spider man game review

Spider-Man: Is the Spider on the heights of the Open World?

While in 2009, Batman Arkham Asylum redefined the game of superheroes with incredible mastery, Spider-Man is lagging behind. Not that the Weaver has never been entitled to good titles but the latest productions to date, without being bad, are sought. Judge rather, from 2007 to 2014, come out no less than 6 major titles namely: Spider-Man: Allied or Enemy (2007), Spider-Man: Le Règne des Ombres (2008), Spider-Man Dimensions (2010), Spider -Man: Aux Frontières du Temps (2011), The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014), the latter two having made a shift to Open World, a genre that has experienced real democratization since a little while already. Once again, some of these titles are good or very good, but we are far from the quality of a Batman Arkham Asylum and an Arkham City. It was in 2016 that the development of a new episode was officially announced by Insomniac Games, directly overseen by Marvel. Two years later, the result is there and one thing is certain, we will now have to rely on the leaping New Yorker who is finally playing in the big leagues.

If we ventured to draw a parallel between the video game and cinematographic franchise, we could compare this new Spider-Man to the first two films in the Sam Raimi trilogy released in 2002 and 2004. Indeed, the two works have many common points starting with the vision of the directors, rooted in the origins of the hero through the treatment of the character but also that of his enemies. In fact, if Raimi's two feature films exuded the passion for the Golden Age of the Weaver, Insomniac's game also takes the gamble on betting on the icons that fueled Spidey's early adventures while updating About the. By soaking up the Sony formula through a strong story, hollowed out characters and a polished staging, Spider-Man dusted off the character without simulating what is currently done in the cinema. And this is where the project becomes interesting because beyond the fact that the game is part of the official canon of comics, Insomniac offers its own vision of the character. Without denying the character traits of this character, this Spider-Man still manages to surprise, to move while conveying an incredible feeling of power and freedom. Isn't that what you expect from such a game? Certainly.

INSPIRE, IMITATE, IMPROVE

As we said a little above, Spider-Man relies on the Sony quality charter by respecting to the letter what made the success of Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, of Horizon: Zero Dawn or even God of War. The result is a game that seeks to go further than a simple Open World full of side missions intended to artificially lengthen life. Let us dwell on this point, however, or rather this pitfall common to many games of the same genre, whether good or bad.

In general terms, Spider-Man does not reinvent the wheel and even opts for a classic structure structured around a main story, side quests and other collectibles to collect. However, the title has for him to rely on a perfectly oiled gameplay and especially a game system expertly thought out in order to minimize the redundant side of the whole while preserving intact the pleasure of play. On this point, Spider-Man astonishing, as much in its ingenuity as in its finish. In fact, like a certain God of War, everything is linked in Spider-Man and constantly encourages to alternate between the different side quests to recover different types of tokens essential to obtain new abilities, gadgets as well as costumes. We will not be asked as much as the game offers a good challenge in Normal, the Hard mode demanding for its part an absolute mastery of the gameplay.

In short, by submitting enough activities revolving around fighting, infiltration and movement in the city, Spider-Man finds a very pleasant balance by avoiding the trap of too much repetition. Even more so than within the same type of quests, the objectives can vary as well as the method of completing them. We also find this degree of finish in the items to retrieve, here backpacks, since each backpack will be synonymous with an object linked to the life of Peter Parker with a small audio commentary of the interested party. Admittedly, this is a recurring element of the Open World but it must be admitted that the desire to discover all these objects is very real thanks to "these little mythological carrots". We’ll also appreciate having a few side missions referring to other characters revolving around Spidey, like what had been done in the Batman Arkhams, one of the obvious references in the game of Insomniac. Spider-Man therefore takes the best of several games by tweaking a lot of little things in order to offer the Manhattan district in which we like to walk from building to building while walking the streets around which we can witness a robbery, a flight car, intimidation attempts, in short, all reasons to save the widow and the orphan.

