Spider-man is probably my favourite superhero, closely followed by Batman. Whilst Batman is the dark, brooding vigilante, brutal in his dealings with villains, yet possessing an incredible intellect, Spidey was always fun, always ready with the quip. Sure, he's had his dark moments over the years (why oh why, Marvel, did you have to split him and MJ up? Why I ask you!), most recently with the death of Ultimate Spider-man, but there's just something about a character who winds up his foes to take them off guard, that I love.
Yet in recent years, he's been done a disservice in the video game world. Whilst Batman has had two fantastic games in the form of Arkham Asylum and Arkham City, Spider-man has had Web of Shadows, Shattered Dimensions and Edge of Time, none of which I felt were more than above average. Admittedly, I can't talk about Edge of Time, having not played it, but I have played the others.
Web of Shadows had an awful story, with the most whiny Peter Parker I've ever seen. Yet despite that, the web swinging mechanics were on par with Spider-man 2 on the Xbox (though bizarrely didn't connect with anything, unlike the Xbox game), and the most fun I had in the entire game was found in web swinging across the city. Being able to catapult myself off one webline, fly through the air and continue on another was pure joy.
Shattered Dimensions had a better (if still silly) story, far better voice acting (what other spider-man game brought spidey voice actors together from the various tv-series?), and the web swinging was still excellent, and the combat much improved.
But it lacked something. One of the things I loved about Spider-man 2 and Web of Shadows, was the big, open city I could swing around in. Whilst Batman works brilliantly in confined areas, being a character better suited for creeping up on unsuspecting enemies and taking them down, Spidey belongs in the city.
So I'm quite thrilled to see that the new game, linked to the new movie, is returning to the big apple. I am also worried - let's face it, Spider-man 2 aside, games based on movies are rarely any good. My fingers shall remain firmly crossed that it be good.
I have but one request. Beenox, I doubt you'll ever read this, or dismiss it if you do, but don't over complicate the combat controls. That's one area that Arkham Asylum/City perfected. Don't rely on complex button combinations to activate moves. It gets in the way of the fun of playing a superhero. Give me a button for attack, a button for counter, and a button for a web stun attack. The other web attacks (like say, the ability to web an enemy and yank them toward you) could be activated by holding down a trigger or a bumper, and pressing X, Y or B.
Ps. if you can get Josh Keaton to voice Spidey again, that would be awesome.
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