The Amazing Spider-Man: The Game - Part 5

[Spider-Aziz]

Id agree with you man. I wasn't crazy about the soundtrack. It just didn't stand out for me. I loved the movie tho, much more so the 2nd time around.

I'm with you on all of this

I liked the combat in this game but I thought it was a bit too simple. Id hope that they'd add a second action button so you can create and mix up more combos. It came across too much of a button masher at times and knowing when to press the dodge button when you got the cue

Every fighting system in games is a button masher in a way, lol

 

[ProjectPat2280]

I never really minded the "webs as weapons" thing in SD and EoT. It was a bit dumb I suppose but it was still a lot of fun and I was able to look past the sillyness of it. Plus, it was very different from the past Spidey games so I gave Beenox a bit of credit for trying to change things up a bit.

That being said though, now that we got a very awesome acrobatic system in place with ASM, if they decided to go back to the SD/EoT system...I'd be extremely disappointed. My guess is that they continue to use all the mechanics in ASM for the sequel game and since it's probably a given Activision will want another Spidey game before that one...we may see the EoT combat again in a sequel to that game. I'd prefer a Noir game.

Honestly id be fine if they just took the elements from this game and slapped a 616 cover of paint on it while they work on ASM 2. I mean all the gameplay elements are there. I think they could easily change what the need in a years time. I mean we know there'll be another game next year. The question is will it follow the open world path set by ASM or will we go back to a level based design like in EoT and then get more open world when ASM2 drops in 2014?

 

[Havok83]

Honestly id be fine if they just took the elements from this game and slapped a 616 cover of paint on it while they work on ASM 2. I mean all the gameplay elements are there. I think they could easily change what the need in a years time. I mean we know there'll be another game next year. The question is will it follow the open world path set by ASM or will we go back to a level based design like in EoT and then get more open world when ASM2 drops in 2014?

I think ASM2 will definetly be an open world NYC game assuming the movie takes place in NYC, which I think is a safe bet. They may skip doing that for their next game in between to keep things fresh so it doesnt feel like more of the same 3 years in a row.

 

[ProjectPat2280]

I think ASM2 will definetly be an open world NYC game assuming the movie takes place in NYC, which I think is a safe bet. They may skip doing that for their next game in between to keep things fresh so it doesnt feel like more of the same 3 years in a row.

Yea good point.

 

[Alchemyst]

I wouldn't mind another linear Spidey game to change up the pace, Beenox has covered both freeroam and linear gameplay styles, I think they know the mistakes that they've made at this point, the next coming of Spidey games from them should clear up alot of those shortcomings

 

[Havok83]

I beat the game this weekend and one issue I had by the end was that the villians in this were so bland with no personality. Felicia and Smythe were the only exceptions but the rest of the bosses were just mindless brutes or robots. One thing I appreciated about SD was that the bosses stood out with their own personalities and appeal

I forgot to mention this earlier but one line that stood out to be that I found stupid was after Connors went missing, Pete goes "Why would anyone take Connors" or something to that effect. Um, bc he's an escape mental patient who was responsible for the cross species outbreak? That seems like good enough reason

 

[ProjectPat2280]

I beat the game this weekend and one issue I had by the end was that the villians in this were so bland with no personality. Felicia and Smythe were the only exceptions but the rest of the bosses were just mindless brutes or robots. One thing I appreciated about SD was that the bosses stood out with their own personalities and appeal

I forgot to mention this earlier but one line that stood out to be that I found stupid was after Connors went missing, Pete goes "Why would anyone take Connors" or something to that effect. Um, bc he's an escape mental patient who was responsible for the cross species outbreak? That seems like good enough reason

Haha yea there were a lot of little oddities like that. The bland villains unfortunately i think was just a part of the 'movie verse'. Them going with the plot of them just being animals with a bit of human DNA led to them acting too much, well like animals. I much would of preferred the classic take on Scorpion and Rhino. I find that odd tho, because my main issue with the film was that Connors wasn't animalistic enough while he was the Lizard. I felt he kept too much of his human personality. I had a problem with that in the film and in the game i had a problem with the cross species being to animalistic. Guess i would of just preferred Rhino and Scorpion to be guys in suits.

 

[Jick]

After finishing the game last night, I thought the story mode was more thought out, dramatic and climatic than I imagined it would be. I loved it. They made good use of the opportunity, perhaps an option, to set it after the movie.

