Back in Black
We check out a new build of Treyarch's movie-to-game translation and offer up some new hands-on impressions.
Published: April 5, 2007
It's an awfully good thing that Treyarch has had the track record with the last couple Spider-Man games that they've had. The first movie-licensed game was pretty enough, but the scope was way too narrow (you couldn't even explore the whole city), and the gameplay... well, it's a good thing those last couple games were so good, eh?
With Spider-Man 3, though, they're getting the chance to satisfy multiple geek dreams; for one, the game mirrors the main plot of the movie (though as we explained in our first preview, there's a whole lot more story threads to play through), which just so happens to deal with arguably the best story arc the comics have ever seen, that of the symbiotic alien black suit and the eventual birth of Venom, Spidey's most dangerous foe.
The danger comes from the fact that Venom, a byproduct of the symbiote being rejected by Parker after he realizes it's completely taking him over and making him evil , carries with him all the memories of Parker's time while wearing the suit as Spider-Man. Peter has never been terribly good at keeping his identity secret from everyone the way most other superheroes have, but then that's part of what makes him so endearing.
The game, then, lets you experience this whole saga in a more natural flow than the span of a two hour movie could allow. As we poked around the first few levels of the game that helped us come to grips with the upgraded battle system (there are a slew of new attacks this time around and the various light/heavy punches and kicks with the Square and Triangle Buttons can be held and released for more effectiveness) and reminded us of why we dug the swing system so much in the first place, we got used to playing as the good ol' red-suited version of Parker.
Spidey is one of those superheroes that has been genuinely captured in video game form. When you charge up a jump and go sailing about two stories up or surging a hundred feet forward before shooting out a web line to start swinging, the agility just feels... well, super-human, which is sort of the idea. Even after a couple games, it took us a little while to remember how agile and jumpy Parker really is. Just as we were starting to get the hang of beating up guys, upper-cutting them into the air and then repeatedly punching them away, then reeling them back into another punch with webbing in a gleeful little vicious cycle, we were thrown into the black suit and realized just how much more powerful it made him.
The first thing you should know is that Parker isn't Venom; he's not evil, and he doesn't give himself to the suit completely, but that also means if he wears it for too long, it'll take over. While zipping around the city, you're faster in the black suit, and you can summon it at any time once it attaches to him, not to mention launch into a Rage Mode where you do tons of damage and push the physics engine nicely, but you have to shed the suit or Parker will eventually pass out because it takes over. That's bad. Think of it as a balancing act between the enhanced powers you get yet not being able to abuse the great responsibility that comes with that great power.
With Spider-Man 3, though, they're getting the chance to satisfy multiple geek dreams; for one, the game mirrors the main plot of the movie (though as we explained in our first preview, there's a whole lot more story threads to play through), which just so happens to deal with arguably the best story arc the comics have ever seen, that of the symbiotic alien black suit and the eventual birth of Venom, Spidey's most dangerous foe.
The danger comes from the fact that Venom, a byproduct of the symbiote being rejected by Parker after he realizes it's completely taking him over and making him evil , carries with him all the memories of Parker's time while wearing the suit as Spider-Man. Peter has never been terribly good at keeping his identity secret from everyone the way most other superheroes have, but then that's part of what makes him so endearing.
The game, then, lets you experience this whole saga in a more natural flow than the span of a two hour movie could allow. As we poked around the first few levels of the game that helped us come to grips with the upgraded battle system (there are a slew of new attacks this time around and the various light/heavy punches and kicks with the Square and Triangle Buttons can be held and released for more effectiveness) and reminded us of why we dug the swing system so much in the first place, we got used to playing as the good ol' red-suited version of Parker.
Spidey is one of those superheroes that has been genuinely captured in video game form. When you charge up a jump and go sailing about two stories up or surging a hundred feet forward before shooting out a web line to start swinging, the agility just feels... well, super-human, which is sort of the idea. Even after a couple games, it took us a little while to remember how agile and jumpy Parker really is. Just as we were starting to get the hang of beating up guys, upper-cutting them into the air and then repeatedly punching them away, then reeling them back into another punch with webbing in a gleeful little vicious cycle, we were thrown into the black suit and realized just how much more powerful it made him.
The first thing you should know is that Parker isn't Venom; he's not evil, and he doesn't give himself to the suit completely, but that also means if he wears it for too long, it'll take over. While zipping around the city, you're faster in the black suit, and you can summon it at any time once it attaches to him, not to mention launch into a Rage Mode where you do tons of damage and push the physics engine nicely, but you have to shed the suit or Parker will eventually pass out because it takes over. That's bad. Think of it as a balancing act between the enhanced powers you get yet not being able to abuse the great responsibility that comes with that great power.
