Well, it was either this, or another post on politics. And nobody cares about that, right? Everything’s fine and dandy, with America on the upswing. We can trust everyone in office right now, and rest easy for years to come.
It’s super bad, thooooooooooooooooough.
So let’s talk about Marvel’s Spider-Man, a game whose biggest fault right now is the name. Seriously, I wish they had called it something else so a Google search wouldn’t mistake it for Spidey or Marvel Comics in general. But whatever.
Let’s get stuck in.
So I’ll be upfront about --
So I’ll be upfront about me and the new Spider-game. No, I haven’t finished it. I probably won’t for a while; my brother’s been grinding it out with pretty much all the major PS4 releases in the past month or so, with whoppers like this Spider-game and Dragon Quest XI, on top of his (stalled and failed) endeavor of clearing the Kingdom Hearts games in anticipation for the third chapter, on top of his standard grind of fighting games. As I type this, I can hear him landing 2Hs and Vanishes in Dragon Ball FighterZ. And it’ll only get worse before it gets better, given that Valkyria Chronicles 4 is out now and he -- and I -- will have to put time into that.
I mean, I guess I could put in more hours if I game in the morning. But if I’m going to try and squeeze in extra time, it’ll be for that whole “fulfilling my dreams and ambitions” thing I’ve got going on. Novels don’t write overhaul themselves, you guys. So as much as it pains me to admit it, I’m not that far into Marvel’s Spider-Man. The most impressive thing I’ve done so far is beat Shocker in the bank. I haven’t even gotten a whiff of Mr. Negative.
Also, I just remembered I never played more God of War. Or Yakuza 6. Oh, Yakuza. If only I could do you right…
Viewed strictly as a game, Insomniac’s latest is a good one. It’s another you could throw on the open-world sandbox pile, which means it has the familiar trappings: sprawling map, towers to activate, loads of little side missions and objectives to pad out time, etc. If I was playing this game as another schmuck with a gun, then I wouldn’t have bothered with this post. But making The Emissary from Hell Spidey the star makes all the difference.
The sheer breadth of mobility options means that travelling through virtual New York is a snap. Horizontal and vertical traversal aren’t just on the table, but more or less required in combat and out of it; having those extra dimensions adds depth, but also speed. Getting to those objectives on the map isn’t a problem when you can utterly ignore crowds, hazards, traffic, and/or cars that control like bathtubs on wheels. Plus, web-swinging is simple enough to grasp, but there’s a slight skill element to it. So while holding R2 is enough to get you from A to B, mastery of all of Spidey’s mechanics rewards you with greater thrills than the bare basics.
Also, you don’t take fall damage, so feel free to jump off the Empire State at your leisure.
Probably the best thing about the combat (besides it basically being Devil May Cry 5 six months in advance) is that it’s got one major deviation from the Batman Arkham games, even if they share similar DNA. There, Batman could hit a button when prompted to counter an incoming enemy -- not always enough to do fight-ending damage, but still enough to A) hurt a foe, and B) gain a decisive advantage. Here? Spidey can dodge incoming enemies, and only dodge. Relatively speaking, given his breadth of combat options.
Batman’s counters are problem-solvers, while Spidey’s dodges are problem-delayers. You still have to do something about multiple enemies, on and offscreen, who can actually put up a decent fight. Since a number of tools in Spidey’s kit are about single-target damage and combos (in the early game, at least), it means you have to be extra careful about who you fight, when, and how. Otherwise, you’ll take extreme damage from the brutes that prowl the streets -- one of which hammered me into a wall and made me moan “Ow-ha-howwwwwwwwwwwwwww…whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy?”
I’m in no position to talk about the story, so I won’t. With that said, there’s a specific reason why I wrote this post, and it’s not just to brag about that time my Spider-combos glued a thug to a wall ten feet above me. Also, let’s not talk about the fact that Spidey is a super-casual murderer in this game -- unless the crooks of New York have reinforced necks that can withstand kicks from a superhuman that’s taken on Thanos and lived. (Briefly, depending on which canon you pull from.)
Spider-Man is one of the most popular superheroes ever. Ever. I don’t know the rankings exactly, but last I heard? He was in the top 3 alongside Batman and Superman. It’s no surprise, then, that there’s been a proverbial custody battle between movie studios over who gets to make more Spidey movies -- because whoever owns the rights has the privilege to use the web-head to stuff their pockets with cash. People love Spider-Man, but I could never pinpoint exactly why.
Until now, that is.
Don’t get me wrong. It’s not as if past versions of me would look at Spider-Man and then suddenly be compelled to spit in derision. I’ve been on board with the web-head since I first became cognizant of him at age six. It’s just that he’s never been my favorite superhero. He still isn’t, if I’m being honest. Captain America still takes that title (though these days, Doctor Strange is climbing up the rankings). But thanks to this new game, I have a stronger appreciation of the character -- even if it’s just a fleeting interpretation of the classic wall-crawler.