I heard complaints about the villains lacking any personality. I agree with that. Even with Rhino, who was previously announced to be a human mixed with a rhinoceros DNA, was treated as an irrational brute. They said in his bio that he is someone struggling with his identity. He is always trying to figure out something that he can't remember, but he was just like all the others villains, besides Smythe, who was a more interesting villain here than he was in other medias I saw him. Rhino's boss fight in the sewer was fun, though, but I also agree on the complaints that, overall, the battles lacked criativity.

I loved the boss fights in Shattered Dimensions which, for the most part, felt diverse, were bigger in scale and there were more in that game than in this one. Here it was basically a matter of dodge and punch. It didn't help that the villains only groaned at me.

At least the combat was confortable. Spidey was really acrobatic and articulated. I felt like him while fighting.
The Web-Rush is something that should be in all Spidey games from now on. It added a lot to the gameplay. Same for the Web-Strike. As for the dodge system, I miss being able to dodge bullets in the most Spidey-like manner while jumping, rotating in the air, or on the wall, moving to the sides, or even on the floor, without Spidey's feet leaving the same place. Just dodging the bullets in the most articulated manner. I don't want to just go away and hide. I want to dodge it. Spidey does that. Stealth is also something that should always be present in a Spidey game from now on.

The web-swing, which I initially didn't like, indeed has grow on me. I feel like it is the most appropriated kind of movement when you're fighting in the air (and the battle against the S0 bots and the hunters are the most fun battles in the game). The close and almost-over-the-shoulder camera added that rush, that vertigo that Spidey probably feels. But that's pretty much it. It's a web-swing system appropriated to fight against opponents in the air. It wasn't the kind of system that made me feel like Spidey, because the game basically does it for me. The challenge of swinging in the right way was lacking.

Reading some commentaries, before the game was released, about the web not attaching to buildings and some fans raging about it, I always thought to myself that it would end up being just a silly complaint. But it's not. It's a HUGE difference. Add to that the detail that the game doesn't let me fully swing and decides when to release the web. After getting used to it, it felt natural to let go of the web before the character did it, but that's because the game forces me to learn it. It shouldn't feel natural, it should let me handle it. Having the webs attaching to buildings and full control of where I'll shoot them and when I'll let go it's part of the challenge and fun of being Spider-Man, of being a web-slinger, which is one of the most interesting aspects about his abilities. Spidey doesn't have someone doing it for him like the game does it for me. He has to pay attention to what he is doing. He has to pay attention to where he is shooting the web. He has to force his body to the left, to the right, or boost his speed with his legs almost in a jump to go higher, longer or a combination of both. It doesn't help that we also can't run or go faster. A speed button is missing. Not only to go faster, but to propel my jump more forward, instead of just upward. If he is swinging in a pole and wants to do a 180º, he doesn't let go of his web to turn around, he awaits until he does the spin, while keeping the speed, then he lets go.

The crane scene in the movie is an exemple. It matters a lot where he is shooting his webs, where it attaches and how he moves. It makes the difference. In the game, I basically decide just if I'll go right or left. I took many recommendations I read online to the heart. Ideas to use both web-swing and Web-Rush to go to my destination. I've done it all. The challenge of being Spider-Man, at least to me, is to move like he does and with as much effort as he does. When I'm using Web-Rush to run through a wall, jumping in a water tower, web-ziping to the street, running on top of a bus and end up perfectly landing on a lamp post, then it's more of an achievement of the game then it is mine. I just need to aim where I'm going and press the respective button for the feature and watch while the game does the rest. I love the feature, but it doesn't make the web-swing less poor.

I want to fully control the character while I'm holding the web. I want to be able to swing so fast that, when I reach a crane or a lamp post, I want to make a 360º on it and release when I'm on top to go higher or to just change my route. When I'm swinging in an antenna, I want to make a complete spin and change the direction of where I'm going. I want to swing so fast that I'll go to the statistics menu, see how many km/h I did and say "damn, I'm fast", and we can only achieve a high speed if we swing efficiently - that is, not hiting buildings on the way. That requires skill if we're going too fast. I want the game to limit my reach of the web, making me choose where I'll try to attach it so I can make the most accurate and efficient use of my abilities. I tried to increase the speed of my web-swing in TASM but without success. Although we begin the game with the skill already in its maximum, it never picks up. It's too limited, even changing to Web-Rush midway through the swing.

Notice I didn't specifically mention SM2 so far, but it is all there. There are times when, depending on the speed we're going, we can swing even diagonally. We can do everything.
This is not a case of wearing "nostalgic goggles". The reason is because the mechanics are completely different, so comparisons can be made without seeming biased. And I'm not just saying, I'm giving motives.
It was challenging to appropriately web-swing in SM2 with efficiency and that challenge was one of the things that made me feel like Spider-Man, because I tried to be as good a swinger as he is.

