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| Image Provided by Ars Technica |
Let me get the elephant out of the room, the combat can be reminiscent of the Batman Arkham games. However, this game still manages to expand on the combat by adding in the web mechanics as well as Spider-Man's more acrobatic combat style. You can even upgrade Spider-Man's gadgets to make combat a lot more dynamic than it already is.
I do recommend playing this game on the highest difficulty to take full advantage of the crafting system as well as upgrading Spider-Man's abilities. You probably will want to upgrade his abilities anyway especially when it comes to web-swinging. How about the suits? Well, each of them comes with a unique ability, but you don't necessarily get an advantage by choosing particular suits to wear as you can mix each suit ability with each other. My only complaint is that there is no Spider-Cop costume, yet.
Speaking of web-swinging, this is easily the best web-swinging mechanic ever seen in a Spider-Man game. I never thought that I would say that there would be a web-swinging mechanic that would surpass Spider-Man 2. It makes you feel like Spider-Man! That sounds stupid to say, but traveling in this game just makes you feel so pumped up. Additionally, this is one of those games where you will rarely use fast travel. I know for certain that I used fast travel only twice before completing the main story. It's incredibly detailed too because there has to be surfaces where Spider-Man can use his webs; otherwise, you will just continue to be in free fall. I also should mention that every time you web-swing a little music track will play and it's very reminiscent to those of you who watched Spidey on the big screen.
What about the story? Don't expect anything that is fresh, but this is a solid story for a Spider-Man game. The main characters are interesting and stay true to their comic book roots. There were a few side characters that could have been fleshed out more, but it wasn't a deal breaker for me. In true Marvel fashion, you are tossed right into the action and the cutscenes for the game makes you feel like you are watching a Saturday morning cartoon. Sometimes, you don't really need a deep story to make a good story. Just make the characters interesting as well as the plot and you're good to go.
I'm not a graphics whore, but this is easily one of the best looking games of 2018 and arguably of this console generation. I played Spider-Man on the PS4 Pro version of the game and it looks phenomenal. I've heard reviewers say that Spider-Man doesn't have the best uses of HDR, but I would disagree with that statement. New York City looks absolutely gorgeous with HDR and the colors stand out so much more in Times Square at night. If you don't have a 4K HDR TV, then this may be one of those games that may entice you to get one alongside God of War and Horizon: Zero Dawn.
This game isn't perfect, but what game is? My main criticism of the game is with the open world design. It borderline has "Ubisoft Open World Syndrome". What I mean by that is that there is collectibles that feel like filler and repetitive activities. However, it's a Superhero game, so what other types of activities do you expect?
Some of the side missions were okay while some just got tedious. The only collectibles in this game that are worthwhile are the backpacks as they have a background story for the items you will find in them. In addition, you get a(relatively) nice suit for it. If you're big into scenery, then the landmark collectibles will be a treat too. I'm not from New York, so I can't say if they are true to their real life counterparts in terms of location.
I also feel like there are way too many load times in this game, but it's not so much to ruin your experience with the game. Just try not to die too much and you'll be fine.
Regardless, I feel like Spider-Man is a strong contender for Game of the Year. This is yet another great exclusive on Sony's console and Insomniac really surpassed my expectations. Am I the only one who feels that they should be trusted with another superhero game?
Till Next Time!!
