Web slinging across the rooftops of Manhattan as your favorite friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is a dream come true . . . thanks to your gaming console.
Insomniac Games truly did a “SPECTACULAR” job making Peter Parker’s comic book life feel like a reality in the latest Spidey-themed video game: Spider-Man: The City that Never Sleeps. You learn that your simple life of a little homework and maybe your part time job is really nothing when compared to balancing Parker’s professional work with taking down New York’s most menacing villains.
Spider-Man offers an action-packed 15 hour story that is so addictive that I finished the story in just two days. Yes, you read that correctly.
The only complaint I have, however, is that the game isn’t long enough when compared to its predecessor, Batman: Arkham Knight. After completing Spider-Man’s main story the game gets a little stale. Sure, there are some side quests and a few things to do in free roam, but there just isn’t enough content for such a marquee title.
But what you do get is many of Spider-Man’s most menacing villains: Kingpin, Shocker, Electro, Mister Negative, Rhino, Vulture, and Scorpion. To counter these enemies Parker develops new suits, each one different than the other, with the help of Dr. Octavius (that’s all I can say about him). There are nearly 30 suits, including the fact that each suit has a different “suit ability”, that can give Spider-man the upper hand in battle.
Speaking of battle, the combat in Spider-Man is “AMAZING”. At first, fighting can be a little tough until you learn all of the button combinations, but it’s “SUPER” rewarding especially when you complete the right combo that delivers the perfect wallop to clobber a seething super-villain.
To aid in battle you can craft up to eight different gadgets which help take down your enemies. Each gadget specializes in something different: e.g., the electric web (to electrocute your enemies), the sneaky tip mine trap, or something like the web bomb (a bomb that webs up multiple enemies).
Insomniac Games has developed the characters in such as was as to make you feel a connection with them and with their personal but relatable issues—providing a bit more depth than some might expect from a superhero adventure. Peter’s closest companions are: Mary Jane, Miles Morales, Doctor Octavius (wink wink), and most of all Aunt May. Mary and Miles are also playable characters in some missions.
Overall, Spider-man offers an enjoyable but brief story. However, my spider sense tells me that the addition of the recently announced DLC: The Heist including the famous black cat, and two other expansion packs confirmed by Insomniac Games, will improve the game’s lack of activities that players expect from a $60 title.
Until then, he remains: your friendly neighborhood Spider Man.