The developers behind the acclaimed Ratchet and Clank series are trying their hand at crafting the definitive Spider-Man game with Marvel’s Spider-Man for the Playstation 4.
The virtual streets of New York City haven’t been kind to our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. After the innovative Spider-Man 2 released alongside the second Tobey Macguire movie, the famed wall-crawler was forced through a series of mediocre cash-grabs that never quite managed to capture what was good about slipping into Peter Parker’s tights.
But after what seems like an endless stream of lackluster movies and games, developer Insomniac Games is trying its hand at their own webhead simulator. And so far, the footage looks a whole like what we’ve seen before. The question remains: Will this be an Arkham-style gaming renaissance for one of the most iconic heroes in comic books, or just another drag on a tired license? We had a chance to take a look at the title at this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo.
Both the public and private demonstrations of the game were identical, consisting of a trip through the construction site of a skyscraper, taking out goons with webs and fists flying. A lot of “quick-time events” in rapid succession made up much of the action, sparing only seconds to give us a glimpse into the traversal gameplay that will theoretically compose the meat of the experience.
The environments through which Spider-Man navigated seemed very linear, with obvious “right” ways to accomplish objectives. This was reinforced by the live demonstration being played in precisely the same way as the pre-recorded footage. Whether or not they were trying to conceal details, it gave the impression of a linearity that has traditionally been the bane of games based around everyone’s favorite wall-crawler.
Insomniac has, however, given us some pretty comforting assurances. Firstly, that Spider-Man’s open world navigation will finally be physical and physics-based once again, for the first time since the cult classic Spider-Man 2. But rather than come directly from them at E3, this was confirmed via Twitter responses amidst viewer questions:
And in case you're wondering – swinging is all physics based and the webs attach to buildings :)
— Insomniac Games (@insomniacgames) June 13, 2017
That alone was enough to drive some excitement, but it’s Peter Parker that really makes me want to believe. For the first time, your life outside the suit will actually matter, if Insomniac is to be believed. In a recent exchange with Engadget, they describe Spider-Man’s mild-mannered alter ego as “integral to the experience of this game.”
At the very end of the demo, there is a glimpse of a young Miles Morales. If you aren’t aware, he is one of the latest iterations of Spider-Man and a compelling protagonist in his own right. Is this a cameo, or might this game be better titled Spider-Men? Insomniac was extremely tight-lipped on the matter. In fact, they were tight-lipped on just about everything outside of the footage shown.
We’ll have to wait until 2018 to know whether our next swing through the streets of New York City will be anything more than the poorly paced collect-a-thons of years past, but despite a lackluster showing on the floor, I am still feeling (very) cautiously optimistic. What I’ve seen suggests Spider-Man as usual. But what I’m hearing gives me the faint hope of an Arkham Asylum-style landmark for one of the most iconic comic book heroes of all time.
Follow Nate Church @Get2Church on Twitter for the latest news in gaming and technology, and snarky opinions on both.
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