Spider-Man PS4 Review

   Spider-Man for PlayStation 4 is the Spider-Man game comic book fans and gamers alike have been waiting for since Spider-Man 2 for PlayStation 2.

Spider-Man 2 gave us open world web swinging which is something we didn’t know we needed. Spider-Man PS4 built off of that and it’s a wonder why they bothered putting in a fast travel feature.

Insomniac’s choice to keep the game separate from any movies gave them the ability to make a great story unhindered by the MCU. Since Spider-Man 2, the use of the movie's to create a game has led to sub-par titles with a limited range of villains.

    The starting point they chose was something that got me excited right off the bat. We have all seen the origin a hundred times and it's become stale and overdone.  Spider-Man PS4 is an exciting new take on Spider-Man and Peter Parker in which we see a 23 year old Peter trying to figure out how to be an adult and save the city he loves.

    Experiencing a new story for Peter Parker was my favorite aspect of the game. Seeing how Peter tried to balance both of his world of being Spider-Man and his relationships with the people that are aware of his identity was a lot of fun. It created a lot of emotion and suspense that not too many games have, especially in the Superhero genre.

    Beyond the main story,  this game has a lot of side quests to keep you busy. There are basic side missions such as helping the citizens of New York and more exciting quests that involve challenges given by Taskmaster, a character rarely seen outside of the comics. You are also given the opportunity to explore New York City and it’s landmarks which you take pictures of to earn XP. These side quests help keep the game interesting past the main story.

    The photo mode is also a really fun feature I found myself spending a lot of time on. Although I would like to see Insomniac Games add a short rewind feature in it so that I can get webheads foot meeting henchmen face, there is still a lot of fun stuff you can do. You can also post your favorite photo with PS Share.

    While this may be the best Spider-Man game in a long time, it is not perfect. A small complaint would be that the fighting can fall into a mundane strike, strike dodge, strike, pattern.  Although this can become repetitive, it’s not so bad if you try mixing in some air combat and who doesn’t like webbing goons to lamp posts and walls? In addition, some of the collectibles in the game are a little too easily found, but the sheer volume and variety of them make it worthwhile.  

    Overall this is a great game that any Spider-Man fan needs to play. I could swing around Manhattan for hours and not even touch a quest, that is how fun the web swinging is! If you can get past a little bit of repetitive battle sequences this game’s story and side quests are definitely worth a play through or two for any gamer.