The Amazing Spider-Man 2 The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Video Game Thread

[UltimateWebhead]

I'm really not looking forward to a TASM 2 game. I would much rather see a Spider-Man game based on the comics at this point. I feel like movie games limit the game's potential due to the restrictions on the story and villains they can use. I know I probably sound like a broken record since I've stated this many times, but I just can't get excited over the idea of this game due to that .

Broken record maybe, but it rings the truth. The only way we'll get a Spidey game that makes a mark is one based on the comics. There's other factors but as you say, the movie-based games take much out of the mixing bowl. There was a great deal of potential with ASM's game and it fell short. I was excited about a return to free roam with Spider-Man and then I played it...there was some excitement at first but wore off rather quickly. The broken record I've been playing is how important, how integral the actual open world means to a free roam Spider-Man game. It felt like Beenox forgot that part. Instead the open world felt like nothing more than a place to go from one mission to the next--a linear game with an open area separating the levels. That's not how it should be. The open world should serve as a level all its own. A place where you should want to spend your time doing all sorts of activities. SM2 the game may be full of its fair share of issues however I would spend countless hours playing the open world and then play a mission here and there, same with Ultimate Spider-Man.

 

[Spideyfan117]

For me, one of the big problems is the lack of explorable areas within the city. Why can't we go in a good number of the buildings for fun? Why not introduce an interesting multiplaye element. If other sandbox games can do it (GTA, Saints Row, etc.), why not a Spider-man one?

 

[Shikamaru]

I can't disagree with that, but unfortunately the movie games always seem to take precedent. I guess the developers feel the need to rely on the movies to boost the sales. It is pretty disappointing that since Enter Electro, we have only had one game based off Amazing/616, Web of Shadows.

Oh and Shattered Dimensions, and Edge of Time, der. As fun as SD was, I would prefer a game strictly revolving around the Amazing Spider-Man. Shattered Dimensions almost feels like a follow up to the Neversoft/VV games, it's the closest we've come anyway.

I don't buy that movie games = boost in sales. Arkham Asylum and Arkham City came out when the Nolan Batman films were literally the most popular superhero movies. Yet both games were based off the comics and still made tons of money.

The ironic thing about Shattered Dimensions is that it had the best looking NYC out of all the current-gen Spidey games. And it wasn't open world.

Broken record maybe, but it rings the truth. The only way we'll get a Spidey game that makes a mark is one based on the comics. There's other factors but as you say, the movie-based games take much out of the mixing bowl. There was a great deal of potential with ASM's game and it fell short. I was excited about a return to free roam with Spider-Man and then I played it...there was some excitement at first but wore off rather quickly. The broken record I've been playing is how important, how integral the actual open world means to a free roam Spider-Man game. It felt like Beenox forgot that part. Instead the open world felt like nothing more than a place to go from one mission to the next--a linear game with an open area separating the levels. That's not how it should be. The open world should serve as a level all its own. A place where you should want to spend your time doing all sorts of activities. SM2 the game may be full of its fair share of issues however I would spend countless hours playing the open world and then play a mission here and there, same with Ultimate Spider-Man.

In my opinion, the best Spider-Man games we've had so far are the original PS1 Spider-Man game and Ultimate Spider-Man (I barely remember SM2 plus I haven't played it much so I can't comment on it) and a lot of other people I talked with seem to share this opinion as well. I don't think it's much of a surprise that they were both based on Spider-Man comics as opposed to movies. One may even argue that Spider-Man (2000) was to the 5th-gen what Arkham Asylum/City was to the 7th-gen. It was one of the most critically acclaimed games on the PS1 and nearly everyone who owned a PS1 as a kid played it to a degree. I'm not sure if I can say the exact same thing about Ultimate Spider-Man and its impact on the 6th-gen but I do think you can at least argue that it came pretty close.

