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::PUBLISHER::
Activision
::DEVELOPER::
Shaba Games / Treyarch
::GENRE::
Action/Adventure
::RELEASE DATE::
10/21/08
::PLAYERS::
1
::LIVE::
None
::COST::
59.99
::FEATURES::
Good: Great original story, Fun and accessible combat system Swinging around the city is a delight.
Bad: Occasional technical issues with graphics and sound and camera occasionally come unstuck.
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Spider-Man: Web of Shadows Review
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Everyone’s favorite friend neighborhood spider is back in Web of Shadows. This time without being contained to a movie story line, Shaba Games creates what may be the ultimate Spider-Man Experience.
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Since Spiderman hit the big screen a few years ago, the franchise has been a very lucrative one in all entertainment industries. So much so, that even during years when there were no Spider-Man film releases, Activision still tried its best to release a game that year anyway to capitalize on the franchise. While writing off those titles that weren’t attached to films as rubbish (Spiderman: Friend or Foe) was understandable and even advisable. But doing the same to Spider-Man: Web of Shadows would be a mistake.
The plot of Spider-Man: Web of Shadows starts off simply enough; we got Spiderman chasing his good buddy Venom. This is where things start to go awry; the symbiote in Venom’s suit starts to react and behave strangely once it’s in the presence of Peter Parker again. This encounter sets off a chain of events that include Spiderman being consumed by the symbiote again, other super heroes and super villains merging and combining with symbiotes and even citizens of New York City being overcome and infected by the symbiote. With the Avengers and Iron Man nowhere to be found, it’s up to Spiderman and a motley cast of Heroes and Villains alike to save New York City and the rest of the world from the absolute mayhem that ensues.
There are some new elements thrown in to the latest Spidey adventure, slow motion being one of them. The slow motion effect when using your web-strike attacks, the combos, and aerial attacks were unlike anything I’d seen in a Spiderman title. What at first looked to be tantalizing concept footage did indeed make it to the final version of the game and it sets Spider-Man: Web of Shadows miles apart from the Spiderman titles that came before it.
One of the aspects of Spiderman that hasn’t quite been captured correctly in a videogame is his movement style, especially combat. While there have been many advances in how he controls and animates while swinging with his webbing, especially since the Spiderman 3 videogame, it all goes down the toilet when the combat comes into play. That was until now.
In Spider-Man: Web of Shadows, the combat is broken down into three distinct types. Ground combat, aerial combat and wall combat are all accounted for here. What’s even better is that players can seamlessly blend together the three different types and put together combos that flow from one type to the other. Just having those various types of combat operating so fluidly is a large step in the right direction for the franchise.
One of the coolest additions to the combat system I think is the web-strike mechanic. Essentially, this is a simple button press that makes Spidey shoot a couple streams of webbing at his enemy that he then uses to pull himself towards them at high speed as a setup to a string attack and combo opportunities. As the webbing shoots out and as Spidey propels towards his enemy, a slow motion effect begins. Not simply a gimmick for adding dramatic effect, it gives you time to react to the situation and decide in what manner you want to deal with your foe once you reach them. You start off with only being able to pounce on them once you make contact, but once you level up the maneuver, you’ll be able to all sorts of techniques to it such as wrapping them completely in webbing, slamming them into buildings, and all sorts of other attacks.
All of these attacks and combos are handled by pressing different buttons at the correct time during the web-strike. They’re not canned combos and can be strung together however you like. What’s even better is that after doing a full combo and tossing your enemy aside, if you have enough skill, you can bring them in for another web-strike and continue to do it until you’ve defeated them.
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