Spider-Man Unlimited

Overview

Spider-Man Unlimited (also known as Marvel Spider-Man Unlimited) was a free-to-play superhero behind-the-back endless-runner action game developed and released by Gameloft for iOS, Android, and Windows Phone on September 10, 2014. It was later discontinued on March 2019.

The game also received an arcade version on June 2017 as the videmption game Spider-Man: Homecoming (or Marvel Spider-Man: Homecoming). A tie-in with the 2017 film of the same name, Homecoming was developed by Adrenaline Amusements solely for Dave & Buster's locations and features an incredibly simple premise (as two versions of Spider-Man pursue The Vulture) and controls (which only use one button for quick-time events).

Story

The basic premise of Spider-Man Unlimited is that a dimensional portal has opened up and an advanced army has invaded. It turns out this army is lead by the Sinister Six who managed to conquer their home world by gathering multiple versions of the members from different dimensions. That means there are 5 versions of Green Goblin, Vulture, Electro, Sandman, and Doctor Octopus. After defeating their own world, they began traveling from dimension to dimension, taking them over, and collecting up a rare mineral called Isotope-8, which is what they use to create their dimensional portals.

In response to this attack, S.H.I.E.L.D. has recruited Spider-Man, and also used its own stock of ISO-8 to open portals to recruit even more Spider-Men and Spider-Women to fight back. It is your job to collect various alternate spider themed heroes to form a team and save New York City.

There is also a side-story that plays out as special timed events that are related to the Spider-Verse comic story arc in which a family of villains called the Inheritors (brothers Morlun, Daemos, Karn, Jennix, and their father Solus) attack. The Inheritors feed on the totemic animal energy that exists in all variations of Spider-Men/Women. Draining this energy is often lethal, so you're going to want to put a stop to that.

Game Modes

Story Mode features levels that are restricted by power requirements. They often end after accomplishing a particular goal, such as defeating a boss, running a certain distance, defeating a number of regular enemies, or collecting a number of special items.

Endless Mode simply has you running until you mess up and die. Bosses will occasionally show up, and after defeating them, regular play resumes. It should be noted that if you don't defeat the boss in a certain amount of time, they escape through a portal. You don't lose when this happens, but you do miss out on the score bonus for defeating them.

Online Events change regularly and are time limited. Usually lasting only a few days, they feature specific goals with rewards attached to their completion, as well as leaderboard rankings which also have rewards based on where you rank when the event finishes. Event goals are often something like passing through a certain number of rings, beating enemies or bosses, or getting high combos. Events are not available to the player until they beat the 5th and last Green Goblin in the Story Mode, in other words, finish Chapter 1.

There is also a small game mode called Spidey Ops which takes place entirely in a menu. You are presented with a few missions or emergencies taking place around the city in the form of social media alerts from people such as J. Jonah Jameson, Mary Jane, Carly Cooper, and Black Cat. You pick up to 6 of your heroes to send away on the mission. Each mission will take a specific amount of time, ranging from 1 to 9 hours, and only 1 can be done at a time. Also, while the mission is going on, you will not be able to select anyone you put on the team for runs. The higher the level of the spiders you send, the higher per cent chance you have of succeeding. After the stated mission time, you will receive an alert that they are back, and the team members you sent will get XP. Even if your team fails, they will still earn some XP, though it will be considerably less than the reward for being successful.

Gameplay

Spider-Man Unlimited is a free-to-play "endless runner" and as such features Spidey running, web swinging, wall crawling, and diving off buildings until the player fails to navigate past an obstacle. With simple swipe controls, the player can move Spider-Man left or right between 3 lanes, swipe up to jump over obstacles, or down to slide under them. These actions can also be combined, giving you quite a lot of mobility in the game. While jumping you can still swipe left or right, which causes Spider-Man to pull himself in that direction with a web-line. Wall crawling and skydiving sections are controlled by tilting the phone left or right. And web swinging sections are controlled by pressing and holding to swing through rings or over/under obstacles.

Various enemies will show up as well, and swiping down will slide kick them, while swiping up will cause Spider-Man to do a jumping punch. Different enemies sometimes require a specific attack to be defeated, such as a shield carrying foe will need to be slide-kicked, and jet pack equipped baddies will need to be jump attacked.