Also, after seeing Beenox's "take" on New York in TASM, I'm fully convinced that they never set foot in New York their whole life (which I know is not possible since they attended Comic Con but still). I don't know if you've ever been to Manhattan but there is this almost magical big-city feeling you get from it that you can't get anywhere else. The lights, the number of people, the opportunities....you can feel all of that around you. You immediately know why they call it "The City That Never Sleeps". Everything feels so live and "on the move". Not once was that live "energized" feeling ever translated into the game. The city felt plain and boring, as if it was the city that always sleeps. Not too mention that almost everything was either grey or dark blue. Developers have to translate that live feeling people get from New York in real life to the game and only then does the game have potential to really hit it with the audience. I knew a lot of classmates in high school that never touched a Spider-Man comic their whole lives - people that could really care less about Spider-Man. Those same people told me how much fun they had every day to come home and just swinging around New York in games like Ultimate Spider-Man. Why? Because Ultimate Spider-Man is one of the only games that really captured the live feeling of New York in its free roam.

 

[Tim]

It's nice and all that you guys want a non-movie Spider-Man game but yeah... it wont happen any time soon. They will always put movie games before comic games. There's always been a movie game for Spider-Man (they even prepared for SM4) so it's safe to say that the next game we are going to see is TASM2. And after that they'll probably move on to TASM3.

And guess what? I like it. I hate the comic style games (like WoS or Ultimate Spider-Man), I want my Spider-Man game to look realistic or try to be realistic and not look like Borderlands with crappy comic graphics or graphics that could be considered cheap. I have nothing against a comic game (as long as it tries to have somewhat realistic graphics like the arkham games) but I don't see it happen any time soon, atleast not without Beenox employing atleast 100 more guys.

 

[Shikamaru]

What makes you think that a comics-based game won't have realistic graphics? Ultimate Spider-Man is the big exception because they tried to replicate the look and feel of the actual book, which at that time had a particular iconic art style.

 

[UltimateWebhead]

I don't buy that movie games = boost in sales. Arkham Asylum and Arkham City came out when the Nolan Batman films were literally the most popular superhero movies. Yet both games were based off the comics and still made tons of money.

The ironic thing about Shattered Dimensions is that it had the best looking NYC out of all the current-gen Spidey games. And it wasn't open world.



In my opinion, the best Spider-Man games we've had so far are the original PS1 Spider-Man game and Ultimate Spider-Man (I barely remember SM2 plus I haven't played it much so I can't comment on it) and a lot of other people I talked with seem to share this opinion as well. I don't think it's much of a surprise that they were both based on Spider-Man comics as opposed to movies. One may even argue that Spider-Man (2000) was to the 5th-gen what Arkham Asylum/City was to the 7th-gen. It was one of the most critically acclaimed games on the PS1 and nearly everyone who owned a PS1 as a kid played it to a degree. I'm not sure if I can say the exact same thing about Ultimate Spider-Man and its impact on the 6th-gen but I do think you can at least argue that it came pretty close.

Also, after seeing Beenox's "take" on New York in TASM, I'm fully convinced that they never set foot in New York their whole life (which I know is not possible since they attended Comic Con but still). I don't know if you've ever been to Manhattan but there is this almost magical big-city feeling you get from it that you can't get anywhere else. The lights, the number of people, the opportunities....you can feel all of that around you. You immediately know why they call it "The City That Never Sleeps". Everything feels so live and "on the move". Not once was that live "energized" feeling ever translated into the game. The city felt plain and boring, as if it was the city that always sleeps. Not too mention that almost everything was either grey or dark blue. Developers have to translate that live feeling people get from New York in real life to the game and only then does the game have potential to really hit it with the audience. I knew a lot of classmates in high school that never touched a Spider-Man comic their whole lives - people that could really care less about Spider-Man. Those same people told me how much fun they had every day to come home and just swinging around New York in games like Ultimate Spider-Man. Why? Because Ultimate Spider-Man is one of the only games that really captured the live feeling of New York in its free roam.

