It is a darn good game. This version of Spider-Man is a fan’s favorite interpretation of all time. Yeah, and I am a huge Spider-Man fan. This Spider-Man is most likely the second-best version (no one can beat Earth 616 Spider-Man. After all, he’s the original) and the second most skilled.
But some things bother the fans, which knocked it down a notch. Therefore, it is going to blow on PS5 very soon in 2023.
https://twitter.com/PlaySpiderMan/status/1436320138056380428?s=20&t=otJTx-alEwUMON7l6TfDFA
Negatives
Let’s get this out of the way; most of the stealth missions by Mary Jane were terrible. You played five secrecy missions with Mary Jane; in those five, only 2 of those five were terrible.
The reason is that when you play with Mary Jane, the game comes to a grinding halt, which throws off the pacing. The secrecy missions are wrong because you can run to the checkpoint, which isn’t how secrecy is supposed to be.
The only two secrecy missions by MJ were good because one offered a civilian look at how Spider-Man takes down his enemies. Moreover, secrecy is pretty good and realistic. You must do more than run across to the checkpoint. If you do, you’re screwed.
https://twitter.com/PlaySpiderMan/status/1617911247093268481?s=20&t=otJTx-alEwUMON7l6TfDFA
The other one is the last Mary Jane, and it’s when Mary Jane goes to Norman Osborn, and part of the reason that was good is that it was more intense. In this mission, Mary Jane had to find the location of the anti-serum.
The reason why it is extraordinary is that for one, she can stealth takedown. But the other thing is that the lack of music makes you feel like you are in the game with her. Not only that, but Silver’s sable was there, which made it more dangerous because she’s a scary person. It felt like you were hiding from the boss.
Now, another thing I want to point out is for the Miles Morales missions. There were excellent. There was only one lousy mission, and that was when you had to go through FEAST and Silver Sable agents.
https://twitter.com/PlaySpiderMan/status/1615759232514797570?s=20&t=otJTx-alEwUMON7l6TfDFA
The reason why Miles Morales’s missions succeeded is that you feel the intensity. When Miles Morales tries to find his dad’s body after the Martin Li attack, you can see rubble and destruction. You have to go through the wreckage, adding to the intensity and the danger of the situation. Not only that, but the supporters have supernatural powers while you’re just a regular teenage guy, which makes it more nerve-wracking.
My favorite civilian stealth mission is when Miles has to steal antibiotics from Rhino. This mission was great because it looked at how a civilian would face a tremendous armored character like the Rhino. It showed how dangerous Rhino is and made me respect Rhino and Scorpion. It was intense because this Rhino is clearly going through boxes and steel and nearly unstoppable, and you’re just an average guy.
So those stealth missions knocked hits down an entire point, and one last thing is that sometimes for fight when you try to fight this enemy. But when you hit something else which annoyed you. Sometimes you can’t beat the right enemy, which throws you off and lets you get exposed.
Now, that being said, here’s why Spider-Man PS4 isn’t just unique or spectacular. It’s the Ultimate Spider-Man game, period.
Fighting
The combat here is impressive. It isn’t just the carbon copy of Arkham games. Moreover, the battle here is its new fresh take. The fight is a fan’s favorite thing about this game.
In the Arkham games, it was satisfying because Batman beats down these goons pretty easily. He is, after all, the goddamn Batman. He is like a god of martial arts, and it was satisfying because Batman is super skilled in martial arts. It felt great beating these goons out quickly in an enjoyable way.
In this game, it is different. It was satisfying because Spider-Man isn’t a beefcake. He isn’t a martial arts expert. He’s a martial artist, sure, but he isn’t invincible. You have to be on edge when you play as Spider-Man, and if your opponents get four hits on you. You’re out. Batman can take multiple hits, but Spider-Man can’t.
https://twitter.com/PlaySpiderMan/status/1608591352564187138?s=20&t=otJTx-alEwUMON7l6TfDFA
Also, Arkham Batman can take hordes just by using his fists. Spider-Man can barely beat crowds, and that’s because he uses the environment as well as his gadgets. Playing as Spider-Man made you improvise and think during your fights, and the enemies are a bit tricker than Arkham.
Arkham’s combat is satisfying because you can beat opponents pretty quickly and feel like a badass. Spider-Man PS4’s combat is enjoyable because you barely beat your opponents, and you have to improvise and use your gadgets to win, and you hardly win.
It is all down to preference, but I prefer Spider-Man PS5.