Boss sections feature one of the Sinister Six or an Inheritor showing up, and throwing additional obstacles onto the running lanes. Special S.H.I.E.L.D. orbs also appear which the player needs to kick or punch to damage the boss.

Beating levels and bosses earns you XP which levels up your team of spider folks. The higher the level, the bigger a score multiplier that particular Spidey grants you. You can have a team of up to 4 Spider-Men/Women, and their Spider Power (score multiplier) totals up.

Free-to-play

Spider-Man Unlimited uses the standard "energy system" to limit how much you can play it. Each run requires you have at least 1 spider-man icon, which is shown at the top left of the screen. You earn one of these icons every 10 minutes, and it maxes out at 5. It should be noted that this energy is refilled instantly, and for free until the player beats the first chapter of the Story Mode.

While Spider-Man Unlimited is free to download, it has in-game currencies required to strengthen power-ups, or get new characters. The two currencies are Vials, and ISO-8. However, while a player can pay real money to get additional ISO-8, which is required for the more rare characters, a surprisingly decent amount of ISO-8 is also given out as rewards for completing Event Mode target goals, and placing well on leaderboards.

Items

Normally the only items in the game are yellow vials which work as one of the game's 2 currencies. Simply run into them to collect them. You also get vials for defeating basic enemies. You can use them to increase the effectiveness of power-ups, level up your Spider-Men/Women, or open a Standard level recruitment portal.

Some levels require you to collect a number of special items like enemy intel or med-kits. These will be peppered along the level and have a slight glow to them so they stand out while you're running.

Lastly, some timed events require Spider Totems be collected in levels to be beaten. These are round discs with a spider icon on them. While a Totem themed event is going on, you will occasionally find Spider Totems even while running in other events. All totems collected in all events count towards your total.

Power-ups

There are 4 power-ups that can sometimes be found while running through a level. All power-ups only last for a limited time. Also, collecting a new power-up while you already have one active, replaces it. Power-ups can be enhanced from the S.H.I.E.L.D. menu, first with vials, then later with ISO-8.

Web Hammer

Your chosen Spidey will cover his hands in webs, forming giant spiked maces. While this is active, you can destroy any enemy or obstacle in your way by simply running into it. Even if you miss a jump, you'll still survive. You will also simply bounce off unbreakable objects if you run into those. In other words, you're invincible.

Web Magnet

All vials nearby will be attracted to you, saving you from switching lanes to gather them. This is particularly good while wall climbing as you can never grab all the vials due to the way they are laid out.

Stats Multiplier

This makes all vials briefly glow blue, making them worth double. Combos are also worth double.

Web Shield

This protects Spidey from a single fatal mistake, however it doesn't last forever.

Boosts

There are 3 boosts in the game. These are applied before a run is started, and last for the entirety of the next run.

Super Score

Provides a 25% score multiplier.

Vial Style

Defeating an enemy give 3 times the amount of vials.

Crushing Combos

2 x combos for 3 minutes, and your combo counter lasts an additional 3 seconds before resetting.

Portals & Rarity

Possibly one of the biggest draws this game has with fans is that a massive amount of fan service exists in all the different Spider-People in the game. To unlock them is a bit of a gamble though, as you're never exactly sure who you're going to get, & they also come in varying degrees of rarity. To get new Spider-Men/Women, a portal must be opened in the Recruit area, and they come in several flavors.

Standard Portals are the cheapest, costing 2500 vials to open. They have the possibility of bringing in Common, Uncommon, or Rare characters. Premium Portals cost 25 ISO-8, and contain Rare, Epic, and a chance at 1 Legendary Spider-Man. Event Portals tie into one of the current on-going events and usually contain Epic, several Legendary characters, as well as specific characters that will get score bonuses in the related event. These usually cost 40 ISO-8, but sometimes can be as low as 20 ISO-8. On rare occasions VIP portals become available. VIP portals cost 75 ISO-8 to open, but carry mostly Legendary characters that usually can't be obtained any other way.

The portals frequently change, as well as what Spiders are available in each. A magnifying glass button can always be tapped on a portal to see what characters it could potentially spit out, and their rarity level.