Well said. I used to live in NY, just outside the city, but I've been to Manhattan countless times. So yeah, I know exactly what you mean. The city itself in ASM felt like a cardboard cut out--nothing like the bustling exciting feeling from USM. And the free roam was just bad. Only three crimes that were nonrandom--they appear in the same spots at every playthrough and they disappear after completing a certain number. A subpar swinging system, boring side missions, and no fun activities. Yeah, the open world was horrible. I'm really hoping they spent a good amount of time revamping that portion of the game.

 

[Picard Sisko]

The web-slinging in TASM: Video Game actually looked really good, but that's the problem. Its a game, not a movie... it has to do a lot more than look good.

 

[UltimateWebhead]

The web rush, the closer camera, the visuals, and the camera movement were all positives regarding the swinging. It was so dull and boring though. The mechanics were lame. And you never felt like you were in control--it's like, there's Spider-Man and there he goes, yup, he's swinging alright. Neat.

 

[Picard Sisko]

The web rush, the closer camera, the visuals, and the camera movement were all positives regarding the swinging. It was so dull and boring though. The mechanics were lame. And you never felt like you were in control--it's like, there's Spider-Man and there he goes, yup, he's swinging alright. Neat.

Exactly.

 

[Marvel Spider]

If Beenox blows this, there's no excuse. Especially with the next-gen tech they now have at their disposal.

 

[Picard Sisko]

I wish someone else would take over the Spider-Man video games.

 

[UltimateWebhead]

If Beenox blows this, there's no excuse. Especially with the next-gen tech they now have at their disposal.

Absolutely no excuse. They spent a lot of time creating the mechanics for ASM--new combat structure, the web rush, etc. and that takes much time and effort. With most of that completed, there's less ditch digging that's needed with ASM2. There should be noticeable improvement. If there isn't...well, there's not much to say really.

I wish someone else would take over the Spider-Man video games.

Yes. Both the publisher and the developer.

 

[SonicWarrior]

Who do you guys think would be best suited to handle the Spidey games?

 

[Shikamaru]

Well said. I used to live in NY, just outside the city, but I've been to Manhattan countless times. So yeah, I know exactly what you mean. The city itself in ASM felt like a cardboard cut out--nothing like the bustling exciting feeling from USM. And the free roam was just bad. Only three crimes that were nonrandom--they appear in the same spots at every playthrough and they disappear after completing a certain number. A subpar swinging system, boring side missions, and no fun activities. Yeah, the open world was horrible. I'm really hoping they spent a good amount of time revamping that portion of the game.

Well said. NY was probably one of the most generic versions of the city I've seen in a Spider-Man. Also, I don't even think they got the geography of the city right. I've been to NY a couple of times and I've noticed that. lol

If Beenox blows this, there's no excuse. Especially with the next-gen tech they now have at their disposal.

I'm really excited at the idea of a next-gen Spider-Man game. Imagine something more akin to Watch Dogs or Infamous: Second Son.

Whether or not we'll get that though......

 

[chaseter]

I wish someone else would take over the Spider-Man video games.

I completely agree.

 

[Shikamaru]

Who do you guys think would be best suited to handle the Spidey games?

Honestly, I don't know. All of the developers I have in mind have their hands full right now.

Plus, making games of high quality is only half the battle. The other half is having a passion and knowledge of Spider-Man. Both of those ingredients are required on top of the having the skills to make the game itself. The problem with so many developers is that they often have only one or the other.

 

[Green Goblin]

Sucker Punch - An inFamous style Spider-Man game

Beenox should get one more go though

 

[Shikamaru]

Sucker Punch would be perfect.

1) They made AAA titles before.
2) They know how to make a good and fun open world.
3) They're comic book fans.

Unfortunately, they seem to be having their hands full with Infamous at the moment.

