With recent outtings not inspiring people to say “wow” as they once did and some swinging new competition on the horizon from a particular Commando with a Bionic arm, Peter Parker’s going to need something more to compete this time around. And luckily for him, it seems Activision has it all figured out. In addition to switching between the red and blue suit and the symbiote (plus symbiote “Wolvenom” Wolverine), aerial combat is the name of the game.
The game’s draw, for me, is web-slinging aerial combat, fist-fights set 40 stories into the atmosphere with only the distant pavement as a safety net.
In the E3 trailer Spider-Man battled the flying villain Vulture above the New York City skyline, firing his web-shooters at his enemy both to fight and to keep himself aloft. Last week I witnessed such combat as fully-controllable, vertiginous gameplay. The mid-air combat resembles the aloft assaults gamers were able to execute earlier this year in Capcom’s “Devil May Cry 4” using new protagonist Nero’s magical Devil Bringer arm. That arm was essentially a grappling hook that could bring Nero close to his enemies. Knock an enemy up to the air, then grapple up to meet them. Punch them in the face thirty feet up, and grapple toward them again. This is the ability now attached to Spider-Man’s wrists. This is what turned my head.
Of course, players won’t be expected to fly through the air with the greatest of ease from the moment they press Start; there will be stages of combat learned before Spidey starts hosting fights in the New York skyline. However…
The “Web of Shadows” controls might be too complex. I’m a poor judge of control complexity during 15 minute game demos. … The Activision producer had me running, jumping, web-slinging, quick-selecting targets, switching suits and I was already fumbling just on the ground. I suspect the basics could have been learned with just a little more practice, but the air combat did appear daunting and therefore fitting in its placement toward the back of the game. I was both impressed and concerned to learn that enemies in the game will learn the player’s habits and begin to counter repeated moves. Players need to feint, cancel and counter attacks. Enemies, to an extent I wasn’t able to observe, will do much of the same. This is either going to be welcome depth or a deep end in which I’ll only be able to flail in before sinking. — Stephen Totilo, MTV Multiplayer
Like many games in development, there remains the silver lining of optimism that says “it has the potential for excellence.”
Of course, this is only speaking for the 360/PS3 version, as naturally the PS2, Wii, and PSP versions are getting a different treatment, which may or may not be similar. DS, meanwhile, gets a sidescroller.
