Spider-Man

The Good
Despite coming out as late as 2000, Neversoft's Spider-Man is actually the first attempt to introduce the webslinger into fully 3D gaming - and it does a genuinely good job at giving you control over Spidey's powers. The web-swinging, while not exactly realistic, gives you some really nice mobility and the three web-related attacks add variety to the simple beat 'em up mechanics. The cherry on top is the wall- and ceiling-crawling, allowing you to make actual use of all three dimensions to navigate the levels, and often adding the stealth element of simply dropping on top of an unsuspecting enemy.

The overall design approach of alternating between web-swinging segments among New York's rooftops with tighter, more precisely designed interior levels does its job as well, providing the base for an interesting, varied experience.

The Bad
Unfortunately, as you proceed, the game turns out to be quite a bit more repetitive than it seemed at first, with many levels following the same design ideas, and severely lacking in enemy variety. The combat, despite the cool selection of web attacks, ultimately isn't varied enough either, feeling more like a simple beat 'em up than a genuine action-adventure experience.

Another weak point of the game is its camera system. While it technically does a good job of following the main character, his movement specifically while turning is so clunky and awkward that the camera suffers from it a lot. The first-person web aiming mode is slow and doesn't make up for a lack of regular camera controls (although, to be fair, the argument could be made that with a game this 3D-oriented controlling the camera with two buttons wouldn't have been enough, and the game had to work with analog stick-less PlayStation controllers).

The game also has a rather minor, but very noticeable fault in the graphics - while the gameplay engine, although based on Neversoft's earlier titles, looks genuinely good, the character models in the cutscenes are some of the worst the PSX has ever seen. The difference between the two, while of course not affecting how the game actually plays, can be really jarring.

The Bottom Line
Overall, Spider-Man 2000 is a decent first attempt at making a 3D Spider-Man game. It's not quite as creative as it could've been and definitely suffers from the heavily outdated hardware it was designed for, but it does deliver a pretty cool webslinger experience. 6/10

[played in emulator]

The Good
The perfect introduction of Spider-Man to the new millennium. The game shows that this was made by Spider-Man fans with its story, writing and solid performances. Plus, Stan Lee is the narrator! How cool is that? The story follows Peter Parker as he tries to find the impostor Spider-Man that stole technology from a reformed Otto Octavius during a science expo. To make matters worse, a green fog has covered New York City (leftover from the original PS1 version). In thirty-ish levels, you will fight against one of Spidey's greatest rogues such as Scorpion, Rhino and even Venom all while getting closer to the true masterminds. Graphics wise, it is an improvement over the limitations of the original Neversoft PlayStation version (Mary Jane and Black Cat).

The Bad
Controls and camera take some time getting used to (especially in boss fights and that Venom chase level). There are the occasional glitches in 2 levels of the game. Certain boss and enemy character models although getting a more detailed look thanks to the work of Treyarch on the Dreamcast port have gotten an almost campy feel (Rhino, cops/SWAT officers and the bald henchmen).

The Bottom Line
One of the finest superhero games of the twenty first century. To those who complain about FPS, I advise you to read the Spider-Man Dreamcast preview article where they interviewed the art director Christian Bušić. It will clear up that particular quirk.

The Good
Spider-Man is one of the best games based off of Marvel Comics' legendary web-slinger. It stays true to the original comics with a surprisingly decent storyline and great gameplay. Although the port to PC is fairly infamous for featuring a few almost game-breaking bugs, it remains an excellent game.

The plot begins with Peter Parker attending a science expo given by the "reformed" Otto Octavius (Dr. Octopus), when an impostor Spider-Man takes out the security guards and steals Octavius' new piece of technology. Parker also bumps into Eddie Brock (Venom), making things even more chaotic. Parker, the real Spider-Man, exits and puts on his costume to search for the perpetrator, but gets an unexpected report from Black Cat that a nearby bank is being robbed and the criminals are taking those inside hostage. From here, things get start to get interesting. The story is told with surprisingly well-acted cutscenes, most of which are entertaining to watch. Spidey creator Stan Lee also narrates, and does a decent job.

Before getting to the gameplay, it should be mentioned that the developers added a lot of nice extras to the game. You can unlock costumes for Spider-Man, such as the famous Symbiote suit, each of which has special features making gameplay under those costumes a bit different. Also included is a character viewer (allowing you to view and read about characters featured in the game) and the "Comic Collection", where you can view the covers and info for influential Spider-Man comics (unlocked by finding them in the game's levels). You can also view the cutscenes and storyboards for each one, but not before you complete the level before each scene.

Aside from the campaign, which I'll get to next, there is a training mode with five different scenarios to refine your gameplay skill: "Time Attack", where you attempt to kill as many enemies as you can within 60 or 120 seconds, "Survival Mode", where you try to survive as long as possible with an endless wave of foes approaching, "Speed Training", where you try to web-swing to the end of the area as quickly as possible, "Target Practice", where you shoot your web at famous villains while trying to avoid shooting your friends, and "Item Collection" featuring two gameplay modes with the goal of collecting as many medallions as possible within a set amount of time. These objectives may work to hone your playing skills, but probably won't keep your interest for very long.

Finally, there is the main campaign. It stays very true to the comics, with a fairly accurate recreation of Spidey's New York. The villains also replicate those seen in the comics - the generic thugs aren't far from something that would be seen in the Spider-Man universe, and main foes such as Venom and Scorpion are replicated well. Other Marvel characters such as Daredevil make cameo appearances, and the Fantastic Four's headquarters even makes a showing.

The gameplay is enjoyable and, in typical Spider-Man fashion, features a lot of web-slinging and wall-crawling, as well as punching, kicking, and jumping. Spider-Man can use his web to do different things to attack: he can shoot a web, hurl a ball of webbing, or make a dome of webbing around himself for protection and then break out of it to attack nearby enemies. You can also cover your hands in the white stuff, doing extra damage with punches. Webbing can also be used from swinging to another location (obviously) and to zip-line to whatever is above, such as the ceiling on the inside of a building. You also must collect health to survive and web cartridges to keep a steady amount of webbing along the way. Another item is the rarely seen Spider-Armor, special armor that turns Spidey black and white and adds an extra layer of health.

Graphics and sound are solid. The visuals are pretty well done for 2001, but could have been better. The audio consists of some pretty good music and sound effects which aren't outstanding but get the job done. As I said earlier, the voice acting is well done and the characters sound as they should, with Stan Lee doing some respectable narration.

The Bad
Now, here's what you've all been waiting for: the "almost game-breaking bugs" I noted earlier. There are two: when you reach the Daily Bugle building to fight Scorpion, there is an in-game cutscene where Spider-Man breaks through the window to enter. However, he will fall below and the game returns to the cutscene before. After another in-game cutscene in the game in the level "Catch Venom" where you have to chase Venom to his hideout, Spider-Man falls to his death. Unfortunately, using a level skip code is the easiest way to combat these bugs. Thankfully, these should be the only two levels you might have to skip.

The default controls are awful. However, you can change them, so it isn't much of a problem. Also, the camera only updates its movement after Spidey stops moving. This could create issues for some, but it never really affected the game for me to be honest.

The Bottom Line
Overall, Spider-Man is an entertaining diversion for fans of the web-slinger. It proves worthy of bearing Spidey's name, and despite the bugs in the PC version, it remains a great game.