Developed by Neversoft and released on PlayStation, Nintendo 64, Dreamcast, Game Boy Color, Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X between 2000-2002.
The game’s story sees Spider-Man on the run from the police after he is framed by a doppelganger for a crime he didn’t commit.
Voice actors from the 90s Spider-Man series and the spider-man Unlimited series reprise their roles for the game, with Rino Romano (spider-man Unlimited) voicing Peter/spider-man and Jennifer Hale (90s Spider-Man and Spider-man Unlimited) voicing Black Cat and Mj, Stan Lee narrates the game.
The reviews varied for different systems it was released on, with the PlayStation version getting the most positive reviews, while the PC and Gameboy color versions got mixed reviews.
I got this game for my 6th birthday in 2004, up till 2012 I would play it from time to time but while moving to a new house in 2012 I, unfortunately, lost the game, I remember loving this game so much when I was younger and for Christmas of last year my brother got it for me, I’ve always preferred older games over newer one’s, so I decided to play it again to see if I enjoy it as much as I did when I was young.
I’m going to be reviewing the main story mode and the what if… Mode, hope you enjoy it.
I’d also like to add that I’m playing this on a PS2 I’ve had since 2004 and not on a simulator since I have the game.
Main Story Mode
The story and dialogue are everything a Spider-Man fan loves, witty banter, humour, fights, VENOMMMMMM.
Venom is definitely a highlight of this game, having the funniest boss battles and some of the funniest dialogue, so it’s a shame that the game is only 7 hours long, which to be fair was impressive for the early 2000s.
This game even has hidden collectables, unlockable costumes, and a cheat code menu that can unlock certain things by inputting a code like big head mode (it does what it says trust me) and more including a What-if mode (which we will get into later).
Honestly, this game is a must play, yeah the swinging isn’t as good as the Insomniac spider-man games but it gets the job done and again, for an early 2000s game the swinging was ahead of its time, and yeah the face models may look goofy as fuck but it will give you that sense of feeling like a kid again, this game has a certain charm that makes you feel like you discovered spider-man for the first time all over again, and if you played this as a kid it feels like seeing an old friend again, especially when Stan Lee is narrating all the scenes and his voice hits the where it did when he was alive.
I will say though, THE LAST LEVEL STILL SCARES THE SHIT OUT OF ME, JUST RUNNING FOR MY LIFE FROM FUCKING MONSTER OCK (carnage infused with doc ock) FOR 5+ MINUTES NEARLY GIVES ME A HEART ATTACK EVERY TIME.
What If….. Mode
So what if… mode is the main story but with new dialogue, an introduction from the watcher, loads of references to other Marvel characters hidden around the level, secret sub-levels, a secret race, and silly things like one of the lizard’s henchman shitting themselves or having power plants changed to look like bananas.
There are also hidden characters you can find like the Human Torch, Ghost Rider and the Silver Surfer.
It’s a fun mode that gives you an extra 7 ish hours of gameplay but the only problem that I hope gets fixed if a remaster ever happens is being able to save and come back to where you left off as if you save in what-if mode, turn the console off and come back, then you will return to the normal main story which is annoying if you’re playing the game on a console (if your playing on a simulator then it’s not really a problem).
I’m going to give this an 8/10, for a game from the early 2000s, it’s definitely still fun to play 24 years later.
By Connor Guy
Spider-Man News 