STACK #167 Sept 2018

GAMES

FEATURE

Was there anything you approached Marvel about including in the game, and they said no? Community Director James Stevenson: "One of the members on our team was always trying to get Spider- Man to say the word ‘balls’. It would just be a reaction to things that happen; he always said it, so he kept trying to get us to get Peter to say it. Honestly though, it’s not like we have these big things we want to do, and Marvel’s like ‘you can’t do that’. They certainly have their guidelines for Spider-Man, but for us, it was all about creating an authentic Spider-Man experience, so we didn’t want to go and do something crazy and outlandish, and they’re just there to help guide us where they can and collaborate."

familiar faces too; we’ve been promised Norman Osborne and Miles Morales to name a few, and then of course there’s the nefarious Kingpin and the Sinister Six from the trailers. Spider-fans will have their hands full. It’s worth mentioning, too, that you aren’t just swinging around NYC fighting crime and taking photos of landmarks – which you could totally spend the entire game doing, if you so desired. Peter’s job as a scientist adds additional puzzle-solving mechanics – almost minigames – that keeps things fresh and ensures you aren’t just going from gang to gang, sticking people to walls and seeing who’s hanging out. You get a good helping of combat, puzzle-solving, and other mechanics littered both throughout the story and optional missions that helps keep things interesting. MJ’s gameplay is different again, with a lot of sneaking around and solving puzzles a la Lara Croft or Nathan Drake – another departure from direct crime fighting (although we did only spend about half an hour as MJ). Insomniac’s take on Spider-Man is excellent. What we experienced is a fun, light-hearted, but still serious take on the character, with rewarding combat and dedication to Marvel lore. Keep your eyes peeled for plenty of Easter eggs, take in all of a beautifully-crafted New York City, and prepare yourself for hours of truly feeling like Spider-Man. It’s Batman Arkham meets Prototype, and the ultimate reason to own a PS4.

menu there are over 20 of them. Peter earns a new one pretty quickly in the main campaign, and each suit has a unique ability; they aren’t just for looks. Suits can then be upgraded by adding to their slots, affecting how much damage you take from melee versus guns and the like. You’ll also gain skill points from levelling up, which can be spent in one of three specialisations – innovator, defender, and webslinger; essentially your gadgets, combat, and maneuverability prowess, respectively. Gadgets we mentioned earlier are also upgradable, and this is done through finding Peter’s old backpacks out in the world. Once you have ‘repaired’ certain satellites in each of New York’s distinct areas, you’ll be able to see on the map where various locations and activities are – including said backpacks. The open world is massive and there’s plenty to do when you’re not interested in the main story, or somehow get bored of just swinging around; after 2.5 hours we weren’t, so that’s not likely to happen. Which brings us to perhaps the most important part of a Spider-Man game – the web swinging. Thankfully, Insomniac have nailed it! It’s one of those ‘easy to learn, hard to master’ concepts, in that you can simply pick up the controller and press R2 to swing between buildings. But there’s more to it than that.

Pressing X will give you a little speed boost, or a big one, depending on how much you’ve upgraded it. We also discovered in the skill trees that you can unlock ‘tricks’ that Peter can do while swinging by holding down circle and triangle together, for a little bonus XP and some mad style points. The game’s story – no major spoilers here – is an impeccable balance between fighting crime as the superhero Spider-Man and embracing everyday, 23-year-old life as Peter Parker. Insomniac says that the best Spider-Man stories are the ones where Peter Parker and Spider-Man’s worlds collide, and if our early playthrough is any indication, that’s exactly what’s happening here. Early on we find out that Peter’s Aunt May is currently working at a homeless shelter owned and operated by Martin Li, who then becomes one of Spider-Man’s adversaries. As we

mentioned earlier, MJ also comes back into Peter’s life in a completely unexpected way. You’ll see other

• Spider-Man is out Sept 7

017