(This is the 86th game in my challenge to go through many known games in chronological order starting in 1990. The spreadsheet is in my bio.)
As is tradition with early 90s Spider-Man video games, Spider-Man 3: Invasion of Spider-Slayers is among the worst games I have ever played, and it possibly tops the list. As per usual, this was developed by Bits Studios and published by Acclaim Entertainment (or LJN at the time), possibly the worst grouping of developer + publisher of its time that actually made professionally developed video games. Spider-Man 3 released for the Game Boy and is the sequel to The Amazing Spider-Man 2, which, up to this point, I would have called the worst game I've ever played, especially within this challenge I'm doing. That game, and I'll use any opportunity I can to bring it up, got a 98% from Consoles +, a French video game magazine. Spider-Man 3's Consoles + review score is unknown, but it got a 6.1 Moby Rating, which is on the poorer side on the site.
The first level of this game is all you really need to know about. With each iteration in this Game Boy trilogy, the fudges given have gone down more and more, and it's apparent in many ways. The first game was developed by Rare and was awful in most aspects but at least had competent level design and started each level with witty dialogue between Spider-Man and the stage's boss, which gave it some charm. The second game, made by Bits Studios, didn't have this dialogue anymore and was even worse in all other aspects. Its level design was also just dull and lacked any sort of creativity and passion. This third game went down yet another level that I didn't think was possible. Instead of having some sort of love put into an opening 'cutscene' where Spidey reads that he is being framed, like in the second game, this third game just starts with Spider-Man saying that he will take a walk in the park. Then a white image with black text says that you should defeat 20 muggers. That's it. Then you walk around awkwardly from left to right looking for these men.
1) Spider-Man looks and walks as awkwardly as in all of the other 6 Spider-Man games I've played
2) Spider-Man controls as horrificly as in all of the other 6 Spider-Man games I've played
3) The level looks as bland as toast
4) There are nearly no assets on this whole level. The tiny space is only separated by a random wall placed in around the middle part of the level, which you can jump over to get to an area that looks and works exactly the same
5) There is a singular depiction of a man walking around the park endlessly. The challenge on this level is to figure out whether the guy is innocent or a "mugger". You wait for 2 seconds for the man to pull something out of his jacket. If it's a newspaper, he's innocent. If it's a gun, well, you do what Spider-Man does. Kick him in the nuts once and watch him vanish into thin air.
6) If you're too close to the man, your kick just goes through him. You have to stand a specific distance away from the man to kick him, or you'll miss.
7) KIDS ON SKATEBOARDS roam the area and run into you, unless you jump over them. Pressing the jump button comes with input lag, meaning it takes an extra second or two to actually do the jump, meaning you need to time it pretty early. Even then, it's likely you'll touch the back of the head of the kid and still take damage.
8) SPIDERS FALL DOWN OUT OF THIN AIR and damage you, if they fall on top of you
9) THIS IS THE DUMBEST SHIT I'VE PLAYED IN MY LIFE.
It's not even creatively bad. It's the same type of bad platformer that you saw in the thousands in the late 80s and early 90s, it's just among the least competent that was made by an actual professional development studio and backed by a professional publisher, LJN, who, as you might know, have had and still have a terrible reputation. I now know why. People complain about Zelda 2, Castlevania 2, The Zelda CD-I games, ET and that N64 Batman game, and for good reason, but man, I wish I could be playing any of those games instead of these never-ending Spider-Man games that all are of the same ilk and just get worse.
TLDR: Shit.
As is tradition with early 90s Spider-Man video games, Spider-Man 3: Invasion of Spider-Slayers is among the worst games I have ever played, and it possibly tops the list. As per usual, this was developed by Bits Studios and published by Acclaim Entertainment (or LJN at the time), possibly the worst grouping of developer + publisher of its time that actually made professionally developed video games. Spider-Man 3 released for the Game Boy and is the sequel to The Amazing Spider-Man 2, which, up to this point, I would have called the worst game I've ever played, especially within this challenge I'm doing. That game, and I'll use any opportunity I can to bring it up, got a 98% from Consoles +, a French video game magazine. Spider-Man 3's Consoles + review score is unknown, but it got a 6.1 Moby Rating, which is on the poorer side on the site.
The first level of this game is all you really need to know about. With each iteration in this Game Boy trilogy, the fudges given have gone down more and more, and it's apparent in many ways. The first game was developed by Rare and was awful in most aspects but at least had competent level design and started each level with witty dialogue between Spider-Man and the stage's boss, which gave it some charm. The second game, made by Bits Studios, didn't have this dialogue anymore and was even worse in all other aspects. Its level design was also just dull and lacked any sort of creativity and passion. This third game went down yet another level that I didn't think was possible. Instead of having some sort of love put into an opening 'cutscene' where Spidey reads that he is being framed, like in the second game, this third game just starts with Spider-Man saying that he will take a walk in the park. Then a white image with black text says that you should defeat 20 muggers. That's it. Then you walk around awkwardly from left to right looking for these men.
1) Spider-Man looks and walks as awkwardly as in all of the other 6 Spider-Man games I've played
2) Spider-Man controls as horrificly as in all of the other 6 Spider-Man games I've played
3) The level looks as bland as toast
4) There are nearly no assets on this whole level. The tiny space is only separated by a random wall placed in around the middle part of the level, which you can jump over to get to an area that looks and works exactly the same
5) There is a singular depiction of a man walking around the park endlessly. The challenge on this level is to figure out whether the guy is innocent or a "mugger". You wait for 2 seconds for the man to pull something out of his jacket. If it's a newspaper, he's innocent. If it's a gun, well, you do what Spider-Man does. Kick him in the nuts once and watch him vanish into thin air.
6) If you're too close to the man, your kick just goes through him. You have to stand a specific distance away from the man to kick him, or you'll miss.
7) KIDS ON SKATEBOARDS roam the area and run into you, unless you jump over them. Pressing the jump button comes with input lag, meaning it takes an extra second or two to actually do the jump, meaning you need to time it pretty early. Even then, it's likely you'll touch the back of the head of the kid and still take damage.
8) SPIDERS FALL DOWN OUT OF THIN AIR and damage you, if they fall on top of you
9) THIS IS THE DUMBEST SHIT I'VE PLAYED IN MY LIFE.
It's not even creatively bad. It's the same type of bad platformer that you saw in the thousands in the late 80s and early 90s, it's just among the least competent that was made by an actual professional development studio and backed by a professional publisher, LJN, who, as you might know, have had and still have a terrible reputation. I now know why. People complain about Zelda 2, Castlevania 2, The Zelda CD-I games, ET and that N64 Batman game, and for good reason, but man, I wish I could be playing any of those games instead of these never-ending Spider-Man games that all are of the same ilk and just get worse.
TLDR: Shit.