- Not-So-Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man – A fusion of web-slinging and powerful combat moves combine to create an unbeatable, all-new fighting system that intuitively blends Spider-Man’s speed and strength with the environment for deadly new attacks and combos
- Anything Goes – At a moment’s notice, you can harness the grace, agility and acrobatics of Spider-Man Red Suit, or leverage the brute, savage power of the Black Suit. Switch suits at any time to create devastating never-before-seen combos and finishing moves
- The City That Never Sleeps – Teeming with life, the Big Apple is more alive than ever before in the Spider-Man series. Citizens will either cheer Spider-Man on or run away in fear, depending on your actions and decisions
- Increased city interactivity and destructibility allow you to pick up and use anything in your way as a weapon, destroy store fronts, demolish vehicles, and virtually obliterate city streets with powerful attacks
- With some of the greatest heroes and most notorious villains in the Marvel Universe, including staples such as Luke Cage and Vulture, your choices control who will ultimately aid you in the fight to rid New York of the alien symbiote
Product Description
A mysterious, creepy, gooey substance is enveloping all of New York City, and it’s your job to stop it! The first truly next-gen Spidey title is a can’t-miss experience for fans of Marvel’s web swinging, crime-busting hero. Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PS2, DS, PC, Activision, T…. More >>
Despite a general lack of professional reviewing before its release, I took a chance on the $60 purchase of Spider-Man: Web of Shadows (WoS). This Spidey outing, again from Treyarch, features much of the same gameplay and dynamic that we have come to expect from a sandbox Spider-Man game: the “side missions” are similar (i.e. beat up gangs, rescue civilians, etc. for XP points which are used to buy upgrades to spidey’s fighting ability). Also, fans of past Spider-Man games like 2 and 3 will be happy to know that WoS is fully 3D free-roaming, and not a “side scroll” format like Spider-Man: Friend or Foe was.
The main difference in WoS and previous iterations of Spider-Man is seen in the combat dynamic- it is definitely the greatest improvement over previous games. Spidey is now able to “web strike”, or aerially attack, enemies in various different ways that is really successful in bringing across the acrobatic ability of the comic book hero. In fact, Spider-Man’s combat abilities are the focus of the “upgrades” in his abilities now, unlike in SM2.
Other differences in WoS and previous Spider-Man games include a smoother overall swing and travel animations, the ability choose your own destiny with the use of the symbiote Black Suit (for generally more destructive use, heh heh) as well as an interesting “Ally” feature where you will team up with other heroes from the Spider-Man universe. Additionally, I have to disagree with some of the critics who pointed to WoS being too short; they obviously didn’t attempt any of the side challenges.
Overall, I have to give this game a 5/5 because I think it is definitely the best Spider-Man game yet. It develops many of the cool aspects of some of the previous games while leaving out much of the filler. The combat, webslinging, and storyline are all developed to a great extent, and it is definitely worth a rental for the casual Spider-Man fan, and a purchase for the fanatic.
Rating: 5 / 5
For anyone who is thinking about purchasing this game, Spider-Man: Web of Shadows is a trully must buy. The graphics are perfect (1080p); the controls are completely intuitive, takes less than 3 minutes for you to learn how to control Spidey; and the most important, this game is independent from any movie!
About the action in the game… there’s a lot of it: from simply fighting a lot of enemys at once, to saving airborne civilians. There are alternative paths that you can take, choosing the red or black suit way, and there’s also the different combos for red and black suit, adding dinamics to the game.
Some details that Spider-Man fans might like: The Spider-Man costumes are the same from the comics, there’s a lot of Spidey’s “way of talk” and irony in conversations, the game explains the origin of heroes and villains (and it shows THE CORECT BIOGRAPHY!!! not some movie-made history), the Spidey’s moves were exactily copied from the comics.
Some details that gamers might like: Spidey’s web don’t attaches to the sky anymore, if you try web swing above the hight of buildings you’ll fall until there’s something solid arround for your web to attach. The camera always stay in a friendly position. The game is long enough and the possibilities of choosing different paths (there are 4 endings) makes you want to play this game over and over.
At last, there are lots of villains and heroes in the game and you can have all of then as your allie. If you are using more the red suit you can summon heroes to help you, but if you like the black suit best villains will hurry to answer your call.
Spider-Man: Web of Shadows is the Spidey’s game we have been waiting for a long time. A cool comic-respecting game. I bought it along with Mirror’s Edge, Need For Speed: Undercover, PES 2009, MK vs DC and Metal Gear Solid… Spider-Man: Web of Shadows is by far the game that I most play. Resuming: AMAZING!!!!!
Rating: 5 / 5
Well, for this game it really comes down to one simple question. Are you a big fan of Spider-Man? I’ve been reading the comics since I was 5, own all of the movies, most of the old games, and even have a tatoo of the black suit spider on my arm. I’ve also played nearly all of the Spider-Man games from the Super Nintendo ones to the N64 Spider-Man to the movie games and Ultimate Spider-Man on the PS2. It all comes down to the fact that no, it is not as good as Spider-Man 2 for the PS2 (probably one of my favorite games, and definately the best of the Spider-Man bunch), but it’s also awesome in it’s own regard.
