Spider-Man Exceeds Expectations

September gave us two very different things that are polar opposites. The beginning of a new school year and a brand new Spider-Man game. I won’t say which is the positive and which is the negative, but after playing the game, it will become very easy to differentiate.

Spider-Man PS4 exceeds all expectations. It brought a fresh new take on an older Peter Parker who has been Spider-Man for eight years. Off the start, you are welcomed with action and a story that seems like it spirals downwards with every decision. The game is so successful for a couple reasons: gameplay, graphics, story, and character arcs.

Spider-Man PS4 has had people eagerly waiting for years, since this game was promised to be even better than the famous Spider-Man 2 game released 2004. What captivated fans during the release of the original Spider-Man 2 game was that it had a very realistic web slinging experience. Based on real life physics, playing as Spider-Man gave people the realism of swinging of a pendulum motion. This meant that players had to decide when to let go of the web in order to achieve higher swings (if let go near the top of the swing) or faster swings (if released near the bottom of the swing). Spider-Man delivers just that and even better. Parkouring around the large city of New York is very satisfying and flows from plainly running and hopping over cars to running on the sides of the realistic New York buildings and to full fledged web swinging. Overall, it is very satisfying to swing from Chinatown to the Upper West Side– especially with one of the 20+ skins in the game.

Another aspect of the gameplay that is crucial to giving you the full Spidey experience is the combat. The combat is silky smooth with a multitude of combos and variations to web up enemies. The gadgets that are part of the kit add an extra layer of complexity and creativity that if utilized correctly, can give a great fight. The game’s combat is compared to the combat found in the Batman: Arkham series. I would say that the combat in Spider-Man is very inspired by the Batman games but is also very different. The abilities of Spidey such as high jumps, super strength and the ability to stick on walls adds to the flow of the combat and delivers a very solid fighting experience.

The graphics in the game are top notch. You can easily see the effort the developers put in the game. The stitches and material patterns are visible and different for each suit. The buildings look very realistic and the shadows are very shadowy. Have all that plus photo mode and you will find that you will be taking pictures in the game more often than completing the side missions. Above that, New York truly feels like New York. The game captures important landmarks such as the Empire State building, and Radio City Hall, and the game even captures the diversity found in the city. All races and demographics can be found represented in the game and that gives an extra touch to the beauty of the game. Not only does it look realistic but it also feels realistic.

The story without spoiling anything is magnificent. The game grabs parts from the 50 years, Spider-Man has been released and makes a totally new version of the timeless hero. The story is filled with twists and turns, that even an avid comic book reader will not be able to predict what happens. The game itself can be a movie. The story fully captures amazing character stories and character dynamics. Slowly but surely, you get to hear the origins and whereabouts of each character. Mary Jane, specifically, is really well done. She is shown to be strong and just as important as Spidey in stopping crime. Along with that, she is even playable and playing as her in her specific stealth missions is very fun.

Over all Spider-Man PS4 is a spectacular game that captures everything necessary to make a great video game, and, above that is a great work of art. The game is filled with various Easter eggs and sites that pay homage to the vast past of Spider-Man. The only downside is that the game is a PS4 exclusive which means that if you don’t have a PS4, you are going to have to shell out at least 300 dollars to play the game. Conversely, this makes it all the better for PS4 users because the developers built the game around the specs of the PS4. This means that there are no worries about cross platform technicalities like delayed updates and bug fixes. Spider-Man PS4 lives up to the years of hype and I give it a 10/10. The game will truly deliver an experience guaranteed to make the little kid inside you rise again and dawn the mask of Spider-Man.