Even though, imo, SM2's system is much better, it's not a "total win" situation in comparison with TASM. Like I said before, the web-swing here is great to have air battles. I can't picture the same kind of fights I had with SM2's system.

My ideal TASM2 game would have SM2's web-swing mechanics, but keeping the close camera, and it would change to TASM's mechanics when we needed to fight against big enemies in the air, like the S0 Spider-Slayers. I wouldn't change that. I'd bring the combat back, but with SM2's dodge system. In that game, it felt great to dodge any kind of attack and projectiles, specially bullets, just moving the body, without even leaving the place I was standing. Even in the air we could totaly dodge a projectile. Something I also missed in all of the other games, but was present in SM2, was the slow motion sense, where we could even see the trajectory of the bullets and more efficiently dodge them and pull out special attacks that we couldn't in the normal state. Grabbing even 4 enemies at once with webs or taking their guns away at the tap of a button is also something that should come back.

Details like that are what made my experience controling Spidey in SM2 so enjoyable. No game made a better job at making me feel as much like the character as that one did, which is surprising, since that was the first free-roam game for Spidey. In their first try, the gave me the most accurate experience of a web-slinger. The challenge of that game's web-swing mechanics was essential to make me feel like the hero.
So, SM2's web-swing, speed button, dodge system and slow motion sense + TASM's Web-Rush, camera, stealth and combat. This is what I think would be ideal for the perfect Spider-Man game.

Beenox gave me a really enjoyable experience. I had a lot of fun and I still have a lot to do, like beating the remaining side missions, take the remaining photos (which was also a cool addition for the game), discovering new suits and beating it on the hardest difficulty to trash my suit even more times, which was also another great idea, giving me the sense that I had rough battles and a tiresome day. I'm trusting them to give me an even better sequel, because we know they take feedback from fans. There's a lot of room to improve besides the web-swing. Like having more interesting foes, with actual personalities (it is much more fun beating a cocky Hammerhead senseless, for example, then fighting against irrational creatures through the entire game who just roar at me) and more diverse battles that aren't limited to just dodge and punch. I look forward to what they'll do next.

8/10

 

[Oscorp]

Great post and I agree with everything you said except for the score (I give it 7.5/10). When it comes to web swinging, SM2 beats ASM. ASM is better in everything else though.

One thing I would add would be for the Web Rush to skip that inside-the-mask camera and make it slow motion in a 3rd person view. Would look much better if you ask me.

And yeah, the dodging bullets thing bothered me alot in this game as well. I really missed dodging bullets like Spidey should.

 

[Jick]

Thanks man.

 

[ProjectPat2280]

I thought it was funny that Beenox claimed Rhino was like Lizard, man first then animal, but didn't Smythe specifically state that Rhino was an animal first? Or did i just hear wrong?

 

[Oscorp]

I thought it was funny that Beenox claimed Rhino was like Lizard, man first then animal, but didn't Smythe specifically state that Rhino was an animal first? Or did i just hear wrong?

True!

And as Jick said, Beenox missed an opportunity when it comes to Rhino's story of trying to remember etc.

 

[ProjectPat2280]

True!

And as Jick said, Beenox missed an opportunity when it comes to Rhino's story of trying to remember etc.

Yea deff, i could understand the blandness of the other creatures, but if Rhino was supposed to be human, then like others said, they really missed on that opportunity.

 

[GamerSlyRatchet]

Yeah, Rhino was supposed to be a human thug that was experimented upon. OsCorp covered it up to not get in trouble. I do wish that bit of backstory actually played a role in the game itself.

 

[UltimateWebhead]

@ Jick09

Nice review. I agree with a bunch of stuff you stated especially about the villains. I don't blame Beenox on the villains that they used as this was mostly due to a limitation of a licensed game but they are to blame for the lack of interest in them. It's one of the things I was counting on from them considering their boss battles from their previous Spidey games were very well done...for the most part. Each boss fight had a distinct style and were interesting and challenging. Even in EoT, we got a fantastic boss fight with Anti-Venom because it had real weight to it and you felt danger because of the impending doom waiting. The boss fights in ASM were totally uninspired and my biggest complaint of this game. I expected more from Beenox.

