A great game that could be a lot better...
The game is very solid and well done. When comparing the the Playstation classics we can already say that this is a huge improvement. The swinging has been redone so that you can go anywhere in the level. Unlike the previous titles where you automatically swung to a building without much free will. And you can speed up the swinging by holding down the swing button, all the way down.
The combat has been improved as well. Smoother animations and reactions to you have been added. Along with combos you can pull off. To get a new combo you have to find it in a level. The combos are cleverly hidden and it can take a while to find them. But it isn't always worth it to find them. The enemies are a bit repetative with the same thugs attacking and the same robots but overall it is nice.
The level design has been highly improved over the PS1 titles. It is much more like a real city. You can swing low and see a bunch of 2D sprites acting like a real city. You can't go to the streets though. And if you fall too much you will hit the ground and die.
Zipline has also been improved. Remember the Playstation titles zipping to the ceiling and back. Or from wall to wall? Well now you don't have to be on the wall to zip forward. Just run in a direction and press the Zip button and you will zip forward! And you can now zip up buildings for quicker climbs! They also added the ability to hang on a web upside down! This is dubbed "The Yo Yo" by the narrator of the Tutorial, and all help Icons, Bruce Campell.
The Tutorial mode has been improved as well. It is no longer just a bunch of tutorials teaching you how to swing or to zipline. This time they added a basic tutorial! Just teaching us the basics so we can get to playing! Yes we still get the swing tutorials and zip tutorials but it is nice to not have to go through each tutorial to learn the basics.
The graphics of the game really are amazing. From far away for some things. The buildings look amazingly real and so does Spiderman. However if you get too close to Spiderman he won't look right anymore. The green Goblin looks close enough to his movie likeness. Not 100% but close.
Other characters, such as the Shocker and Vulture, are done very well. Mary Jane Watson however looked nothing like the movie version of the character and was surprisingly horrible. But most of the characters, and items, and robots just look amazing.
The sound is great but the music is not. The music is not good and it gets boring to listen to after about half hour of playing. The sound effects, and wacky lines from Peter Parker, are very good. All of the voice actors did excellent in this game. And the sound effects are nice and clean.
The replay value in the game is amazing! There is so much to do! The CHEAT mode allows for play in ways like never before! You can play in First Person view and play under other characters skins! And the biggest secret to find is beating Hero (Hard) or Super Hero (Very Hard) modes. I won't spoil this one for you.
Overall the game is an enjoyable experience with some bugs. And I will forever be wondering why, in one level, the word CHAOS was written in the skies. Better then it's Playstation Predecessors this is one game Spider-Man fans and people just looking for a good adventure game will want to pick up.