For one thing, this is the first game since the PSX/N64 ones to be based on the normal Marvel Universe Spidey. As such you control Spidey in a New York that’s populated with the comic versions of Wolverine, Luke Cage, and Mary Jane. And you also see some of the sights like Wilson Fisk’s building and Stark Tower. Just being able to be in this universe will definetely delight any fan who’s followed the comics in any fashion over the past 10-15 years. But it also doesn’t explain when in time it is. The story doesn’t mention wether the Civil War or Secret Invasion has taken place, whether Peter’s identity is out in the open, or what the status of MJ and Pete’s relationship is. It’s just kind of…there.
The controls however, are amazing as usual. I love it because the web-swinging is spot on. The combat I admit can get repetitive, but it still looks exactly like stuff the Spider-Man would do in the comics. A lot of people probably get bored with the web attacks where you zip back to some dude and kick him in the chest or throw him into a wall. I can’t get enough of it. Some of the controls might seem a little off at first just because some of the normal things like clinging to a wall or web-zipping are in different places, but you’ll catch on through some of the tutorials.
I’ll be the first to admit the storyline isn’t the best thing I’ve seen, and the voice acting kind of makes you cringe. But the actual Dialogue is great. I have no idea where they got the whiny little voice that plays Spidey, but it’s still funny when he starts cracking jokes and firing off those one-liners that he’s famous for. It’s one of those games that’s almost better while listening to a cd with the tv on mute while reading the dialogue between characters.
So if you’re just looking for a game or something to dethrone Spider-Man 2, you’re probably better off looking elsewhere. But if you like the character and have had fun with the previous games. You’ll really get a kick out if it.
Rating: 4 / 5
Spider-Man, Spider-Man, does whatever a spider can. Sorry, I couldn’t help myself but this game really has reignited my love for one of the greatest comic book characters ever created. As a stand alone, he’s not the greatest thing in the world, but he’s complemented by the ocean of incredibly cool villains that he has pitted himself against over the years. The Marvel universe does very well in creating unique characters both good and evil and this game brings both the free roaming New York gameplay made famous by the movie to game tie ins, with the Marvel Universe to make one incredible game. The developers of Web of Shadows promised us a new combat system that would present a realistic fighting experience unique to the Spider-Man character and not seen in any game before.
The plot focuses mainly around a Venom symbiote invasion of New York City in which it starts to take over and transform regular members of the public making an army of Venom’s that Spider-Man must take on alone, or so he thinks. The symbiote has also taken host in Spidey who for some unknown reason is able to control its corrupting powers but on the positive side lets you switch between the traditional Spider-Man attire and the famed Black suit. Switching between the two gives you a differing array of fighting abilities but also gives you the option to make good or evil choices that will ultimately effect who you gain help from when combating the infestation. When the invasion hits a peak S.H.I.E.L.D. are forced to quarantine New York and employ the help of the infected Spider-Man to defeat venom and the symbiotes along with infected fellow superheroes and villains making them much more powerful than they have ever been and a real challenge for Spidey.
Although this does take on essentially the same gameplay mechanics as the last Spider-Man games which were adapted from the movies, the new fighting system is a breath of fresh air and makes the experience of battling numerous enemies that little bit more enjoyable. Ground, Wall and Air fighting mechanics allow you to tackle enemies on each front as you can take enemies out on the ground with unique moves, then smoothly web shoot your way to the wall of a sky scraper, battle a few enemies there and then take it to the air with the help of your web slinging. Having the ability to smoothly switch between both suits with a simple seamless click of the left analogue stick allows you to chain together special attacks individual to both suits making for an arsenal of exciting attacks on your opponents.
Utilising the Marvel universe as the platform for the game really works very well as the geeky comic version of Peter Parker shines through very well, especially when being taught some fighting skills by the likes of Wolverine and Nick Cage. The fellow comic book heroes and villains are a welcome addition as you can align yourself as either good or evil allowing you to utilise the special abilities of those you align yourself with. My personal favourite alignment is that with the unstoppable Rhino as, when you’re in trouble, you can call upon his services to jump on his back and plough through anything in your way. Also the gift of flight, when trying to reach a far off island such as the prison Rikers Island, is a healthy advantage for you to call upon your friends services.
The plot does certainly take on an epic feel when the invasion is in full swing and having the entire of New York City at your disposal to swing about is definitely a big plus. One way this game does fall a bit flat are the cut scenes. Although they are meant to be in a comic book world, I found the graphical content of the scenes a bit too choppy and vague to really portray the supposed doomsday feel that the games plot was trying to put across. I would have much preferred CGI rendered cut scenes that didn’t use the graphics engine of the game play, that way it would have given off a more blockbuster movie look.
Undoubtedly this is a welcome addition to the Spider-Man video game franchise as it presents a unique combat style and allows for the excellent presentation and introduction for his fellow Marvel Comics superheroes. This is definitely the way I would love to see the Spider-Man movies go in the way of incorporating more fellow heroes into the world and obviously leading into an Avengers movie which is, coincidentally, in the works. If Spider-Man were to be a part of the Avengers film then it certainly could work just as brilliantly as this fantastic game. Buy it, you will not be disappointed I promise.
Rating: 5 / 5
I loved this game. When I got it, it was so well put together and the the story was so interesting I played for hours on end. It’s the only game I’ve played and beat it over and over again. The story is solid, the controls are great and the characters you get to interact with makes this a great game.
Rating: 5 / 5