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by Kevin Gaussoin, Editor-in-Chief
We’ve been waiting two years for a new Spider-Man game since the epic previous release, Spider-Man: Web of Shadows, and now Activision has brought us another gem in the Spider-Man tradition. While last go-’round we were treated to a open-world story, this new release is based on a nearly linear storyline, but even so, it should be a surprising treat treat to even the most outspoken open-world advocates.
The story is simple: Mysterio is in the midst of stealing the most powerful object in the Marvel Universe, The Tablet of Order and Chaos (yes, we know it didn’t exist before this game), when our wisecracking and conveniently cavalier wall-crawler punches through the tablet to get to Mysterio, shattering this reality-altering artifact into at least thirteen pieces, most of which end up in alternate universes which makes for an awesome game. This means we get to play as not only a version of Spider-Man that’s the standard 616 main Marvel Universe “Amazing Spider-Man”, but also versions from the Ultimate, Noir, and 2099 universes to try and track down every piece of the artifact and set things right.
One of the biggest fan services Beenox and Activision have brought us with Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions is the inclusion of the four most popular voice actors that have brought Spider-Man to life: Neil Patrick Harris (MTV’s Spider-Man from 2003) as Amazing Spider-Man, Josh Keaton (Spectacular Spider-Man from 2008) as Ultimate Spider-Man, Dan Gilvezan (Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends from 1981) as Spider-Man 2099, and Christopher Daniel Barnes (1994 Spider-Man series) as Spider-Man Noir. I was really thinking that Noir was too much of a stretch, as this character had only been in four issues and hadn’t been in any games or animation previous to this game, but then I tried the gameplay with his character and I was hooked.
Gameplay
Like each universe, each Spider-Man has his own feel. Noir is ruthless and powerful when operating from the shadows, but his cinematic stealth takedowns go out the window when he’s spotted. Anytime the bad guys spot him, he becomes a marshmallow and is painfully ineffective even against street thugs.
Ultimate Spider-Man is in the Venom symbiote suit, so his attacks do the most damage. With Ultimate, the best offense is even more offense. Ultimate has a unique rage mode which after filling up his rage meter by fighting enemies, he can let loose and do even more damage for a limited time.
Spider-Man 2099 is ideal for his environment: the endless skyscrapers of the future. A lot of his fighting occurs while plummeting in free-fall. It’s a lot of fun to dodge objects and try and fight villains while falling at terminal velocity. To help with this, he has an “Accelerated Vision” bullet time power which lets you slow down his world for a short time.
Amazing Spider-Man is just how you’d expect. He’s very similar to the Spider-Man we played in Web of Shadows, and is a perfect mix of just the right Spider-Man abilities.
Each villain likewise fits perfectly with each universe, and each level feels like one long boss fight with the henchmen thrown in for extra texture.
Graphics/Video
On PS3, Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions is amazing looking. You should really play it on a 1080p TV to be able to see and best appreciate the beautiful artwork of each world, each one looking like a different perfectly appropriate comic artist drew or painted each panel. I did have some lock-ups that required a restart, and even after a PS3 system update, I had a few more. This is unfortunately why I can’t give this game a perfect score. Luckily, once you’ve already made it through a level, getting back to where you left off is pretty easy.
Audio/Sound Effects
I loved the music and sound effects, in fact I felt like a lot of them were brought back from Web of Shadows in order to lend additional familiarity. Plugged into my surround system, this game gave me a lot of boom for my buck.
I’ve already mentioned the voice actors, but in case it needs to be said, they are each in top form. Before playing this, I might have swapped NPH and Gilvezan, but really they’re great where they are. The rest of the voice acting was top notch as well. You might recognize John “Bender” DiMaggio as Noir Hammerhead or Steve “Wolverine” Blum as Hobgoblin 2099, but what really jumped out at me was Thomas “Biff” Wilson as Ultimate Electro. Of course, no Marvel property is complete without Stan Lee, and he is of course included as the perfect narrator.
Overall
I was initially reluctant to embrace a new Spider-Man game with a linear story, but after playing Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, I can recommend it without reservation. The voice acting was entertaining, the gameplay was easy to learn and fun to execute, and there are so many fan easter eggs, this game is a must for every Spidey fan.
ComicsOnline gives Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions 4.5 out of 5 extradimensional Spider-Men.
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