Open World
The Web swinging in this game is incredible. Sometimes you would spend hours just hanging around New York, enjoying the view. The Open World is fantastic.
Compare this to a fantastic Spider-Man 2 video game. It is not even close. Amazing Spider-Man 2’s open world could be clearer and clearer and look more cartoonish.
And the web-swinging here is perfect. It attaches to a building and is very fluid, and you have more fun dive-bombing from rooftops just having a blast. You can even interact with New York’s civilians, making it more real.
But a game can only be great with a compelling protagonist.
Protagonist
This Peter Parker is exceptionally likable. He’s a fun guy. He’s voiced by Yuri Lowenthal, who sounds like Sasuke Uchiha in Naruto and Ben 10, Lagoon Boy in Young Justice. Yuri Lowenthal did a fantastic job. He is the definitive video game voice actor for Spider-Man.
His voice acting is so good that when Peter Parker in the game is crying, I can feel that Yuri is calling into the studio. This Spider-Man, this Peter Parker, is the literal perfect portrayal of Spider-Man.
This Peter Parker has Tobey Maguire’s sense of responsibility to face the consequences, Andrew Garfield’s quips, and Tom Holland’s youthful charisma.
I knew this character was the best portrayal in the first FRICKING scene of the game, where Peter Parker has the choice of either chasing after Fisk or paying his bills, and he has to go after Fisk because it is the right thing to do.
But seriously, the scene that affected me was, SPOILER, Aunt May died. I find it very fitting that Peter let Uncle Ben die because he was irresponsible, but he had to let Aunt May die to cure the city.
Spider-Man PS4 is a video game with a superhero protagonist.
https://twitter.com/PlaySpiderMan/status/1604130579682889728?s=20&t=otJTx-alEwUMON7l6TfDFA
And Spider-Man’s theme is just breathtakingly amazing.
Speaking of Dr. Octopus
The Villains
The Villains in this game are fantastic. Now, you find some boss battles indifferent, like the first Mister Negative fight scene. But there were others that you enjoyed (Taskmaster, Tombstone, Shocker, Dr. Octopus, and the final Mister Negative fight).
For Mister Negative, you will see his origin (in the comics, we don’t know, it’s ambiguous). But I understand and felt terrible for Martin Li. In the game, Norman Osborn created a potion called “Devil’s Breath” that can cure any disease. However, it has more risks than benefits. Martin Li was Norman Osborn’s first test subject, and when he injected Devil Breath into young Martin Li, which healed his disease, but as a result, his parents died after Martin Li accidentally exploded.
Players sympathized and felt terrible for Mister Negative. He didn’t want this, but he became too corrupted and killed innocents. But I understood why he became evil, which made him a great villain.
Now for Dr. Octopus, it’s on a whole other level.
Otto Octavius was partners with Norman Osborn. They both co-founded Oscorp. Still, when he saw what Norman did to Martin Li, he tried telling Norman Osborn to quit this procedure, but Norman refused (he wanted to create the perfect cure for his son’s failing health). As a result, he kicked Otto Octavius, and Otto became an underachiever and was forgotten. Otto was partnered with Peter Parker when the game started.
Even when I understood Otto’s motivations, I still didnt want him to become Dr. Octopus. He was so likable. Multiple scenes show how close he and Peter needed each other. Not only that, but Otto had a neural disease that made his limbs paralyzed, and he needed his robot arms to feel better, but at the cost of his humanity.
Finally, what made this game amazing is
Graphics and the story
The graphics in this game are unbelievable. They are so good, and they make you immersed in the story. The graphics are obvious and life-like, not like any husks.
The story is excellent too. It perfectly captures what Spider-Man is. Spider-Man has to find his stuff where it was thrown in the trash. Peter has to sleep in Aunt May’s house since he got evicted. He faces money and home problems. Peter and MJ’s relationship is complicated, volunteering to help people, being late for his job, hearing J Jonah Jameson talk wrong about him, having to help the city by catching pigeons, and cleaning up the air. The story has specific beats that make you like Peter Parker and relate to him. The story is just very heartwarming and genuine.
Spider-Man PS4 is the Logan (2017 film) of Video Games, while Arkham City is the Dark Knight of Video games. I would compare this game to the level of Arkham City.
In conclusion, you should buy this game. Even though the stealth missions were iffy, the combat, protagonist, graphics, open world, voice acting, villains, web-swinging, and story make this game. Amazing!
