Spider-Man-vania Syndrome.
When you go to buy a game with the name Spider-man attached to it, the odds are you will be a little disappointed when you finally get around to playing it. That's why it was with a lot of fear that I picked up Spider-Man Shattered Dimensions for the DS and I'm happy to say that all my fear was wrong. It wasn't a disappointment but a solid game which is only hindered by a few small problems.
The moment you start to play Spider-Man Shattered Dimensions you will notice one thing, it is if Peter Parker went and found Samus Aran and they made a child. This child looks a lot like daddy but likes to play how mumma did, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.
The story of Shattered Dimensions isn't exactly edge of the seat excitement, Spider-Mans foe (one of them at least) Mysterio has grabbed an ancient tablet and seperated it into several pieces, giving each section to a different Spider-Man Villain in a different universe. The three universes included in this game are Spider-Man 2099, Spider-Man Noir and The Amazing Spider-Man. It is up to each of the universes own Spider-Men to kick some arse and reassemble the tablet and stop Mysterio.
My biggest hindrance with this game is that while the game was getting promoted, they had a fourth Spider-Man universe shown as playable, The Ultimate Universe, where Spider-Man would play in his black symbiote suit and be awesome as hell. Unfortunately, that universe was no where to be found in the game which was something that nagged at me the whole time playing the game.
Secondly, all the universes played the same, they all have their own unique abilities for you to play around with but, that's about it. That wouldn't be that bad of a thing except, It only takes around a couple of hours to all the abilities and the moment you feel like you're going to beat seen shades of shiny shit out of every enemy you find the game comes to an end which feels way too soon. The game just becomes fun but, it's all over before it even began.
Shattered Dimensions also comes with all the things you'd expect from a Metroid clone. Certain doors can only be opened with certain abilities and their is plenty of stuff to pick-up along the way, the pick-ups aren't entirely vital but offer you things like better attack, defense and generally give you something to do. I finished the game in a few hours and picked up a little over half of everything, so, if you're insane about collecting everything you can in a game, this could give it another hour or two of fun.
The fighting in this game is a little more close-quarters then the combat you're accustomed to in Metroid and is a tad on the easy side. Most enemies can be easily dispatched by just repeatedly hitting the punch button, but if you're crafty you can shoot web at them to immobilise them, then repeatedly hit the punch button. The Boss battles aren't all that hard either and I went through the whole game without losing a life up until the final confrontation with Mysterio at the end.
All in all, it's a solid game which can pull off Metroid nicely but doesn't come close to being as great a game. With the extra universe in the game I feel it could've been a better game but, it's an enjoyable few hours.
I'd just like to add one final note and say the writing in it can be quite funny, all the Spider-Man puns are there and made me giggle like a girl and get looks of pity from my girlfriend.
Note: This is my first ever review, please be kind. I realise the writing is all over the place but, next one will be better.