| Spider-Man: Web of Shadows | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Treyarch/Shaba Games (PS3/WII/X360) Aspyr (PC) Amaze Entertainment (PS2/PSP) Griptonite Games (DS) |
| Publisher(s) | Activision |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows Nintendo DS PlayStation 2 PlayStation 3 PlayStation Portable Wii Xbox 360 |
| Release date(s) | NA October 21, 2008 EU October 24, 2008 AU October 28, 2008 |
| Genre(s) | Action-adventure, Beat em up, Platformer |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
| Rating(s) | |
| Media/distribution | Optical disc, memory card |
System requirements
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Spider-Man: Web of Shadows is a video game title encompassing three versions: a full-3D action game for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360; a 2.5D sidescrolling beat em up action game for the PlayStation Portable and PlayStation 2 (called Amazing Allies Edition), and a 2.5D side-scrolling brawler/platformer[1] for the Nintendo DS.
Contents |
At various points in the game, the player is able to choose between good and evil paths which take a fair amount of time to complete. There are multiple endings depending on how the game is played out. In addition, the player can choose which villains to fight against. The player is able to switch between Spider-Man's traditional red and blue costume and the symbiote suit at any time during gameplay.[2] Chris Scholz from Shaba Games also commented that the developers "worked on really separating the black and red suits to give the player a different feel." For example, red and blue-suited Spider-Man is fast and agile, while symbiote Spider-Man is stronger and more destructive. The mini-map on the screen is also different from the style used in previous Spider-Man games. The traditional 2-D overhead view has been removed, replaced by a new 3D map with an "X", "Y" and "Z" axis which shows the player's position in three-dimensional space (north and south, as well as vertical position). Also, as a Wii exclusive, there are 6 alternate costumes (Spider-Carnage for the black suit, and Spider-Armor, Ben Reilly, Spider-Man 2099, Cosmic Spider-Man and the Iron Spider suit for the red suit).[3]
The game begins with Spider-Man searching for Mary Jane Watson while the city of New York is infested with symbiotes. He finds her with Luke Cage but then sees a mysterious figure and is attacked. During a flashback to four days earlier, Spider-Man retells his account of how his encounter with Venom ended with a piece of the symbiote binding to himself. After the fight with Venom, a hurt Mary Jane is sent to a hospital and meets Luke Cage during a gang war. Cage explains that the Rolling Sevens and Park Avenue gangs are at war, and that their task is to bring the two to a truce. After pursuing the two gang leaders across the city, Spider-Man manages to get them to agree to a peaceful meeting in Central Park.
Outside the rendezvous point, Spider-Man discovers high-tech assassins on top of the nearby buildings. After defeating them, he traces the assassins back to the Kingpin. After a few encounters with the Black Cat, Moon Knight, Vulture, and Kingpin’s gang, Spider-Man and the Kingpin's henchmen are attacked by symbiote-controlled citizens of New York City. The police soon arrive and Spider-Man is witnessed throwing symbiote controlled people off of a building and is then considered to be a murderer.
Wolverine, thinking Spider-Man to be possessed by a symbiote, tracks down and confronts the web-slinger. After a battle, the two settle their differences and begin tracking down infected citizens. Eventually, Spider-Man finds Venom throwing people into symbiote pods, turning them into monsters. After the pods are destroyed, and the second fight with Venom, S.H.I.E.L.D. quarantines New York and sets up symbiote controlled citizen quarantine camps. Electro attacks one of the camps looking for his sister, who is symbiote controlled, and becomes infected himself attempting to help her.
Spider-Man decides the only way to save New York is to break the Tinkerer out of Ryker's Island in order to utilise his scientific genius to find a countermeasure to the symbiotes. Upon reaching the prison, Spider-Man teams up with the Rhino, using his strength to help free the Tinkerer. The Tinkerer then designs a device to be installed on the Trask Building that removes the symbiotes from their hosts without causing harm to the hosts. After defeating symbiote-infected versions of Electro, Wolverine, Black Cat, and the Vulture, (In which after the boss is defeated, the player gets a choice of either let them live or kill them in which the story changes depending on the players choice) Spider-Man activates the device and destroys all the symbiotes in New York City itself, including his own. He then responds to an attack on the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, which is infested by Venom and the remaining symbiotes.
