The Amazing Spider-Man
Producer: Activision
Release Date: June 26, 2012
Platform: PS3, Xbox 360, PC, DS, iOS, Android
Rating: Teen
Genre: Action/Adventure
Amazing Movie Game?
Written by Josh Schilling
I will admit that it was difficult throwing this disk into my console. I’m not a humungous super-hero fan and especially not a fan of video games based on movies. Has there ever been a good one? If there has been a good video game/movie tie-in, it has been as rare as finding an “Action Comic” lining the bottom of a litter box; it just doesn’t happen that often. So with some trepidation, and after sitting through FIVE company intro videos, (you know, like the Paramount mountain clip you see before watching a movie,) I hit start and watched/played the opening scene.
A neat thing about this game is that it doesn’t try to recreate the movie, it takes place as an epilogue, and so you’re actively curious and engaged in the story line. I enjoyed the overall plot, and it was much more than the ham-handed, simple story that I was expecting. The actual game-play was very reminiscent of Batman: Arkham Asylum, with the attack/block /special move combo linking that made that game so fun. The difference is that the mechanics of Batman were super smooth. I always felt in control when dispatching a slew of baddies in the Gotham madhouse and I had a sense of accomplishment when the last one of the bunch inevitably fell in a slo-mo ball of pain. In Spiderman, the controls are a bit choppy and the slowing of the game play in between punches or counters is lacking, so it doesn’t give you the chance to feel like you are in control of the fight. While the hand-to-hand in Batman has order, the fighting in Spiderman can feel chaotic.
I will say that if you loved shooting pigeons in Liberty City, or blowing up everything on the island of Panau, you will probably love chasing down the floating comic book pages that inhabit the open-world Manhattan. There are quite a few different types of collectibles in this game, and at least when you find some stuff you are rewarded with unlocked comic books that can be viewed when you’re resting from collecting more comic book pages.
Overall, the game is okay. It’s not great, although it tries to be at times and I’ll give it credit for that. Unfortunately, I played the Batman games and loved those, so it’s hard not to compare The Amazing Spiderman to that franchise, especially when it borrows so liberally from it. The Amazing Spiderman is truly a cross between Batman: Arkham City and Prototype, without all that originality stuff, but as a movie-tie in game, it really does stand out as a fun game to play. Will I keep this game and proudly show it to my grandchildren in 25 years? Definitely not, but I am looking forward to jumping on and collecting those last 500 comic pages I need to get the “On the Fly” Achievement.