Marvel and PlayStation fans alike rejoiced when in 2016, Sony Interactive Entertainment announced the development of “Marvel’s Spider-Man,” an upcoming PlayStation original created by Insomniac Games. The game was highlighted at the 2018 Electronic Entertainment Expo (also known as E3), generating excitement within the gaming community.
Although the game was released Sept. 7, I was unable to pick up my preorder from GameStop until this past weekend. After getting the game, I immediately began playing it, exploring its fabricated version of New York.
I wasn’t even five minutes into the game when I decided it was definitely one of my new favorites. The gameplay lived up to all the hype it received at this year’s E3 and I was more than excited to dedicate every free waking moment I had to this game.
Although it is packed with amazing side quests and objectives, one of the most spectacular things about “Spider-Man” is the fluidity of the entire game. Whether it be in travel or transitions, gameplay flows smoothly. This smoothness makes traveling all the more fun. In playing, I have not once used the fast travel option to get from one place to the other. Web-swinging across New York is not only satisfying, but one of the best parts of the game. In all honesty, I could spend hours flying across the game’s map.
One of the reasons “Spider-Man” is able to flow so smoothly is because of its amazing graphics. Every transition from a cutscene into gameplay was flawless. In the beginning scene of the game, Peter Parker is in his apartment when he receives a notification about police movement. The cutscene then shows Parker getting ready before jumping out of his window, suited up. As he begins swinging to his destination, the cutscene transitions into gameplay that teaches the player the basic controls of web swinging. The graphics are so complex in this sequence that I could hardly tell I had entered the game.
My favorite part of the game by far is all of the side objectives players can find around the map. From catching pigeons to infiltrating construction sites run by bad guys, I found myself time after time getting sidetracked from the main objective in order to complete these mini-missions. Incorporated with this favorite is the combat of the game.
Spider-Man’s arsenal of various gadgets makes taking down masked enemies and corrupt businessmen so much more entertaining. Webs allow players to stick villains to various surfaces and Spider-Bots assist the player by firing off bullets at nearby threats.
The only part of the game that I was not a fan of was the mission in which the player takes the shoes of Mary Jane while she tries to uncover secret operations of one of the major villains of the story. I found the gameplay extremely slow and uninteresting until Spider-Man’s point of view returned.
My happiness with “Spider-Man” not only excites me for the upcoming downloadable content of the game, but for the rest of the Sony originals coming out in the next year. The quality of this game gives me hope that titles such as “The Last of Us Part II” will live up to my expectations.
_Edited by Siena DeBolt | sdebolt@themaneater.com_