Each Spider-Man or Woman you unlock will have a rarity, which determines the maximum rank, or number of stars they can get, which in turn determines the maximum level they can level up to. All characters start with at least 1 star. Each additional star a Spider-Man has, the more levels they can level up to. For example, a 1 star Spider-Man will max out at level 10, while a 3 star Spidey can go up to level 30. This gets a bit weird with higher rarity Spiders as they can start to level higher than 10 levels per star. Commons have a grey border, have a maximum of 3 stars, and a max level of 30. Uncommon have a green border, a maximum of 4 stars, and a max level of 50. Rare is signified by a blue border, can get 5 stars, and a max level of 70. Epics are purple with 6 stars, and max out at level 90. Finally, Legendary Spiders are yellow/gold, can get 7 stars, and top out at level 100.

Each level your Spider-Man goes up grants an additional 0.1 to his Spider Power value, which is basically his score multiplier. Also the higher the rarity, the higher the base Spider Power value will be. Common start at 1x, while Legendary start at 3x. This number is also how the story mode locks off further levels, requiring the player to have a minimum Spider Power to be able to play it.

To increase a Spider-Man's rank so you can level them up higher, you'll need to get the exact same Spider-Man, of the exact same rarity, and fuse the 2 together. The level and number of stars the sacrificed Spider-Man has is irrelevant, it simply increases the first Spider-Man star total by 1.

Spider-Men & Women

There is a long list of variations and alternate reality Spider people in the game, and each have up to 2 different powers. The second power is locked until that Spidey has at least 5 stars, which also means only Rare and higher Spiders have 2 powers. Each different Spider-Man or Woman also lists their first comic book appearance, as well as a brief description of their origin, where their costume came from, or what makes them unique. Below are the Spideys available under each rarity, and their power(s).

Common

• Bombastic Bag-Man - +1 to ring combos
• Future Foundation Spider-Man - +1 to ring combos
• House of M Spider-Man - 30% bonus score from collecting vials
• Mangaverse Spider-Man - 30% bonus score from collecting vials
• Secret War Spider-Man - +4 seconds to combo counter
• Spider-Man - level up 15% faster

Uncommon

• Battle Damaged Spider-Man - +1 to near miss combos
• Big Time Spider-Man (Sonic Proof) - 30% bonus score from combos
• Bulletproof Spider-Armor - +1 to near miss combos
• Electro-Proof Spider-Man - 30% bonus score from collecting vials
• Ends of the Earth Spider-Man - 10% bonus to vials collected
• Iron Spider - 40% bonus score from defeating the boss
• Last Stand Spider-Man - 40% bonus score from defeating the boss
• Scarlet Spider (Ben Reilly) - 30% bonus score from combos
• Secret War Spider-Man - +4 seconds to combo counter
• Spider-Armor - 30% greater score from running
• Spider-Girl (May "MayDay" Parker) - 30% bonus score from combos
• Spider-Man - level up 15% faster
• Spider-Man (Ben Reilly) - +1 to attack combos
• Spider-Man Noir - enemies give 30% more vials

