The Amazing Spider-Man video game review

The Amazing Spider-Man
Developed by Beenox
Published by Activision

Review by Jeremias de Leon

So, the movie was released in theaters and I'm certain someone on TheBrokenInfinite shall have a review of it up soon, but today let's take a look at the movie tie in game. Movie tie in games as most of us already know don't have the greatest reputation. So, does this game have what it takes to not be a utterly horrific and boring video game? We'll find out now. Minor plot details ahead. There's your warning.

The Amazing Spider-Man video game takes place after the movie and we find that Alistair Smythe is running Oscorp now. Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy are snooping around Oscorp, at first anyway, and during their visit a lot of creatures that are similar to the Lizard escape and on their escape unleash a deadly virus that can turn others into similar creatures. This prompts Spider-Man to break Curt Connors out of jail and have him work on an antidote also along the way he tries to get to the bottom of what Alistair Smythe is planning with Oscorp. That's all the story you get from me and that's all seen by the very beginning of the game.

Now for what's important, the gameplay. Similarly to Spider Man 2 and 3 the game features an open world version of New York for Spider Man to swing in. On top of main story missions Spider Man can also engage in side missions, look for random items around New York that unlock bonus content like comic books and stop petty crimes as they happen. If you've played previous Spider Man games you'll know how swinging is done automatically and it does it's job nothing broken with that. Spider Man also has a web rush mode where he can slow down time and look at where exactly he's going to go next and when you have a target chosen Spidey will zip there quickly.

As for combat the Amazing Spider-Man takes cues from the recent Batman : Arkham City and Arkham Asylum games. One button in one direction and Spider-Man will start swinging at enemies and another button and he will dodge and if he can, counterattack. Instead of gadgets like Batman however on top of attacking and counterattacking Spider-Man can also use his webbing to trip up his enemies. One thing to note about this combat system, even though it's similar to Batman's I can't say it's as tight, With Batman you feel like you have more control and that you're telling Batman where to go and who to hit and who to counter. With Spider-Man it feels like Spidey is on autopilot and all you really need to do is keep mashing attack and sometimes counter and he'll win. That isn't to say it's always that easy though some enemies have some heavy firepower and also like Batman, Spider-Man needs to sneak around and take everyone out with stealth attacks. Including the famous "hang 'em up by the ceiling" takedown. The combat is still fun though, a little too easy but still fun. (For your information I was playing the game on normal difficulty, so it might be a bit harder on hard)

So, is Spider-Man worth it? Well, the story itself might be short but it certainly is fun and if you're a perfectionist you can even finish the story quickly and not have to worry about missing out on all the collectibles and side missions. You can continue to roam New York even after you beat the game. With that in mind, on top of the gameplay I'd have to say it's worth getting when it's around $30 or $40. Not a whole lot to it but it's certainly not bad by any means.

I'll give the Amazing Spider-Man a 7 out of 10.

Want to follow Jeremias on twitter follow him @ikariradio

Also check out his podcast the Ikaricast every other Tuesday on reviewtopia.net and on iTunes