Ok this is a tiny bit belated, BUT RDR2 was release in too much of a close proximity for me to find time to make decent review (not that this one is).
Just like any Marvel fan, I felt like there never has been a decent Marvel video game in ages. In fact movie adaptations have a history of being commissioned to studios which simple churn out broken unfinished pieces of crap just to capitalise on the movie’s success. At least there was the Infamous series and the Batman Arkham series to make up for the lack of superhero titles, however I would have liked to see Spiderman or Ironman titles that actually worked. Thankfully Sony decided to wake up and give a Marvel project to an actual award winning development studio, Insomniac.
The Game
Here we go… The game is smooth as fuck. Like ridiculously smooth and fluid. The mechanics work as they should and web slinging feels like web god damn web slinging. When you control Spiderman and travel through New York, it feels good, it feels like what you should expect. It’s so good, that, I never even fast traveled once through the map. The environments and design feel like they came out of the Marvel film universe and they have a certain depth to them. Voice acting is spot-on and, just like the rest of the Insomniac titles, the sound engineering is bloody brilliant.
Spiderman as a character doesn’t feel invincible. There is a balance in the power he possesses and a certain reality behind the capabilities to bring down stronger opponents. Your character upgrade decisions will dictate how well you perform in certain situations and you get to develop you skills the way you want. The story-line is well written, with the narrative aspect of the game as fluent and well paced as you’d expect. The sound track of the title has hints from the Marvel cinematic universe which gives the game a sense of belonging to this entertainment universe. You get immersed in this title really quickly and rekindle with your love for your friendly neighbourhood Spiderman.
You get to see the evolution of Peter Parker, the birth of Doc Oc and Green Goblin, as well as, the introduction of Mile Morales. So many characters are present in the title like Scorpion, Rhino, Electro, Taskmaster, and more, all of which have been portrayed amazingly well.
To strike a diverse balance in the game, they introduced stealth missions featuring Mary Jane. I have to be honest and admit that I wasn’t too fond of them. But perhaps I wasn’t too fond of Mary Jane as a character, cause, in contrast, I did enjoy playing through with Miles.
All in all, this seems to be the birth of an amazing franchise which will hopefully inspire Sony to invest in more Marvel IPs. I would love to see an Xmen and Ironman title with a similar level of detail. But that might just be wishful thinking. Insomniac have once again raised the bars and exceeded all expectations. Lets now wait and see what the future holds for this studio.