Spider-Man. A good, wholesome classic game based on a good, wholesome classic franchise. For many, this game was 'you know
that ONE game' due to how old the title is and in part because the game is simply titled Spider-Man with no other really good way to
denote it's difference from every other Spider-Man game aside from maybe saying "You know, the one with Doc Ock and Carnage!"
Which, let's be honest, still isn't a remarkable distinction. From Easter eggs for marvel fans to the groan worthy dialogue, this game is
worth at least a quick look through if not a full playthrough. It does, however, have some faulty qualities as well so if you're wanting to
really learn about this game before picking it up, read on Truebeliever! EXCELSIOR!
GRAPHICS
Simply at a quick glance you could tell this game wasn't quite made for the Nintendo 64. It suffers from some visual oddities that
practically every single game from the time did, and it's really up to you personally on whether you're going to fault them for it. For
example- The character models are exceptionally well made. A lot of Web-head's costumes make an appearance in this game and
each of them looks as if they were crafted with a lot of love and care- But, generally, you don't see 'ol Pete's face beneath the read
and blue visage.
While the models do look fantastic, again considering it's release in 2000, and the bodies on a lot of the character models match
up- Well, the faces seemed to be the last thing they worked on before they pushed it out of the office doors. It's an odd issue noticeable
very early on when Black-cat joins the fray to give the player some advice on how to play the game should the player decide to skip the
tutorial mode and dive right in to the Bank Heist opening with her fluid movements, lovely curvature, and her... face... like a caveman.
The cut-scenes definitely took a hit as well, as instead of actual movies that were sported in many other versions of the game on
other consoles, the N64 had to replace them with still images. They were courteous enough, at least, to change them into a comic
book style slide-show that doesn't feel too out-of-place to an individual who might not know better, but having seen the cut-scenes
on the other systems it can be an odd regression.
SOUND
This can be a really tough one to judge, to be entirely honest. The music, while generally good, doesn't really seem to fit the overall
tone very well. Easily noticeable on the very first stage, the developers tried their hand at adding in a soundtrack that kind of fits whatever
Spidey might be doing at the moment- With a nice track to sling your way around the upper New York Skyline, to an upbeat track when
attempting to pummel some baddies into the ground. The effect is kind of lost, however, with the way the music seems to just pop in and
right back out without so much as a subtle fade.
The music, however, isn't the only part of the game- There is of course the dialogue. You really have to walk a thin line when it comes to
voice work in a Spider-Man title. It can be weird trying to balance good voice acting with intentionally bad dialogue that will have you
grimacing at one point and cracking a smile the next as Peter tries his best to be the funniest superhero. Quite frankly, I think they nailed
this on right on the head. Not just with Spider-man either, but with Stan Lee's narration, the few lines of dialogue from Mac Gargan, Venom,
Blackcat and many others feels relatively polished and don't seem out of place in either comic book format or in the video game world.
ADDICTIVENESS
Now, today developers have been bashed time and time again by adding costumes into games usually in the form of DLC or other some
such nonsense. But what else are you expecting when you've got a character who has a different costume not only for every day of the week but every consecutive holiday on the calender as well? Fortunately, no DLC here, and a lot of the addictiveness in this game comes from a mix between the many, many levels it offers and the amount of costumes that actually have different powers at the players disposal. (once you've unlocked them, and/or cheated for them of course)
The costumes with all their crazy and unique powers give you a wonderful and varied experience on different play-through's of the game and allow the game to support a wide array of play styles. Maybe you just want to breeze through the game and feel like a superhero truly would? Well, try out the Captain Universe costume. Want a challenging experience that will really test your skills? Don the Quick Change Spider-man outfit which limit's you to just two web cartridges for the Spider-Man equivalent to Dark Souls.
STORY
The story would have to be a 10/10 in this reviewer's opinion. The story arc present in this game is a wonderful callback to classic comic books and cartoon series starring our Friendly Neighborhood Spider-man. It start's simple, as many comics do and slowly works it's way up to a diabolical scheme that has almost nothing to do with how the game started- seemingly.
It's not exactly an Emmy award-winning script, that's for sure, but it does manage to pull out many cool tricks. Cameos from some of Marvel's other pillars such as Daredevil and the Fantastic Four highlight the fact that Spider-man definitely has friends in high and low places; and they even go so far as to give a good reason as to why it is New York seems to be covered in a thick blanket of noxious
looking gas instead of just writing it off as a trick to keep from rendering more polygons in the game's engine.
DEPTH
At this point there isn't much left to be said that hasn't already been stated. The game offers you a plethora of missions to fulfill and a hundred different ways to fulfill them with the many costumes of Spider-dude. The game will definitely take you awhile to complete in it's entirety- assuming you keep away from the cheat menu.
DIFFICULTY
Unfortunately, this can be where the game is off-kilter. While the game itself isn't necessarily difficulty- throwing goons and baddies at you in a very 'few and far between' manner, the N64 control scheme does it's best (which isn't great, let me tell you) at attempting a character action styled game. The enemies aren't exactly the toughest guys on the street, usually taking 2-3 punches on the earlier levels, but it can be a pain trying to get the camera to follow you correctly while using the C-Buttons to dish out your punches and kicks.