Why do people like Spider-Man? I’m sure there a lot of valid reasons, both as a mirror and refutation of other heroes. He’s a good guy, but he’s flawed. He’s strong and cool, but not invincible. He’s just like me, but different. And so on, and so forth. Some people probably use him for projection and wish fulfillment (he’s been near more Black Cats than we mere humans ever will), and that’s okay, more or less. Some people probably look at him as a walking set of neuroses and foibles (the so-called “Parker luck” that gets people near him killed), and pity him accordingly. That’s okay too, more or less. Or maybe it’s just the fact that he’s more identifiable -- that as a street-level hero on most days of the week, he’s more grounded and identifiable. Fair enough.
You want my take? Thanks to Marvel’s Spider-Man, I know why I like the character more than ever. Why I want to see this interpretation as widely-spread as possible.
Spider-Man is a fucking nerd, and it’s great.
It’s not as if Peter Parker has ever turned his back on science. Pretty much every iteration I’ve seen (not counting The Amazing Spider-Man and its take, because I haven’t seen those movies personally) has made his interests, pursuits, and talents an important part of his character. Still, it’s so nice to see in the flesh, and in this day and age. Now that I think about it, maybe it’s not so much that stuff like the comics or the movies have let down on that front. I mean, the MCU’s version makes Peter out to be the socially awkward/pop culture nerd, but not so much that it overpowers his intelligent side.
That’s not to say that the socially awkward nerd element isn’t a part of this Spidey, either. He’s a wisecrack machine in-costume, but the game goes to great lengths to show that the mask lets him take on a persona (and show a concealed side of himself, arguably); once he’s back in his plaid button-down and jeans, he’s all too capable of tripping over his own tongue. The thing that I like about this iteration is threefold. Yes, I absolutely adore the fact that he’s got an appreciation of science, technology, and the like. It’s not superficial, either. In-costume or out of it, you can tell he’s eager to fawn over anything and everything involving wires or chemicals. It’s actually kind of endearing.
That feeds into my second point. Through a combination of the writing and voice acting (good job Sasuke Yuri Lowenthal), you can really get a sense of how earnest Petey/Spidey is about science. It’s endearing, for sure. Subtextually, it’s a way to show that there’s more to the world than just being able to punch a bad guy really, really hard. And in case you missed that subtext? Peter goes out of his way to explain that science -- and his research, by extension -- might in fact be more important than his work as Spider-Man. That with enough effort, knowledge, and trust in his work, he’ll be able to do more in a lab coat than he ever could in spandex. He’s not wrong. I’m so happy that the game (and its developers) acknowledge that.
Here’s the real kicker, though. Insomniac’s take on Spidey is great, because it fills a niche that the game industry has overlooked and left under-filled for ages now. Spider-Man being a good guy -- a nerd who cares about science in the same way Captain America cares about…America -- is a rarity in the western AAA space. He’s kind, earnest, awkward, intelligent, and more. That’s uncommon for open-world sandboxes, I’d bet. I mean, remember how hard Ubisoft tried to push Aiden Pearce with his “iconic” hat and whatnot?
There’s a world beyond punching the bad guys that I wish more games -- especially the big ones that get the most eyes and sales -- would readily acknowledge. And when I say “a world beyond punching the bad guys” that includes stabbing, slicing, shooting, throwing, running over with assorted vehicles, or otherwise exploding. Even if we overlook the means with which a lot of video game leads solve problems, there’s still the matter of attitudes. 2018 Kratos is a better character than he’s ever been, IMHO, but his gruff and tough nature (despite its tweaks) isn’t exactly a rarity in the industry. Insomniac’s Spidey is.
Chalk that up to personal preference. And probably generalization; I’m sure there are some examples that the four of you reading this could expound upon in the comments. But as I’ve said before, I’d rather have a character who gives a shit about something (besides revenge, Ubisoft) and strives for it day after day than another crusty, cynical dullard. Generally speaking? This version of Spider-Man has an edge -- because whether he’s in the suit or out of it, he fights his hardest to be a hero.
But being a nerd helps, too. Immensely so.
There we go. Another one down. Now, are there any more heroes I need to tackle? Let’s see…nothing for Superman. Nothing for Batman. Nothing for Cap. No, I think I’m in the clear. Guess it’s time to focus on something else.
I mean, Gundam Build Divers just wrapped up (I hope), so I might as well write about that. But man, I’m not looking forward to --
Oh my God, thank you Deku. And I’ll be seeing you soon.
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