| Spider-Man: The Movie | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Treyarch Digital Eclipse Software (GBA) LTI Gray Matter (Windows) |
| Publisher(s) | Activision Capcom (Japanese release) |
| Designer(s) | Tomo Moriwaki (creative dir.), Akihiro Akaike (lead designer) |
| Engine | Treyarch proprietary |
| Platform(s) | Nintendo GameCube, Xbox, PC, PlayStation 2, Game Boy Advance |
| Release date(s) | Windows GC, PS2, & Xbox Game Boy Advance |
| Genre(s) | Action, beat 'em up |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
| Rating(s) | |
| System requirements
PC System Requirements |
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Spider-Man is an action game based upon the Marvel Comics character, Spider-Man, and is directly based on the first feature film starring the eponymous character. It was developed by Treyarch and released in 2002 for PC and several video game consoles. The game has many scenes and villains that did not appear in the film. It was followed by Spider-Man 2 two years later to promote the release of the second film. Then, in 2007, to promote the release of the third film, Spider-Man 3: The Video Game was released.
Contents |
Peter Parker develops super-spider powers after being bitten by a genetically altered spider. The game opens with an optional tutorial, narrated by Bruce Campbell, where Peter learns to use his powers and the player learns the controls of the game and how to read the HUD. After competing in a wrestling match as Spider-Man, Peter is devastated when his Uncle Ben is killed by the leader of the Skulls gang. Peter uses his new powers to track down and defeat the murderer. Peter vows to use his powers for good and to fight evil in Manhattan. Meanwhile, Norman Osborn and OsCorp are investigating the appearance of this new hero. Anxious to develop his Human Performance Enhancer "Super-Soldier" Serum, the main goals of which are already exhibited by the super-hero, Osborn orders the capture of Spider-Man, deploying hunter-killer robots for this purpose. Spider-Man fights these robots and emerges victorious. Meanwhile, the Shocker has just robbed a bank, and is driving away with his thugs as Spidey lands, only to be hit by Vulture. Spider-Man goes after Shocker first. His battle with Shocker leads him through Grand Central Station, into the sewers and to a subway station, where Spider-Man defeats him in a climactic battle. Afterward, Shocker tells Spider-Man about Vulture's lair: an old clocktower on the Lower East Side of town. Spider-Man climbs Vulture's tower, but Vulture escapes. Spider-Man defeats Vulture atop the Chrysler Building.
Osborn's scientists tell him that now two individuals with arachnid DNA are at large in Manhattan, and Osborn orders the capture of both. Spider-shaped robots pursue a desperate Scorpion through the sewers. Peter goes down to the subways to take pictures of his battle site with Shocker, when he runs into Scorpion. After Spider-Man helps Scorpion defeat the machines, the apparently paranoid and unhinged Scorpion turns on Spidey, and they fight. Spider-Man wins, but the Scorpion escapes. Meanwhile, Norman Osborn is fired from OsCorp and takes his own untested super-soldier serum to become the forever-feared Green Goblin. Spider-Man defeats the Goblin at the yearly OsCorp Unity Day Festival. Later, Goblin confronts Spider-Man again and is defeated, but tells Spider-Man of bombs planted downtown. Spidey races against time to defuse the bombs, and is attacked again by Green Goblin, this time with deadly small devices called razor bats.
In the Xbox version only, Norman hires Kraven the Hunter after the bomb threat to capture Spider-Man; having lured Spider-Man in, Kraven poisons the web-slinger with a lethal gas, forcing Spider-Man to track Kraven through zoo corridors filled with traps before he finally confronts and defeats Kraven in a cage match in the main area of the zoo.
After studying a wing of a felled razor bat and determining that it was manufactured by OsCorp, Spider-Man goes to OsCorp to research its connection with the Goblin. He discovers that the company is producing highly dangerous chemical weapons, and shuts down the operation. After finding out that the Goblin is after Mary Jane, Spider-Man chases him down to a bridge. Here, Spider-Man has his final battle with the Green Goblin, who is impaled by his own glider. Spider-Man unmasks the Goblin to reveal Norman Osborn's face. Osborn's last words are, "Tell Harry, I'm sorry." Spider-Man replies, "I'm sorry, too." Mary Jane and Spider-Man are reunited, they kiss. Peter narrates the end of the story as the camera pans out, and he breaks the fourth wall saying "Looks like you're done here. Go outside and play." Then the game ends.[1]
Like Spider-Man (2000 video game), along with Spider-Man 2: Enter Electro,Spider-Man is a level based action game, with the player as Spider-Man. Half the levels are indoors, but the rest of the levels are outside among the sky-scrapers of New York and require him to web-sling from building to building, however Spider Man cannot land on the ground, as he will die if he gets too close. Levels are in "sections" with a different enemy for each, each section lasting about 3 levels. Each level, except for the last two, has a bonus screen after it. Generally, there are the bonuses "Time" (clear level in a set time), "Perfect" (Not take damage/detected) and "Style" (use as many combos as possible). Other level-specific ones are "Secrets" (Uncover a secret area), "Combat" (Defeat all enemies). Players can gain, depending on difficulty, points on completing these tasks. On Sidekick mode, each bonus is 500 points, Hero is 700, and Super-Hero is 1000 each.
The basic abilities are swinging, zipping, punching and kicking, web, camera lock, and the Web Mode in Enhanced Mode. Depending on how the player combines different buttons, it makes different effects. Wall-crawling is automatic, and players are also able to lift up heavy and light objects such as cars and chairs. There are 21 different combat combos which Gold Spiders are used to gain these combos, with 4 web controls, each having a type of "upgrade" to each. There is also "stealth mode", where Spider-Man is in shadow, and therefore is undetectable by enemies. This is necessary to gain extra points in the game.
After completing the story mode of the game, an unlockable bonus allows the player to play any level in the game as Harry Osborn in his father's Green Goblin costume, complete with his glider and arsenal, following an alternate timeline with Harry fighting an "alternate goblin" who claims to have been hired by Osborn, adding a slightly new feel to the story, although you are playing exactly the same levels as you do with Spider-Man. Unlockable costumes for Spider-Man include Peter Parker in his civilian clothes, the homemade wrestling outfit from the movie, and acclaimed comic book artist Alex Ross' prototype design for the movie Spider-Man costume, which also triggers the Goblin to wear Ross' early design during battles. Also a cheat code allowed players to play as Mary Jane but this was dropped from rereleased versions of the game due to the perceived lesbianism implications of scenes featuring the "player" Mary Jane and the "in-game" Mary Jane kissing.
‡ The character is a Boss.
Josh Keaton was chosen to provide the voice of Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the game. Due to Tobey Maguire taking over the role, Josh Keaton's audio was preserved by the addition of including the Green Goblin as a playable character.[2]
The critical reviews were good, with many critics at the time considering it the best Spider-Man game yet.[3] However, criticism fell on the indoor levels,[4] Tobey Maguire's voice acting[5] and bad camera, as well as the fact that it was too short and could be completed in 3 hours.[6] Even with these flaws, the game was good enough to get an 8.4 out of 10 from IGN,[5] a 9.3 out of 10 from GamePro and a 4 out of 5 from GameSpy.
High sales (two million copies of the PlayStation 2 version[7] and over 400,000 on the GameCube and Xbox[8]) were sold in North America alone, allowing the game to enter the "Best-Sellers" of each console (PS2's Greatest Hits, GameCube's Player's Choice and Xbox's Platinum Hits). It was recently promoted to "Best of Platinum Hits" on the Xbox.
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