WHEN SPIDER-MAN MAKES CINEMA

Spider-Man: Is the Spider on the heights of the Open World?
Beyond its open, lively and encouraging world to discover, Spider-Man can also count on its staging. Devilishly dynamic and strongly inspired by Hollywood cinema, as much in his obsession to embellish each of Spidey's movements as in his impossible framing, the production constantly plays with the places of action and its protagonists to offer the viewer a very immersive cinematic dimension . We also find this desire during certain QTE sequences punctuating passages of gameplay when it comes to accentuating various emotions. Without being intrusive, these phases fit in well overall and carry at arm's length this desire to offer something impressive and striking for the player.

Spider-Man: Is the Spider on the heights of the Open World?

On the sidelines of the action, Spider-Man does not forget to develop his characters to make them more engaging. Bet successful and if after God of War, we were curious to see what the game of Insomniac would give at this level, it is clear that we are surprised by some touching passages, some surprises and surprisingly well written dialogues, especially between Peter Parker and Otto Octavius. Mention should also be made of the radio interventions by JJ Jameson, which can be heard when strolling through NY, delectable in their bad times and often very funny because of the shameless cynicism of the character who is no longer to present. On this subject, let us dwell for a few seconds on the French dubbing, in every way excellent, led from start to finish by a Donald Reignoux in very good shape and supported by a team of dubbers perfectly comfortable in their respective roles. We will however find it strange that we cannot take advantage of the original dubbing for the moment, other than passing the console in English.

FIGHT AND INFILT TO SURVIVE

Artistically speaking, Spider-Man is therefore a real success. The good news is that its gameplay turns out to be just as good and delectable. The developers also grasped the need to design a system nesting all the elements in order to minimize the repetitive side by encouraging the player to vary the pleasures. And it works ! The whole thing is, however, quite evidently simple. Thus, although Spider-Man relies on a conventional system of gaining experience with leveling up, these passages will bring you points of skill essential to unlock skills among three trees, each associated with a way of fighting and / or to move. You are more focused on silent attacks and projections, opt for Innovator! Do you bet on combos and dodging? Defender is for you. Don't you miss an opportunity to jump, fight in the air and perform graceful movements? How about the Weaver tree? It's up to you even if by playing normally, you should unlock everything without much effort and thus have a good range of shots available.
On this point, Spider-Man is also a model of the genre and although the movements are numerous, the gameplay is accessible by combining most of the time two buttons, the long press on one of them or hammering a touch for basic combos. The feeling of power is also very present as we progress in the game and provides a certain excitement when faced with waves of enemies, we can easily use all our abilities to come to tips with ease and class. Perform a perfect dodge by blinding with a canvas throw an enemy who has just shot us at the bazooka, swinging several elements of the scenery to weaken the opponent, covering them on the wall, disarming bad guys by throwing their gun at them figure, making combos of 50 moves while using your powers will quickly become second nature. However, if you still have problems, you will be able to use several gadgets (rechargeable after a certain time) and an ability linked to each unlocked costume.

On this subject, we note no less than 26 and almost as many powers here also rechargeable after a few minutes. In addition to the aesthetic aspect and a lot of fan service, you will have the possibility to choose the most suitable garment and associate any power with it as long as you have unlocked the associated costume beforehand. Knowing that each acquisition of costume, gadget or mod of outfits (for passive improvements) will require different types of tokens, you will quickly understand that you will have to vary the pleasures by constantly switching between the bases of Kingpin to clean, the crimes of streets to solve, searches for Harry Osborn, pigeons for Harold to recover, etc. The whole again based on gameplay in every way excellent, the feeling of weariness turns out to be very little present, even after completing the adventure, when you can wander in New York to complete all the quests available.

