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Ever since Spider-Man 2 on the PS2, the webslinger’s supporters have been crying out for another open-world outing of similar quality – yes, Spider-Man 3 was semi-open world, but it was no match for Treyarch’s superior title. Now it seems that Beenox, the developer currently behind the wheel of the license, is preparing to give fans what they want – more or less.
The Amazing Spider-Man may be the official tie-in game for this year’s cinematic reboot, but for gamers the big news is that this is a return to the sandbox design that won everyone over in 2004 and a big departure from Shattered Dimensions and Edge of Time. Understand now that this isn’t a 100 per cent open-world title: Manhattan serves as a central roam-able hub, packed with side missions and distractions, but most story missions seem to take place within separate, more contained environments. All the same, you’ll spend plenty of time swinging between skyscrapers to your heart’s content, and this is bound to go down well with a lot of people.
Building-to-building navigation is governed via a mechanic Beenox is calling Web Rush. When activated, Web Rush slows down time and allows you to plan you next move. Yellow Spidey outlines will appear over places you can swing to, meaning that traversal boils down to a constant procession of hotspots. It’s a simple setup that should hopefully allow you to focus on enjoying the ride, with the camera placed close behind Spidey for maximum rollercoaster-like effect. It’s a design balance that appears to work well, allowing the player a high degree of manoeuvrability without swamping them with complicated controls.
Web Rush also plays a key role during the more contained, indoor scenarios. Web Rush indicators can be used to stealthily reposition Parker behind guards, while targeting the foes themselves paves the way for flashy takedowns – plastering bad-guys to the floor, and the like. These attacks also come into their own during head-on confrontations against gangs of enemies, thinning the crowds in spectacular style, using patented techniques like the classic Spidey web throw.
Needless to say, Arkham Asylum and City appear to have been a big influence on these scraps. Web-based techniques replace Batman’s arsenal of gadgets, while the basic fisticuffs seem to be built on a similar timing-based combo system. This is no bad thing, clearly, and as with Rocksteady’s games, character animation is placed at the forefront of Beenox’s efforts to make us “be” Spider-Man. The idea behind the latest reboot is that Peter Parker has taught himself to fight by watching Mexican wrestling on TV, and this lends itself to a nice selection of acrobatic frog-leaps and dives. In another nod to the Arkham games, you can counter incoming blows by watching for icons that appear above hostile heads and then hitting the corresponding button. Naturally, the important issue is whether or not Beenox has managed to craft a similarly satisfying sense of ebb and flow, but for now that’ll have to wait.
On initial glances this new Spider-Man doesn’t quite match up to the sheen and self-confidence of Batman’s most recent outings – the on-screen prompts seems a little too in-your-face, for one – but overall the new direction looks promising. It feels right to see Spidey whipping between Manhattan’s glass pillars with reckless abandon; the city is his playground, after all.
Indeed, the most engaging moment of Activision’s recent demo occurred when Beenox showed off one of the hub’s mini missions. The quest kicks off with our hero squatting atop a cop car speeding through the streets in pursuit of a suspect car. As the police close in, Spidey uses Web Rush to fling himself onto the fleeing vehicle; from here he sprays web all over the crooks’ windscreen, then nimbly dodges a shotgun blast from a perp leaning out of the passenger’s side – both of these moves were conducted via QTE sequences. As the car swerves out of control, Spidey then spins a web across the street, lightly catching the crims as their vehicle flips and then spins through the air. The cops close in to arrest the villains, and Spider-Man moves on to another distraction.
This all takes less than five minutes in game time, but as a bitesize helping it absolutely nails Spider-Man’s character: cocky, dynamic, and creative in his approach to crime-solving. If Beenox can maintain this feeling throughout the game, they’re bound to find the success they’re striving for.