 

[UltimateWebhead]

IMO Beenox has the 'fan of Spider-man' part but their development talent is questionable. Though I think if they had less restrictions under the license with a high enough budget and a good working timetable, they might be able to pull something off worthy of the AAA title. I'd say that's more the hurtful thing really. Each of their games has shown moments of inspiring work--it's a possibility. But with continued movie-tie-ins and the ever pressing thumbs of Activision...eh, I just dunno.

 

[UltimateWebhead]

Sucker Punch would be perfect.

1) They made AAA titles before.
2) They know how to make a good and fun open world.
3) They're comic book fans.

Unfortunately, they seem to be having their hands full with Infamous at the moment.

I def agree. They'd be great. It's kind of a sad thing when I prefer to play a free roam game like Infamous over a Spidey one. It's just not right

 

[Shikamaru]

IMO Beenox has the 'fan of Spider-man' part but their development talent is questionable. Though I think if they had less restrictions under the license with a high enough budget and a good working timetable, they might be able to pull something off worthy of the AAA title. I'd say that's more the hurtful thing really. Each of their games has shown moments of inspiring work--it's a possibility. But with continued movie-tie-ins and the ever pressing thumbs of Activision...eh, I just dunno.

I do think Beenox has the "Spider-Man fans" part as well, but I don't think their development talent is on par with that. You also brought up a good point by bringing up Activision. As long as Spidey is in the hands of Activision, I think our chances of getting a higher quality game will be low. Activision is without a doubt part of the problem too, arguably even the main problem (the idea of sticking to movie-based games or any other restrictions probably stem from them). As for how Beenox would perform without Activision, that I don't know. They did confirm they had 2 years to work on TASM. Even with all the restrictions, they could have at least created a better open world with that time.

 

[Shikamaru]

Sucker Punch would be perfect.

1) They made AAA titles before.
2) They know how to make a good and fun open world.
3) They're comic book fans.

Unfortunately, they seem to be having their hands full with Infamous at the moment.

I need to add 2 more points.

4) Sucker Punch is owned by Sony, which seems fitting. Even movie-based games might be better due to that.

5) At least one person from Sucker Punch admitted to Spidey being his favorite (Billy Harper - Animation Director):

Any one that knows me, and probably those who’ve seen me talk about inFAMOUS 2 on the internet, know that I think Spider-Man is the best superhero ever. I’ve felt that way since I was a little kid and would try to get spiders to bite me so I could climb walls. However, it didn’t stop there. As I grew up, I continued to find reasons that I liked him that fit with my age and life.

Originally, I liked him because he had the coolest toys and was on one of my favorite shows, The Electric Company. As I got older, I liked him because his powers somehow seemed “accessible” and had inherit weaknesses that sometimes tested his REAL courage because he had to deal with things that his powers couldn’t really help with. I also liked the fact that he still remained true to himself after becoming a hero. He was still a geek. He still used his brain to solve problems. Plus, at the end of the day, he had to figure out how to live a real life. He had to make rent. He had to go to class. Now, as an animator he’s great because his motions are so interesting and difficult to flesh out in my head. It really challenges me to think about how he moves through the world and what exactly he would do and how he’d do it.

Source: http://blog.us.playstation.com/2010/12/27/sucker-punch-productions-our-favorite-superheroes/

I think we found ourselves the ideal studio. t:

 

[Resistance61513]

I don't see why Beenox just doesn't hire the writers behind "Spectacular Spider-Man" to pen the game. I bet they could come up with something truly phenomenal.

Also, whatever happened to the guy who was talking about designing his own webslinging mechanic? Did he ever post the video or at least follow up with it? I know he said Beenox was interested in taking a look. I'm curious to see how that all played out.

 

[Shikamaru]

I don't see why Beenox just doesn't hire the writers behind "Spectacular Spider-Man" to pen the game. I bet they could come up with something truly phenomenal.

That idea is genius. Activision/Beenox would be struck by the Greg Weisman curse.

 

[Oscorp]

Sucker Punch would be great, but we'll never have an exclusive Spidey game I think.