Rare

• Assassin Spider-Man - +1 to attack combos, enemies give 30% more vials
• Battle Damaged Spider-Man - +1 to near miss combos, +1 to attack combos
• Bombastic Bag-Man - +1 to ring combos, 30% greater score from running
• Bulletproof Spider-Armor - +1 to near miss combos, +1 to attack combos
• Classic Superior Spider-Man - 30% bonus score from vials, enemies give 30% more vials
• Cosmic Spider-Man - +1 to attack combos, 40% bonus score from defeating the boss
• Electro-Proof Spider-Man - 30% bonus score from collecting vials, +1 to ring combos
• Ends of the Earth Spider-Man - 10% bonus to vials collected, 30% bonus score from collecting vials
• Future Foundation Spider-Man - +1 to ring combos, 30% bonus score from combos
• Ghost Spider - +1 to attack combos, 40% bonus score from defeating the boss
• House of M Spider-Man - 30% bonus score from collecting vials, +1 to combos from attacks
• Iron Spider - 40% bonus score from defeating the boss, level up 15% faster
• Last Stand Spider-Man - 40% bonus score from defeating the boss, +1 to near miss combos
• Mangaverse Spider-Man - 30% bonus score from vials, 50% more vials from Web Hammered objects
• Scarlet Spider (Ben Reilly) - 30% bonus score from combos, +1 to attack combos
• Scarlet Spider (Kaine) - +1 to attack combos, enemies give 30% more vials
• Secret War Spider-Man - +4 seconds to combo counter, start with a 10-combo counter
• Silk - 30% bonus score from collecting vials, 50% bonus vials collected with Web Magnet
• Spider-Armor - 30% greater score from running, enemies give 30% more vials
• Spider-Girl (Anya Corazon) - +1 to ring combos, 30% bonus score from combos
• Spider-Girl (May "MayDay" Parker) - 30% bonus score from combos, start with a 10-combo counter
• Spider-Gwen - 30% bonus score from combos, +1 to S.H.I.E.L.D. bomb combos
• Spider-Knight - 30% bonus score from combos, 50% more vials from Web Hammered objects
• Spider-Man - level up 15% faster, +1 to S.H.I.E.L.D. bomb combos
• Spider-Man (Ben Reilly) - +1 to attack combos, +4 seconds to combo counter
• Spider-Man Noir - enemies give 30% more vials, +1 to near miss combos
• Spider-Man 1602 - +1 to near miss combos, +1 to S.H.I.E.L.D. bomb combos
• Spider-Man 2099 - start with a 10-combo counter, +1 to S.H.I.E.L.D. bomb combos

Epic

• Assassin Spider-Man - +1 to attack combos, enemies give 30% more vials
• Battle Damaged Spider-Man - +1 to near miss combos, +1 to attack combos
• Big Time Spider-Man (Sonic Proof) - 30% bonus score from combos, +4 seconds to combo counter
• Big Time Spider-Man (Stealth) - +1 to attack combos, 40% bonus score from defeating the boss
• Bombastic Bag-Man - +1 to ring combos, 30% greater score from running
• Bulletproof Spider-Armor - +1 to near miss combos, +1 to attack combos
• Classic Superior Spider-Man - 30% bonus score from vials, enemies give 30% more vials
• Cosmic Spider-Man - +1 to attack combos, 40% bonus score from defeating the boss
• Earth X Spider-Man - 30% greater score from running, 30% bonus score from combos
• Electro-Proof Spider-Man - 30% bonus score from collecting vials, +1 to ring combos
• Ends of the Earth Spider-Man - 10% bonus to vials collected, 30% bonus score from collecting vials
• Future Foundation Spider-Man - +1 to ring combos, 30% bonus score from combos
• House of M Spider-Man - 30% bonus score from collecting vials, +1 to combos from attacks
• Iron Spider - 40% bonus score from defeating the boss, level up 15% faster
• Lady Spider - 30% bonus score from collecting vials, 50% bonus vials collected with Web Magnet
• Last Stand Spider-Man - 40% bonus score from defeating the boss, +1 to near miss combos
• Mangaverse Spider-Man - 30% bonus score from vials, 50% more vials from Web Hammered objects
• Scarlet Spider (Ben Reilly) - 30% bonus score from combos, +1 to attack combos
• Scarlet Spider (Kaine) - +1 to attack combos, enemies give 30% more vials
• Silk (Cindy Moon) - 30% greater score from running, +1 to near miss combos
• Spider-Armor - 30% greater score from running, enemies give 30% more vials
• Spider-Girl (May "MayDay" Parker) - 30% bonus score from combos, start with a 10-combo counter
• Spider-Girl (Ashley Barton) - 40% bonus score from defeating the boss, +1 to S.H.I.E.L.D. bomb combos
• Spider-Gwen - 30% bonus score from combos, +1 to S.H.I.E.L.D. bomb combos
• Spider-Man - level up 15% faster, +1 to S.H.I.E.L.D. bomb combos
• Spider-Man 2099 - start with a 10-combo counter, +1 to S.H.I.E.L.D. bomb combos
• Spider-Man (Ben Reilly) - +1 to attack combos, +4 seconds to combo counter
• Spider-Man Noir - enemies give 30% more vials, +1 to near miss combos
• Spider-Punk - +1 to attack combos, 30% greater score from running
• Spider-UK - +1 to S.H.I.E.L.D. bomb combos, 40% bonus score from defeating the boss
• Spider-Woman - +1 to near miss combos, +1 to S.H.I.E.L.D. bomb combos
• Superior Spider-Man - +1 to attack combos, +4 seconds to combo counter
• Ultimate Black Widow (Jessica Drew) - enemies give 30% more vials, +1 to attack combos
• Ultimate Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew) - 30% bonus score from combos, +4 seconds to combo counter