Likewise, the web-slinging in the game while easy as long as you stick to slinging straight forward and sticking to the games path can still
get a little confusing when you try to mix the zip-line mechanic with the wonky camera controls which (SLIGHT SPOILER) you will definitely
want to work on before attempting the final boss of the game. Spider-Man. A good, wholesome classic game based on a good, wholesome classic franchise. For many, this game was 'you know
that ONE game' due to how old the title is and in part because the game is simply titled Spider-Man with no other really good way to
denote it's difference from every other Spider-Man game aside from maybe saying "You know, the one with Doc Ock and Carnage!"
Which, let's be honest, still isn't a remarkable distinction. From Easter eggs for marvel fans to the groan worthy dialogue, this game is
worth at least a quick look through if not a full playthrough. It does, however, have some faulty qualities as well so if you're wanting to
really learn about this game before picking it up, read on Truebeliever! EXCELSIOR!
GRAPHICS
Simply at a quick glance you could tell this game wasn't quite made for the Nintendo 64. It suffers from some visual oddities that
practically every single game from the time did, and it's really up to you personally on whether you're going to fault them for it. For
example- The character models are exceptionally well made. A lot of Web-head's costumes make an appearance in this game and
each of them looks as if they were crafted with a lot of love and care- But, generally, you don't see 'ol Pete's face beneath the read
and blue visage.
While the models do look fantastic, again considering it's release in 2000, and the bodies on a lot of the character models match
up- Well, the faces seemed to be the last thing they worked on before they pushed it out of the office doors. It's an odd issue noticeable
very early on when Black-cat joins the fray to give the player some advice on how to play the game should the player decide to skip the
tutorial mode and dive right in to the Bank Heist opening with her fluid movements, lovely curvature, and her... face... like a caveman.
The cut-scenes definitely took a hit as well, as instead of actual movies that were sported in many other versions of the game on
other consoles, the N64 had to replace them with still images. They were courteous enough, at least, to change them into a comic
book style slide-show that doesn't feel too out-of-place to an individual who might not know better, but having seen the cut-scenes
on the other systems it can be an odd regression.
SOUND
This can be a really tough one to judge, to be entirely honest. The music, while generally good, doesn't really seem to fit the overall
tone very well. Easily noticeable on the very first stage, the developers tried their hand at adding in a soundtrack that kind of fits whatever
Spidey might be doing at the moment- With a nice track to sling your way around the upper New York Skyline, to an upbeat track when
attempting to pummel some baddies into the ground. The effect is kind of lost, however, with the way the music seems to just pop in and
right back out without so much as a subtle fade.
The music, however, isn't the only part of the game- There is of course the dialogue. You really have to walk a thin line when it comes to
voice work in a Spider-Man title. It can be weird trying to balance good voice acting with intentionally bad dialogue that will have you
grimacing at one point and cracking a smile the next as Peter tries his best to be the funniest superhero. Quite frankly, I think they nailed
this on right on the head. Not just with Spider-man either, but with Stan Lee's narration, the few lines of dialogue from Mac Gargan, Venom,
Blackcat and many others feels relatively polished and don't seem out of place in either comic book format or in the video game world.
ADDICTIVENESS
Now, today developers have been bashed time and time again by adding costumes into games usually in the form of DLC or other some
such nonsense. But what else are you expecting when you've got a character who has a different costume not only for every day of the week but every consecutive holiday on the calender as well? Fortunately, no DLC here, and a lot of the addictiveness in this game comes from a mix between the many, many levels it offers and the amount of costumes that actually have different powers at the players disposal. (once you've unlocked them, and/or cheated for them of course)
The costumes with all their crazy and unique powers give you a wonderful and varied experience on different play-through's of the game and allow the game to support a wide array of play styles. Maybe you just want to breeze through the game and feel like a superhero truly would? Well, try out the Captain Universe costume. Want a challenging experience that will really test your skills? Don the Quick Change Spider-man outfit which limit's you to just two web cartridges for the Spider-Man equivalent to Dark Souls.
STORY
The story would have to be a 10/10 in this reviewer's opinion. The story arc present in this game is a wonderful callback to classic comic books and cartoon series starring our Friendly Neighborhood Spider-man. It start's simple, as many comics do and slowly works it's way up to a diabolical scheme that has almost nothing to do with how the game started- seemingly.
It's not exactly an Emmy award-winning script, that's for sure, but it does manage to pull out many cool tricks. Cameos from some of Marvel's other pillars such as Daredevil and the Fantastic Four highlight the fact that Spider-man definitely has friends in high and low places; and they even go so far as to give a good reason as to why it is New York seems to be covered in a thick blanket of noxious
looking gas instead of just writing it off as a trick to keep from rendering more polygons in the game's engine.
DEPTH
At this point there isn't much left to be said that hasn't already been stated. The game offers you a plethora of missions to fulfill and a hundred different ways to fulfill them with the many costumes of Spider-dude. The game will definitely take you awhile to complete in it's entirety- assuming you keep away from the cheat menu.
DIFFICULTY
Unfortunately, this can be where the game is off-kilter. While the game itself isn't necessarily difficulty- throwing goons and baddies at you in a very 'few and far between' manner, the N64 control scheme does it's best (which isn't great, let me tell you) at attempting a character action styled game. The enemies aren't exactly the toughest guys on the street, usually taking 2-3 punches on the earlier levels, but it can be a pain trying to get the camera to follow you correctly while using the C-Buttons to dish out your punches and kicks.
Likewise, the web-slinging in the game while easy as long as you stick to slinging straight forward and sticking to the games path can still
get a little confusing when you try to mix the zip-line mechanic with the wonky camera controls which (SLIGHT SPOILER) you will definitely
want to work on before attempting the final boss of the game.
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