Enlisting Moon Knight to carry him to the Helicarrier, Spider-Man, assisted his allies, sets bombs to destroy the ship, but is confronted by Venom in the form of a monstrous five headed behemoth. Spider-Man is able to destroy four of the heads, and calls on Eddie Brock to try to assist with destroying the symbiotes. Realizing the destruction that has been caused by his alter ego, Brock sacrifices himself. The symbiote monster weakens, and the Helicarrier explodes.
A week after the explosion, Spider-Man narrates about his victory on the top of a building before swinging away with Mary Jane.
The PS2 and PSP versions were released as Spider-Man: Web of Shadows - Amazing Allies Edition. These versions of the game are a 2.5D scrolling game instead of a free-roam game as on the Xbox 360, PS3, Wii and PC. Spider-Man can still switch between the Black Suit and Red Suit. There are also conversations in which you may choose what Spider-Man says, which may affect the outcome of the game. There are also fewer upgrades. The story of the game is also changed a little.
During a fight with Venom, Venom explodes, knocking Spider-Man unconscious and scattering itself throughout the city. When Spider-Man comes to, he finds that he has the black suit once again and is surprised to receive a call from Nick Fury explaining that Venom has infected the city and that S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents are quarantining Manhattan. He informs Spider-Man that he needs to help build a sonic generator that will separate the symbiotes from the citizens of New York, and Spider-Man begins to collect the necessary items. Also, Spider-man's previous encounter with the symbiote allows him to retain his sanity.
Spider-Man meets up with Luke Cage before facing the first 'infected' citizens. He finds clues of the Tinkerer's plot, and shortly thereafter is attacked by Cage. Depending on player choices, Luke will either appear infected by a symbiote or will attack Spider-Man to get the black suit off him since Spider-Man redirected a train load of infected citizens towards Luke. Through he fight, a sign of Spider-Man showing thanks for his hard work is damaged to say "Thanks Nerd" instead of "Thanks Hero". Victorious, Spider-Man heads to a warehouse where the Tinkerer is building a missile that will spread the symbiotes to other cities. Spider-Man prevents this, but Tinkerer escapes. Spider-Man manages to convince the A.I. controlling the missile to stop he count down, but has the choice of firing it at the Tinkerer for revenge. He arrives on the S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier where he helps to complete a sonic generator to stop the symbiotic invasion. However, the infected citizen they were studying got lose and began infesting the helicarrier with pods and goop. After rescuing Spider-Woman, Spidey encounters Jackal, who had been recruited by S.H.I.E.L.D. out of desperation for a brilliant mind to analyze the Venom suit. Jackal now plots to obtain Spider-Man's symbiotic suit for his own purposes. Spider-Man defeats Jackal who gives him a serum that will enhance his black suit. Jessica Drew then contacts Spider-Man informing him that the helicarrier is going down and that they have to evacuate.
Spider-Man follows the trail of the helicarrier crash, and finds that Spider-Woman has become infected by a symbiote. After defeating her and obtaining the S.H.I.E.L.D. plans, he gets a call from Nick Fury to obtain the sonic generator from the top of Fisk Tower. After making it to the top and defeating A.I.M. soldiers, Spider-Man combines the parts collected earlier to a computer, completing the generator. Jackal appears and steals the sonic generator. Spider-Man then gets a call from Spencer Smythe saying he has captured Black Cat and is using a mind-control device on her. Spider-Man is forced to defend himself against Black Cat and given the choice, he will either kill her out of disregard or save her from the mind control.
Spider-Man confronts Jackal at Central Park where Jackal states that he has modified the sonic generator to control the symbiotes. After defeating Jackal, Spider-Man makes the choice to use the sonic generator to fry or to control the symbiotes. As the device is power up, Spider-Man finds the a fountain in central park filled with goop and pods with seven serpents containing Venom's consciousness. Spider-Man manages to evade the damaging breath of Venom's breath and destroys the pods supplying his energy. After defeating Venom, the player is shown one of two endings based on their actions. If they choose good, the symbiote invasion is repelled. If they chose evil, Spider-Man enslaves Manhattan as his symbiote army.