I disagree about the swinging system. I'm not going to get into a heavy opinionated argument about that because it's been said over too many times but I will say that when you read Spidey comics there are countless panels where his webbing goes straight up and no one seems to question what it's attached to. I totally understand where the SM2 crowd is coming from though and you make some good points about that game and the web swinging. I'm just not someone that cares about that system.

When encountering a group of gun toting enemies have you tried using the web rush? Not the web rush retreat but the web rush itself? Here's what I do...and it takes a bit of skill and timing but it works. When you find yourself being targeted by several gun enemies hold down the web rush and enter the slow mo...pick a spot on the floor behind one of the enemies and release the button. Once you land in that spot, attack the gun enemy from behind. Get a couple of hits in then enter the web rush slow mo again and pick another spot on the floor behind another gun enemy. Once you land, you can either attack him with a couple of hits or web him up. Keep repeating this method and you'll be able to keep ahead of the bullets while inflicting damage little by little until you get to a point where you only need one hit on the enemy and end up doing one of those acrobatic wrestling type takedowns for each guy. It's not the same as actually dodging bullets but it works and it's fun to imagine Spidey doing the same thing using his speed to go around the room.

 

[UltimateWebhead]

The combat in ASM is awesome. I am so happy that a developer finally nailed the true acrobatic style of Spidey and although it's a very simple system it gets the job done with a ton of fun and great animations. Prior to this game, whenever I would think about the ideal fighting style for Spider-man I would always picture that scene in Raimi's first Spider-man movie when Spidey takes on those thugs robbing the armored car. It was a picture perfect representation of Spidey's style from the comics. Finally, we have that style incorporated into a game and I am loving it.

 

[ProjectPat2280]

I agree man. I love the combat. Finally, i can say i love the combat in a SM game.

 

[Jick]

When encountering a group of gun toting enemies have you tried using the web rush? Not the web rush retreat but the web rush itself? Here's what I do...and it takes a bit of skill and timing but it works. When you find yourself being targeted by several gun enemies hold down the web rush and enter the slow mo...pick a spot on the floor behind one of the enemies and release the button. Once you land in that spot, attack the gun enemy from behind. Get a couple of hits in then enter the web rush slow mo again and pick another spot on the floor behind another gun enemy. Once you land, you can either attack him with a couple of hits or web him up. Keep repeating this method and you'll be able to keep ahead of the bullets while inflicting damage little by little until you get to a point where you only need one hit on the enemy and end up doing one of those acrobatic wrestling type takedowns for each guy. It's not the same as actually dodging bullets but it works and it's fun to imagine Spidey doing the same thing using his speed to go around the room.

I'll take the tip. I'll probably need it when I go for the superhero difficulty.

I have a question before I begin that. I collected more than 200 pages of the comics and I'm not in the mood to collect them again. If I start a new game, will I need to start from 0? I know that suits and upgrades come together.

 

[UltimateWebhead]

I'll take the tip. I'll probably need it when I go for the superhero difficulty.

I have a question before I begin that. I collected more than 200 pages of the comics and I'm not in the mood to collect them again. If I start a new game, will I need to start from 0? I know that suits and upgrades come together.

Yeah, unfortunately you'll start from 0 again. Any of the comics that you've unlocked though will still be unlocked in the new game. If you want my advice on this one...get all 700 before starting a new game. If that's all you do it doesn't take too long...maybe an hour or two at the most. And one you've got 500, the rest appear on your mini map when you get close to them.

 

[Jick]

Aw, damn. When I go to the comics menu, it shows 500 pages as the limit.
For what purpose are the 200 other pages?

 

[Havok83]

So its safe to say that this goes down as one of the few good movie tie in games? Yes people they can happen.

 

[Jick]

Certainly. We can see a good amount of effort and passion was put into this game.

 

[ProjectPat2280]

So its safe to say that this goes down as one of the few good movie tie in games? Yes people they can happen.

I absolutely think so. I'd put it right there with The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay and Wolverine. Two of, IMO, the best movie based tie ins available.

 

[Havok83]

I wish there was more outdoor missions. I found the outdoor boss fights to be really fun, especially the battles with the hunters. They were annoying but I loved swinging around and the whole aerial combat. They really should have incorporated NYC into the story bc as it stands being free roam did nothing for the game. It could have just been level based like the other Beenox games. I felt like there was a bit of a disconnect as the free roaming seemed mainly for collectibles and those random side missions

 

[ProjectPat2280]

yea I'd agree with that. Altho I wouldn't of enjoyed it nearly as much had free roam of been excluded. I hated how confined the previous games felt. but yea, the open world should of deff been used better