Spider-Man

Spider-Man for the Nintendo 64 is a well thought out and executed game. After countless failed attempts it is good to see that Edge Of Reality delivered a solid game about the webslinger himself, containing both fun gameplay that appeals to everybody and a good story for Spider-Man fans.

The story of Spider-Man is basically something that you would expect from a Spider-Man comic book though the elements are from the popular television show, Spider-Man: The Animated Series. The story is about an imposter Spider-Man robbing an important machine at a convention hosted by Doctor Octopus, and the actions of the imposter have angered the police and Eddie Brock, also known as Venom. So Spider-Man goes out to save a few people and clear his name while he's at it. The story is told in comic book panels, due to the limitations of the Nintendo 64 hardware, so it might put off some people who were expecting the story to be told through cutscenes. And don't expect a serious story from this game. It is told in a rather playful tone and you can really tell that the voice actors are having fun throughout the game, so it should be taken in a lighthearted tone. Throughout the game there are cameos of other characters in the Marvel Universe, including Daredevil, The Punisher, The Human Torch, and Blackcat. Stan Lee, the co-creator of The Amazing Spider-Man comics also lends his voice as the narrator, which sweetens the deal for Marvel fans.

The controls in Spider-Man are solid. The moves very standard, including traditional punch and kick buttons, but also adding a web button allowing you to do a variety of moves such as webbing your fists for extra power, launching web balls, and making an exploding web dome that damages your surrounding enemies. The best part of the attack system is that the combos are very easy to pull off, thus reducing the frustration. There is also a web swinging that allows you to swing your webs almost anywhere in the game. However sometimes the controls can be a bit unresponsive, but that doesn't happen too often. One complaint that I do have is that is the crawling controls. The problem is that when you are climbing a wall, up on the analog stick is always climbing up on the wall. Even when you are on a sideways wall you have to hold up, which can get very frustrating on some levels that require quick reflexes. Another complaint is that when you want to swing your webs you only go one direction and you cannot change it, which can also be annoying in the later levels. With those complaints aside, it is apparent that Edge Of Reality knows how to handle the controls in the game very well. Also, if you have a child that wants to play the game there is a Kid Mode, which reduces the level of challenge in the game and even simplifies the controls so your child can enjoy this game too.

The gameplay in Spider-Man revolves around swinging from rooftop to rooftop and fighting baddies along the way, which leads to a boss battle. The combat can be done in a variety of ways such as beating the person up, webbing them down, or doing both. It may be a little too simple for the beat-em-up fans, but nonetheless it's still very fun. You will occasionally come across levels where you have to chase down somebody across the rooftops, which is pretty basic and not very hard. However the web-swinging mechanic can make the game feel a little cheap and in the last portion of the game the awkward climbing controls can frustrate a lot of gamers. There are also occasional puzzles scattered throughout the game, but they present no challenge for practically any gamer whatsoever. The boss battles in the game are also very fun adding the villains from the comic books and matching their personalities quite well. Many of the bosses have a certain strategy to them such as leading Rhino to crash into walls or webbing Mysterio's light bulbs scattered around his body and the battles are all quite refreshing after you fought through a crowd of regular baddies. The games challenge is fairly easy, with most of the deaths being attributed from falling rather than combat, so if you're looking upon this game just for the challenge then you better look elsewhere.

The graphics in the game are very good and it is very apparent why the developers sacrificed the cutscenes for it. Every area you are in is very colorful and great to look at. The game actually looks pretty identical to its Playstation counterpart, which says a lot, considering how the graphics in a Playstation game are generally better than a Nintendo 64 game. There are also very few bugs and glitches found in the game, so you can play the game very smoothly without coming across any problems.

The sound in this game is pretty good. When you start off the game you'll hear a reworked version of the original Spider-Man theme, which is a very nice touch. The sound effects are also fine, but nothing groundbreaking. It's just regular punch and kick sounds accompanied with the sounds of web coming out of your wrists. However the voice acting is probably the sound department's best work. You'll often hear Spider-Man making remarks (most of them which are humorous), and his voice is very close to the way Spider-Man talks in the Animated Series. The other characters in the game also have good matching voices too. The best part is that Stan Lee narrates the whole game, which is just perfect for this game.

The length of the game's single player mode is not very long, lasting you for about under six hours, but there is also a lot of collecting and unlockables. You can unlock different Spider-Man costumes, comic book covers, and a What If? Mode that alternates little parts in the game. The Comic Book Enthusiasts would probably spend a long time collecting every last comic book and unlocking all of the costumes. So that might add more hours you'll spend time with this game.

Spider-Man is just a fun lighthearted approach on a videogame on the webslinger himself. The people at Edge Of Reality have taken their jobs seriously and delivered a game that anybody can enjoy. The great controls, dialog, and unlockables make it a worthwhile purchase for any comic book fan. And if you're just looking for a fun little beat-em-up, then it is definitely worth a try.