Spider-man is one of the most well known faces in the Marvel universe. He has an interesting set of powers, Peter Parker was interesting for a while, and he is probably the hero that has done the best job in the Marvel universe of keeping his identity a secret. With all of the popularity and interest that surrounds him, it makes sense that he would be exploited for several video games, and today I will be counting down what I think to be his top 5 best games. Now I will only be including games where Spider-man is the focal point, so games like Marvel's Ultimate Alliance won't be included. In terms of a rating system, I will be basing it mostly on story and fighting mechanics, though other factors can come into play (if so, I will list them out). So let's get started at number 5 with...
This game, released in 2005 for the PS2, GameCube, and Xbox era of systems. It's based off of the Ultimate Spider-man comic book series that was running at the same time. The game allowed the player to control Spider-man as well as Venom, with very different gameplay between the two. The fighting is a lot of fun with Spider-man, and causing chaos and destruction with Venom is fun as well. The story works heavily off of what was put in place with the Ultimate Spider-man comics, which was an interesting take that I didn't enjoy as much as the main Spider-man story line, but it's not terrible. I think the strangest thing is that Carnage is actually made from Peter, but it's otherwise a pretty solid tale. Definitely a Spider-man game worth picking up.
4. Spider-man: Shattered Dimensions
Shattered Dimensions was released in 2010 for the PS3/Xbox 306/ Wii generation, and featured four different Spider-men to play as. There's Spider-man 2099, Spider-man Noir, Amazing Spider-man, and Ultimate Spider-man (wearing the symbiote suit), all of which have very different styles of play. All of their different settings and missions tie together in a larger plot that centers around Madam Web and a shattered mystical tablet. While I liked some of the segments more than others, none of them were bad by any stretch of the imagination. The fighting mechanics were pretty well done, though I didn't love the boss fights that would go into a first-person perspective. The story itself would seem pretty generic, a mystical item shattered into several pieces that need to be collected, but it really works for this title.
3. Spider-man
This easy-to-confuse-by-the-title game was released in 2000 for PlayStation and PC and featured Spider-man in one of the best stories in a Spider-man game. Spider-man is framed for stealing an experiment that is being demonstrated in front of a crowd while the streets are covered in a toxic fog (limiting Spider-man to the rooftops). There is a great roster of villains, including Scorpion, Rhino, Venom, and a Dr. Octopus/Carnage fusion. the fighting mechanics are the only real drawback to this game, as they are basic punches and kicks rather than the more acrobatic style one would associate with Spider-man. It works well for the game, but it leaves something to be desired. Still, the story and level designs make up for any grievances I could have for the fighting, and it is definitely a title
worthy of this list.
2. Spider-man 2
I've already done a full review of this title (which can be found here), so I don't need to go too much into the details for this one. Still, it's worth noting that a lot of people consider this one to be number 1 on this list, and I can see where they come from. The story expands a lot on the movie it's based off of, plus it has a great upgrade system and narration by Bruce Campbell. The fighting was exceptional for the time, and still isn't too far from present day mechanics to make it difficult to pick up. Again, I've already said a lot about this title, it's a lot of fun. But it doesn't hold my number one spot.
1. Spider-man: Web of Shadows
I know that this isn't the top choice for a lot of people, but hear me out. I am only calling the version on the PS3, Xbox360, and Wii generation of games, not the PS2 version. It's a Spider-man game with some fantastic fighting mechanics and two very different fighting styles (the two styles come from being able to interchange between regular Spider-man and symbiote Spider-man at will). It's a Spider-man game with a compelling plot that hasn't been done in the comics (or at least not on a large scale that I know of). On top of all of that, it's a Spider-man game that includes Spider-man, Black Cat, Moon Knight, Luke Cage, and Wolverine. It has a wide variety of villains, including some of the supporting characters I just mentioned. It's creative, it's well executed, and I consider it to stand a step above the rest of the Spider-man games that we've seen so far.
Also, I wanted to put in a few honorable mentions that weren't bad, but didn't make this list:
- The Amazing Spider-man
-Venom/Spider-man: Separation Anxiety
-The Amazing Spider-man Vs. The Kingpin
So that's my top five list, and I am hoping that the new Spider-man game that comes out at the end of 2017 will replace something on this list, because I am liking the way it looks. Did I forget your favorite? Are these in the wrong order? Let me know in the comments!
Sincerely,
The Bored Enthusiast
All images above belong to their respective owners, not me
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