Write Review Price Watch

Product Features

Genre
Adventure
Publisher
Activision
Release Date
August 10, 2012
Available Platforms
Nintendo 3DS, PC, PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii

Related Items

The Amazing Spider Man

This open-world action adventure game from Beenox and Activision is set just after events which concluded the 2012 film of the same name. New York City is once again under attack; inundated with unimaginable threats from every quarter.

You will soon discover what it is to have Spider Man's supremely amazing super-hero powers. Fly freely and speedily through the New York skyline swinging gymnastically from web to web, totally unimpeded, using your natural inbuilt arachnid skill.

Keep your wits about you - there is danger all around. From minor scuffles with local street hooligans to out and out battle against your deadliest enemies you will need an assortment of tricks up your sleeve. Your adversaries will include Alistair Smythe, Rhino, Iguana, Felicia Hardy, Vermin, Scorpion and Lizard and your mission is to save New York from Oscorp's robots and experimental cross-species.

There are plenty of side-missions and mini games to keep you busy as you roam the open environment and you can make use of the Web-Rush mechanic which will enable you to traverse the city more easily. Use your highly proficient web-slinging expertise and your ability to cling to any surface to seamlessly criss-cross the city skies. Seek and destroy your targets. Save New York.

  • Matthew Brew June 28, 2012 PS3
    ****

    The Amazing Spiderman- Game Review

    So here goes another super hero movie tie-in. Plagued in the past by lacklustre gameplay, a constricted narrative and an overall lack of polish does this game once more tarnish Spiderman's name? When we think of a Spiderman game we all think about Spiderman 2 on the Playstation 2; the best movie tie-in of the last generation. Swinging through New York, dropping people off the Empire State Building, completing fun side quests and even an enjoyable narrative based upon a movie. This game is reminiscent of Spiderman 2, and breaks free of the traditional constriction of a narrative in a movie tie-in: developer Beenox managed to obtain permission to set the narrative just after the events of the recent reboot that shares the same name. So is this another Spiderman 2? Or another Spiderman flop?

    The story concerns Oscorp's involvement with cross-species experimentation, similar to the main villain of the newly released reboot: Lizard. It tells how these cross-species experiments break free and with them release a disease that spreads over New York turning citizens into cross-species themselves.  Throughout the game there is a counter of the amount of infected people in NY and gives a sense of the scale of the disease and the increasing panic and chaos it is causing. Spiderman seeks to break out the scientist who was first experimenting with cross-species and became "Lizard." He managed to produce an antidote and Spiderman hopes he will be able to do the same once again; but of course not everything goes to plan.

    Gameplay has several elements to it: combat, including stealth combat and a new system that will be very familiar to anybody who has played the Arkham series of Batman, web slinging across NY, free-roaming and upgrading Spidey's abilities and suits. The combat is clearly based on the Arkham games with a Spider sense buzz above your head indicating a button press to initiate a counter attack that looks awesome. Utilising web abilities, flips, kicks and various other moves that all flow excellently and give a very different style to Batman's strong, controlled moves with a set of more nimble and athletic ones. I really liked it and thought it worked really well, keeping me very entertained and making me feel truly like I was Spiderman. You can also use your webs to interact with environmental items, with a push of a button Spiderman will lift a large dumpster above his head and slam it down into a group of enemies with his web abilities. 

    There is also clear influence from Beenox's previous Spiderman games: in Shattered Dimensions we saw noir Spidey; a spiderman who relied on stealth and surprise rather than simple brute force. Parts of this have clearly been incorporated here, which isn't a bad thing, however they also once again clearly have influence from the Arkham Batman games. You can silently cocoon enemies with webs and further on in the game you can attach them to the ceiling and web up to two enemies at once. There is also the introduction of the new ability: "Web-rush" where you switch to first person and slow time allowing you to pinpoint exactly where you want to zip to; including the ceiling to make a quick escape. This is very useful for pinpoint swinging whilst in NY and pinpoint hiding positions; this level of precision has always been a want of mine in Spiderman games and I think it works really well. With stealth, crawling on the ceiling is a must, however when crawling on the ceiling the camera often lets you down. Providing awkward angles and some frustrating moments; but it isn't a deal breaker for me.

    With the outcry of gamers at the linear style of Beenox's previous Spiderman games, they have finally stood up, taken notice and in this iteration Spiderman is free to roam NY as he sees fit. Web slinging has been resigned with a whole new feel to it: the camera now hooks in directly behind and gives you a great sense of movement and even nausea at times. Spiderman dives through the air: spinning,twisting and gracefully gliding through NY and it feels excellent. This is probably one of the best web-slinging experiences I've had to date. Various side quests are also available throughout NY: carrying infected citizens to nearby medical facilities and preventing petty crimes to name but a few. These are fun at first but they do not evolve throughout the game, rather they merely repeat over and over and can get cumbersome.

    Beenox have also brought and almost RPG element to Spiderman through the obtainable XP and upgrade system. It is mainly webs that can be upgraded: allowing stronger and faster web powers, more varied signature moves and interaction with the environment and more of the overall feeling of being a badass. XP comes thick and fast and the upgrade system works well and is a nice addition to the sandbox formula that makes it fresh and exciting.

    Graphics in this game are also, in my opinion, excellent. After taking damage you will see that Spiderman's suit will rip, again ala Batman, and show blood and bruises giving an incredible sense of realism. This is also a nice route to guide the player to the various costumes available in the game; even including a playable Stan Lee! Buildings look realistic and the light shines off   Spiderman's suit brilliantly. There is really no better feeling that swinging through New York and perching on the top of the Empire State gazing at the city beneath you. Not all character models are brilliantly polished however, there are some voicing issues along with some occasional texture pop-in. However overall the graphics are excellent and make this game a true joy to look at.

    Overall this game recaptures the magic of Spiderman, through the redesigned web-swinging mechanic and the flowing,slick combat (even if the idea is copied from Batman) the story leaves a little to be desired but is well written enough to keep the action chugging along. Side missions become a little repetitive but it all looks gorgeous, and really you can't beat swinging through New York can you? A great game with stellar gameplay, not perfect, but definitely worth a look.