Neversoft's Spider-Man is the perfect example of a game that gets by largely due to its charm. Mechanically, this is a very shallow action game with 5-ish different enemy types and levels that tend to last a mere minute long. I wasn't revisiting this game for the combat or puzzles. I revisited it because I love Spider-Man.
No other Spider-Man game feels like such a love letter to the franchise. Neversoft had already shown with the Tony Hawk Pro Skater games that they'll always share their adoration with a game's subject matter if they're given the chance and this is exactly what they did here. This game is like a time capsule of 90's Spider-Man, before the movies and ultimate comics would go on to inspire most future webhead stories. I don't mean that as a jab at the utterly spectacular Sam Raimi films or anything else that came after the turn of the millennium but the start of the 00's were also the start of a new era for Spider-Man. Neversoft's Spider-Man may have come out in 2000 but its development started in 1999 and the developers used that decade of Spider-Man media as a base for their game. I'm not talking about continuity as much as I am the general tone. Spider-Man 2000 is a very upbeat, fun game that only takes itself as seriously as it needs to in order for you to buy into it. Spidey is cracking bad one-liners left and right and his supervillain foes are just as deliciously cheesy as you'd hope. New York City, and maybe even Earth in its entirety are at stake, but we know going in that Spidey is going to thwart the bad guys and look cool while doing it. The game could totally pass as an episode from the beloved-but-dated 90's animated show and we'd be none the wiser.
Where the love of the source material is most prevalent is in the extra unlockables. This was the first Spidey game with unlockable costumes to earn and they range from the predictable symbiote suit to deeper cuts like the Captain Universe costume. Beyond these, there's collectible comic covers, small bios for each member of the game's cast, various Easter Eggs hidden about, and a secret "What If?" mode that changes various elements of the game. Spidey's journey lasts a couple hours max so replayability is heavily encouraged.
When it comes to licensed games, I think a clear love of the source material is just as important as making an actually engaging game. If I want to play a top shelf action game, I have loads of options not related to Spider-Man. Sure, it's ideal when you get a game like Spider-Man 2 or Marvel's Spider-Man, where the gameplay shines just as much as the characters and the world they inhabit, but neither of those games feel like passion projects in the same league that Neversoft's only outing with the webslinger does. I'm sure it's partially nostalgia, but there's a level of scrappiness found in an older, smaller scale game like this than later efforts and that makes the love put into it shine even brighter.
No other Spider-Man game feels like such a love letter to the franchise. Neversoft had already shown with the Tony Hawk Pro Skater games that they'll always share their adoration with a game's subject matter if they're given the chance and this is exactly what they did here. This game is like a time capsule of 90's Spider-Man, before the movies and ultimate comics would go on to inspire most future webhead stories. I don't mean that as a jab at the utterly spectacular Sam Raimi films or anything else that came after the turn of the millennium but the start of the 00's were also the start of a new era for Spider-Man. Neversoft's Spider-Man may have come out in 2000 but its development started in 1999 and the developers used that decade of Spider-Man media as a base for their game. I'm not talking about continuity as much as I am the general tone. Spider-Man 2000 is a very upbeat, fun game that only takes itself as seriously as it needs to in order for you to buy into it. Spidey is cracking bad one-liners left and right and his supervillain foes are just as deliciously cheesy as you'd hope. New York City, and maybe even Earth in its entirety are at stake, but we know going in that Spidey is going to thwart the bad guys and look cool while doing it. The game could totally pass as an episode from the beloved-but-dated 90's animated show and we'd be none the wiser.
Where the love of the source material is most prevalent is in the extra unlockables. This was the first Spidey game with unlockable costumes to earn and they range from the predictable symbiote suit to deeper cuts like the Captain Universe costume. Beyond these, there's collectible comic covers, small bios for each member of the game's cast, various Easter Eggs hidden about, and a secret "What If?" mode that changes various elements of the game. Spidey's journey lasts a couple hours max so replayability is heavily encouraged.
When it comes to licensed games, I think a clear love of the source material is just as important as making an actually engaging game. If I want to play a top shelf action game, I have loads of options not related to Spider-Man. Sure, it's ideal when you get a game like Spider-Man 2 or Marvel's Spider-Man, where the gameplay shines just as much as the characters and the world they inhabit, but neither of those games feel like passion projects in the same league that Neversoft's only outing with the webslinger does. I'm sure it's partially nostalgia, but there's a level of scrappiness found in an older, smaller scale game like this than later efforts and that makes the love put into it shine even brighter.
palceu
1 year ago