Does whatever a spider can

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.

First impressions count

So yesterday’s trip to view a house was a complete waste of time. Again.

Originally, we were supposed to go for the viewing last week, but at the last minute, the agent changed the time to an earlier slot that neither me nor Heather could make. A message which we only got 20 minutes before the viewing.

Not impressed.

And to compound the issue, we arranged for the viewing to be rescheduled for yesterday at 4.45pm. And they didn’t show up. Upon phoning the estate agents, they didn’t have a record of the new viewing

Brilliant.

You would think that estate agents would want to let a property. So why are they cocking up our bookings?

Maybe it’s a conspiracy.

Never mind, we’ve got another viewing round the corner from our place tonight, and another on Thursday. Fingers crossed they go through okay!

Anyway, Spider-man Shattered Dimensions did arrive last night. It kinda reminds me of the old spidey game on the ps1, with individual levels rather than a sandbox environment. It’s good fun, and the voice actors for the various spider-men are brilliant. My favourite’s a toss-up between Neil Patrick Harris’ Amazing, and Josh Keaton’s Ultimate Spider-man. Josh Keaton is fantastic as Spidey, having voiced him in the criminally short-lived Spectacular Spider-man cartoon series. Well worth a look, plus the second season’s currently £3.99 on iTunes.

I think I shall spend some more time in the red and blues when I get home – metaphorically, of course. I really don’t think I could/should fit into those tights.

RIP Spidey

Wow, I actually have tears in my eyes.

In the latest issue of Ultimate Spider-man, Peter Parker dies, sacrificing himself to save his Aunt from the Green Goblin.

It's stupid, I know - I mean, I've not even read an issue of Ultimate Spider-man, or even any spidey comic for years. And this isn't even main continuity spidey either.

But it's still Spider-man.

Thing is, although I stopped reading the comics about 10 years ago (I couldn't afford to buy the issues each month), Spider-man has been my favourite superhero for over 20 years. It was the first proper comic I can remember reading in the 80s. Sure, the Batman Animated Series in the 90s is one of my favourite animated series, but so was Spider-man. That cartoon was one of the few to have stories that ran for the entire series. It was absolutely brilliant, and following in its big footsteps was the 2008 Spectacular Spider-man. I just bought the second series from iTunes, and frankly it's brilliant.

Spider-man has always been, and will always be, one of my favourite heroes.

I'm rambling now, I know - okay, okay, I'm basically gushing! but hey, it means a lot to me.

Maybe I should look into picking up the first volume of Ultimate Spidey and check it out for myself. Though I may wait til I have a tablet for my comic buying needs. that's a whole different blog though.

Anyhoo, I'm getting Spider-man Shattered Dimensions on the DS today, so that should cheer me up!