Legendary

• Anansi The Spider God - 30% greater score from running, +1 to combos from a near miss
• Aracnido Jr. - +1 to near miss combos, +4 seconds to combo counter
• Assassin Spider-Man - +1 to attack combos, enemies give 30% more vials
• Big Time Spider-Man (Stealth) - +1 to attack combos, 40% bonus score from defeating the boss
• Blood Spider - +1 to ring combos, start with a 10-combo counter
• Bombastic Bag-Man - +1 to ring combos, 30% greater score from running
• Bullet Points Spider-Man - +1 to attack combos, enemies give 30% more vials
• Captain Spider - start with a 10-combo counter, +1 to ring combos
• Classic Spider-Woman - 30% bonus score from combos, +1 to near miss combos
• Classic Superior Spider-Man - 30% bonus score from vials, enemies give 30% more vials
• Clone Hunter Spider-Man - +1 to near miss combos, +4 seconds to combo counter
• Cyber Scarlet Spider - +1 to attack combos, 40% bonus score from defeating the boss
• Cyborg Spider-Man - +1 to attack combos, 50% bonus vials collected with Web Magnet
• Dr. Aikman Spider-Man - +1 to ring combos, 30% bonus score from combos
• Earth X Spider-Man - 30% greater score from running, 30% bonus score from combos
• Exoskeleton Arana - +4 seconds to combo counter, +1 to S.H.I.E.L.D. bomb combos
• Ghost Spider - +1 to attack combos, 40% bonus score from defeating the boss
• Iron Spider - 40% bonus score from defeating the boss, level up 15% faster
• Lady Spider - 30% bonus score from collecting vials, 50% bonus vials collected with Web Magnet
• Silk - 30% bonus score from collecting vials, 50% bonus vials collected with Web Magnet
• Silk (Cindy Moon) - 30% greater score from running, +1 to near miss combos
• Spider-Ben - +1 to near miss combos, +1 to S.H.I.E.L.D. bomb combos
• Spider-Girl (Anya Corazon) - +1 to ring combos, 30% bonus score from combos
• Spider-Girl (Ashley Barton) - 40% bonus score from defeating the boss, +1 to S.H.I.E.L.D. bomb combos
• Spider-Gwen - 30% bonus score from combos, +1 to S.H.I.E.L.D. bomb combos
• Spider-Knight - 30% bonus score from combos, 50% more vials from Web Hammered objects
• Spider-Man 1602 - +1 to near miss combos, +1 to S.H.I.E.L.D. bomb combos
• Spider-Man 2211 - +1 to ring combos, 30% greater score from running
• Spider-Man - level up 15% faster, +1 to S.H.I.E.L.D. bomb combos
• Spider-Man: India - +1 to near miss combos, 30% bonus score from combos
• Spider-Punk - +1 to attack combos, 30% greater score from running
• Spider-UK - +1 to S.H.I.E.L.D. bomb combos, 40% bonus score from defeating the boss
• Spider-X - 30% greater score from running, +1 to attack combos
• Steel Spider - 30% bonus score from combos, +1 to near miss combos
• Superior Spider-Man - +1 to attack combos, +4 seconds to combo counter
• Superior Venom - +1 to attack combos, +4 seconds to combo counter
• Ultimate Black Widow (Jessica Drew) - enemies give 30% more vials, +1 to attack combos
• Ultimate Spider-Man (Miles Morales) - +1 to near miss combos, enemies give 30% more vials
• Ultimate Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew) - 30% bonus score from combos, +4 seconds to combo counter