'm glad to say that I've nothing bad to say about the game yet!

Review #429: Spider-man - Web of Shadows(Nintendo DS)

They had to get it right sometime.

 Spider-man hadn't had any luck on the Nintendo DS until Web of Shadows came along. This is not your average Spider-man game, this is a Metroidvania, and it makes so much sense to place Spider-man in this genre since it fits his power-set nicely and allows to make the most out of a 2-D exploration game.

 The game follows a slightly tweaked version of the plot from the console game, basically, a Symbiote outbreak has infected New York, Spidey included, however, thanks to his previous exposure with Venom he can switch at will between Red suit and Black suit. They also included the Morality system, twice in the game you're allowed to pick between helping Nightcrawler or Green Goblin, which will determine which ending you get.

 Exploration is the name of the game in Web of Shadows DS. You're thrusted in a 2-D version of New York comprised of four different areas. At first your path will be clearly defined, but defeating bosses earns you new abilities that will allow you to access previously unavailable areas. Backtracking is something you'll do often, but it pays to do it on your own accord, since various Life ups, Attack ups and Defense ups are hidden in the game, and you'll need those upgrades since the game can get pretty tough. I'm not ashamed to admit that I died quite a few times. Defeating enemies earns you experience points which can then be spent to acquire new moves for either suit. Red Suit Spider-man focuses on speed and web attacks, while Black suit focuses on power and bouncing enemies around. There's a rudimentary combo system in place that punishes you for repeating the same moves, so you'll be swapping costumes as you juggle your enemies in order to amass the most amount of points possible.

 If there's something I don't quite agree with is how resilient enemies are. In my opinion, combat in Metroidvanias should be a quick affair, but I guess they wanted to show off their combo system. And don't get me wrong, the combat is really good in the game, but since it involves backtracking, endlessly respawning damage sponges can get a bit tiresome when you simply want to retread old ground with your newfound skills. And near the end of the game they force you to backtrack once more through all four areas in order to destroy four portals. Not cool, but the game lasts only 4 hours, so they had to pad a bit of fat in there.

 Touch-screen use has been kept to a minimum, thank god. When you die, if you've lives to spare, you'll engage in a mini-game which will determine how much health you get back upon reviving. Did I enjoy it? No, I did not. Was it annoying? No, it was not. Also, I think the mini-map could've used with more detail, like tracking your exact position, but it's serviceable for what it is.

 Finally, finally we get a good Spider-man game on the Nintendo DS. The game is still a bit lacking in a few areas, but its strengths stand tall above all else. So far, it's the only DS Spider-man game worth owning.
7.0 out of 10

Now Playing: Spider-man - Shattered Dimensions(PS3)

 Say hello to Beenox.

 After delivering what was pretty much the best Spider-man game up to that moment, Treyarch was relieved from Spider-man duties by Beenox, the developer who'd helm every subsequent Spider-man game.

 Shattered Dimensions is kind of a blank state for Spider-man games, while many mechanics from Web of Shadows are back, the swinging has been reduced to a more confined environment, so a lot of the fun it derived is gone... 

 ...but that's alright, because this is a different kind of game. Gotta love how many voice actors for Spider-man came back for this iteration, although I would've done things differently. Miguel O'hara should've been voiced by Neil Patrick Harris, Amazing Spider-man by Spider-man TAS' VA, Spider-man Noir by the Spider-man's 80s show VA and... Ultimate Spider-man I agree with. But that's just nitpicking.

 I played about three stages(Tutorial, Amazing and Noir) and it's a pretty fun game. I love the challenge system, but above all, I adore the fact that costumes are back, about time! I used the Iron Spider code since that's pretty much my favorite Spider-man costume, and the Scarlet Spider costumes, since that was my favorite Spider-man character... until Kane took the Scarlet Spider mantle from Ben.

 Anyways, I'm having fun. It's no Web of Shadows, but it's pretty decent.