The Nintendo DS version is also a 2.5D scrolling action brawler. Much like the console games, enemies drop exp points when defeated which can be used to purchase new moves for Spider-Man. As the player progresses through the story they will also obtain upgrades that will allow them to explore more of the open world map and eventually reach the end of the game. Many reviewers have often compared this game to the Castlevania and Metroid franchises for its similarities. At certain points in the game, the player will be need to decide which mission to undertake next, these decisions in turn will change the overall outcome of the game. This version is the only version in which Venom is not the cause of the invasion and can be your ally. This also shows the fewest number of allies: Black Cat, Venom, Green Goblin and Nightcrawler. During the game play the player can switch between the red and black suit at will with each suit having unique abilities (Red suit is more equipped for swift and dynamic movement and fast flurry of attacks while the Black suit is used for overwhelming powerful but slower attacks and devastating large masses of enemies).
The game begins with the symbiote invasion already in progress. Thinking Venom responsible, Spider-Man searches for him. Along the way he encounters Black Cat who informs him of two choices that he can be of assistance on - Nightcrawler is helping out with the evacuation and Green Goblin is setting up bombs to defeat the symbiotes. Who Spider-Man helps is decided upon by the player. After defeating several super symbiotes, Spider-Man eventually arrives at a symbiote hive where he encounters and defeats Venom. Venom informs Spider-Man that he is not responsible for the alien invasion, but was trying to stop it. He reveals that if the hive's symbiote leader is defeated, all of the infected will return to normal. With Venom now too weak to accompany him, Spider-Man decides to infiltrate deeper into the hive by himself and eliminate the leader. Spider-Man defeats the symbiote leader, after doing this, Spider-Man escapes a collapsing hive while the citizens returns to normal.
| Characters[4][5][6][7][8][9] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PC | |||
| PS2, PSP, DS | |||
^a PS2 only
^b PSP only
^c Present on Nintendo DS
On April 17, 2008, Activision confirmed that Spider-Man: Web of Shadows was in development, and that the game would be released on the PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable and Nintendo DS systems,[10] and they confirmed that the story would center around an invasion on New York that Spider-Man and the other heroes and villains would have to deal with.[11] Venom was confirmed as the main antagonist in June.[12]
| Reception | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Aggregator | Score |
| GameRankings | 70% (based on 45 reviews)[13] |
| Review scores | |
| Publication | Score |
| 1UP.com | C+[14] |
| GameSpot | 8.0/10[15] |
| IGN | 5.7/10 (360)[16] 5.5/10 (PS3)[17] 5.2/10 (Wii)[18] 8.0/10 (DS)[19] 7.0/10 (PSP)[20] 7.0/10 (PS2)[21] |
| Eurogamer | 5/10[22] |
| GameZone | 8.3/10[23] |
| Game Informer | 6.5/10[24] |
| GameTrailers | 6.3/10[25] |
| X-Play | [26] |
Web of Shadows has received mixed reviews with critics praising the idea of an original story, but citing poor polish and execution.[16] IGN also pointed out that the lock-on camera has a tendency to detach itself, making mid-air battles difficult.[16] 1UP.com praised the game as having "plenty of cool "Spider-Man" moments throughout thanks to the basic locomotion and combat", which "settles into a rhythm of repetition", summing up with "Shadows might be the best Spider-Man game yet, but that's just a testament to the series' now-mediocre standards."[14] GameSpot mentioned occasional technical issues with the graphics, sound, and camera, while praising the story, combat system, variety and "memorable" boss fights.[15] Gamespy commented "Web of Shadows manages to provide a good deal of fun even if it doesn't bring much new to the table.", praising the animation and combat, and mentioning camera problems and visual glitches along with a repetition of objectives.[27] Game Informer criticized the voice acting, camera and animation, claiming "As explosive as the new combat is, it’s all this game has to offer."[24]
The DS version of the game, in contrast to the console versions, was relatively well-received,[28][29] with reviewers praising level design similar to the Castlevania and Metroid franchises while criticizing the short length.