Review: Amazing Spider-Man (Xbox 360)

By Wayne Webb

The Spiderman Video games are much like the movie franchise; they have been good, excellent even at times and now there’s a new version, which turned out to be just as good (maybe even better), than the original. The same is true of the game series, Spiderman 2 was a great game, and Spiderman 3 was more of the same, Amazing Spiderman is as good if not better than 2.

The game takes place after the events of the latest Spider-Man Movie – so spoiler alert if you have not seen the movie there are major plot points revealed in this game.

So the villain from the movie, The Lizard, is vanquished but in the game he’s now on your side and helping clean up the mess he made with cross breed species, of which Spidey is one. You can follow the plot, peppered as it is with missions, humour and loads of fighting, or you can take your time and explore Manhattan, web swinging around and collecting things like comic books and stopping random crimes and side missions that have little to do with the main story.

The new look design is in line with the Andrew Garfield Spider-Man, even though the voice and wisecracks seem a little more Tobey Maguire at times. The controls for fighting and swinging have been altered as well and fans of the old system will need to adjust. Mostly they are fluid and can be utilised quickly in combat allowing a smooth and effectively brutal fighting style. They can work too rapidly at times and you can end up hitting the wrong button in a split second and be retreating unexpectedly. You will need to get this right through practice, as there is a lot of fighting to do. For me it got a little tiresome wading through enemies and robots to get to the story elements.

Plenty else to do around the high rises and it’s a joy to just web swing about to massive heights and explore the city while collecting various objects and intervening in city life as a registered bona fide hero. It does seem like downtown Manhattan is a hot-bed of crime and willing victims but that’s Spidey’s bread and butter right?

The niggles about control and speed of fighting aside this is a great game to get lost in and spend the time exploring. If you loved Spider-Man 2 or 3 games, then this version is a variation on that theme with some welcome improvements.

Pros: Fun and engaging campaign, loads to see/do/collect, good fighting mechanic, excellent web swinging around Manhattan, Fun just being Spidey.
Cons: Combat repetitive, occasional control issues

4.5 Shacks Out Of 5

 

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