Spider-Man Review

Games based on superheroes are nothing new. Indeed, they have been around since the days of Superman on the Atari 2600. That being the case, by the time the Genesis came around, they were well established. One of the many superhero games to find its way onto the Genesis was Spider-Man. But is it a game worth playing, or is it among the underwhelming majority of games based on superheroes? Read on to find out.

Graphically, Spider-Man looks pretty nice. The environments of the game look very appropriate, almost as if they had come straight out of a Spiderman comic book or cartoon. The game features six levels: a Laboratory, a Construction site, Brooklyn Bridge, Coney Island, a Penthouse and Ravencroft Asylum. The characters are detailed and well-designed also. Granted, this game does not push the Genesis hardware to its absolute maximum, but the game does not look bad at all. The sound likewise is decent and sounds appropriate for a game starring Spiderman, but neither the music or the sound effects are particularly awe-inspiring.

In terms of gameplay, Spider-Man is an action platformer. Spiderman has a diverse yet appropriate diversity of actions that he can take. He possesses the ability to grab walls and ceilings, he can websling, he can jump and move, and he can attack with physical attacks or by firing pieces of webbing at his enemies. This moveset makes for a game that is true to the Spiderman character, and most all of the things Spiderman can do in this game will be useful at one point or another within the game.

The plot revolves around Kingpin placing a bomb in the city and blaming Spiderman for it. So Spiderman has to travel all around the city trying to find a way to defuse the bomb before it goes off and prove that he is innocent of having set it up in the first place. Along the way Spiderman will run into many of his other enemies. Granted, this is not much of a plot, but it does explain why Spiderman is running around.

The major gameplay element that is affected by the plot is the time limit. You have a clock of twenty-four gametime hours in order to get through the game. If you die, you can continue, but you lose time every time you have to do so and have to return to the beginning of whatever level you were in. The game also boasts four different skill levels in which it can be played, although not all levels are accessible in all of the skill levels.

Suffice it to say that this is a fun game, but it is not the type of game that you are going to go back and replay a lot of times. Maybe you would play it a couple extra times to be able to beat it at the highest skill level, but after doing that, the replay value of the game will diminish significantly. Due to the time limit, the game is not overly long either. Still, if you can find the game at a reasonably low price, it is fun enough to be worth considering.