However, we nuance this idyllic picture with a few faults that could have been easily erased. First of all, if the boss fights have benefited from a lot of care in the image of certain passages totally inspired by the Batman Arkhams, we would have appreciated that Insomniac added a little more bad guys in the side missions. Certainly, we are entitled to a Black Cat quest but we do not even see it for a second to preserve the surprise for the upcoming DLC. Very clumsy. Similarly, another quest linked to a former member of the Sinister Six (that leaves you with a lot of possibilities!), Is a good surprise even if the boss fight that results is unfortunately below the others. We would have appreciated a little more generosity at that level. Fortunately, the challenges (race, combat, infiltration) of Taskmaster prove to be sympathetic and even allow us to cross swords with the anti-hero on several occasions.

We will also blame the developers for having abused a little too much of two mini-games asking us to connect circuits and associate samples to find a specific sequence. Although these mini games (more and more difficult), initially present in the lab of Doc Ock, are not compulsory, we will have in parallel to tease them many times during the adventure. If the latter are not unpleasant, one quickly feels their lack of variety.

Finally, if Spider-Man offers in addition to infiltration phases, we feel that unlike a Batman Arkham which was articulated perfectly around these two axes that are action and stealth, the game of Insomniac has been thought more through its combat system and its movements. Admittedly, we can carry out silent attacks, eliminate guards by covering them on the ceiling, but the few gadgets directly associated with these sequences and the way of proceeding means that we quickly get into a certain routine. Everything works but gets tired quickly and it is not the passages with Mary Jane that will change anything, these being too scripted and easy to really please despite a good idea to start to make some changes in tone to the progression and narrative.

EYES FULL OF STARS

Spider-Man: Is the Spider on the heights of the Open World?
Of course, all of this would be nothing without a level playing field. We reassure you, Manhattan is at the level of everything else. Better still, after more than 25 hours, you still have fun traveling it up and down, without using the Fast Travel which is available after a short while. It must be said that the movement system is extremely flexible, fluid and credible, Spidey cannot, for example, use a cloud to hang his paintings. The Swing / Parkour combo proves to be exquisite and provides a real feeling of freedom as well when it comes to swinging from building to building, running on a building facade or walking in busy streets at various times of the day . We will therefore appreciate to sit for a few moments by scanning plans worthy of a postcard on the edge of a building, surrounded by pigeons pecking a few seeds.

This level of finish is also found in the various special effects, camera shots (during finish moves) and also and above all the animations of Spider-Man, more elastic than ever. The Insomniac artists gave themselves to their heart and this is felt in each acrobatics giving us the real impression of embodying Spider-Man, the same one that we knew in the pages of Strange, at the television or cinema. And that’s what made Spider-Man such an excellent game despite its flaws. Just like Rocksteady with the Dark Knight, Insomniac Games completely appropriated the superhero and succeeded in proposing its vision of the New Yorker, always as joking but more human and incredible than ever when it comes to moving to the 'action. A surprising and jubilant title which already announces suites with enormous potential ... Not bad for a first try, right?

The notes
+ Positive points
The absolute feeling of embodying Spider-Man
Manhattan: beautiful and lively
A more human scenario than you might think
The entire gameplay (fights + displacements)
Well thought out costume and evolution system
Several excellent boss fights
High quality French dubbing
Very good lifespan (more than 25 hours to see everything)

-Negative points
The construction of the title is not surprising
Overused mini-games
Infiltration phases less interesting than those of a Batman Arkham
We would have appreciated more side missions with super villains

While the Dark Knight still sits at the top of the superhero video adaptation, Insomniac's Spider-Man already heralds a bright future for the franchise and by extension Weaving fans. Fitting perfectly into the mold of the latest Sony productions, the title of Californians is causing a sensation on all levels. Handsome, playable, exciting, surprising, even moving, Spider-Man turns out to be the game all fans have been waiting for. From a formula that one could have thought eroded, the developers have indeed designed a balanced game, enjoyable and providing an immense feeling of freedom and power. It is clear that crunching the Big Apple has never been so delicious and if several seeds are indeed visible, we are already impatiently awaiting the new picking which will have to be even tastier. We trust Insomniac who seems to have understood everything about the character, having captured all the essence as it was the case a few years ago with Rocksteady and a certain Batman.