Look out/Here comes four Spider-Man(s): Shattered Dimensions Review
Game: Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions
Rating: T
Platform: PS3/Xbox 360/Wii/DS
Developer: Beenox
Publisher: Activision
Released: September 2010
I'm not much of a believer in the idea that as people who play video games, we're "owed" a certain amount of gameplay time proportionate to the cost based on some magical unspoken measurement system. A game can be utterly massive, boasting hundreds of hours of gameplay, but that doesn't mean that those hundreds of hours are going to be all fun; in some ways a shorter game that's good the whole way through is worth a dozen massive epics that are really tedious grindquests in disguise.
"Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions" almost made me redact this perspective.
"Shattered Dimensions" is basically about everyone's favorite arachnid-themed superhero trying to recover the pieces of a mystical artifact before its aftereffects tear the universe into pieces, which brings us to the game's big selling point-- in order to get all the fragments in question, good ol' familiar Spider-Man has to get help from 3 other Spider-Men existing in parallel universes (or 'dimensions,' if you will). There's Amazing (the classic one), Noir (the AU 1940's one), 2099 (the future one), and Ultimate (the redundant one), each boasting its own villains, art directions and gameplay mechanics.
It's certainly an ambitious undertaking, and for something like this to work two major problems have to be addressed:
1) The gameplay between what are basically four different games has to feel unified but not repetitive, and
2) equal attention has to be given to every world.
While Beenox definitely succeeds on 1 (Noir's more deliberate stealth approach being the most distinct between the other three's focus on fast-paced crowd-control), and while each universe feels fleshed out in terms of design we're not given hardly enough time to spend in any one place, which brings me to the philosophical conundrum I mentioned earlier.
The game just feels incredibly short. There are 14 missions total, including the final boss and the tutorial, which leaves 12 missions to be evenly divided among 4 worlds. And considering that each mission will take you anywhere from 30-45 minutes, this adds up to a maximum of barely three hours per universe (and that's assuming you're not playing on Easy). If the game were focused on just one universe, it would probably feel like it'd be a decent enough length, but "play as four different Spider-Men" sounds alot better as a pitch I suppose.
The flipside of this is that while it's over quickly, it's definitely quality throughout. The voice-acting and writing are fun in a very classic "Spider-Man" way (to those who still feel disappointed by any "Spider-Man" media, especially the movies, for being 'too cheesy,' I suggest you may want to actually familiarize yourself with "Spider-Man"), the art direction for each universe is consistently excellent (2099, with its 'Tron'-esque neon lighting and Ultimate with its clean cel-shading and vibrant colors being my favorites), and the combat is both flashy and satisfying. And while it's definitely borrowing from that OTHER combo-breaking great superhero game "Arkham Asylum" in terms of some of the stealth elements, the Noir universe provides a welcome break from button mashing for a more tactical approach to henchmen elimination while feeling like Spider-Man.
Actually, one thing it definitely handles better than "Arkham Asylum" is in how it utilizes its villains. While "AA" featured several famous Batman villains and they were certainly important, they felt a little disconnected from the game itself, or even underutilized in the case of Killer Croc. In "Shattered Dimensions," every level is built around a villain, capitalizing on their strengths-- Electro's level is in a hydroelectric plant, Kraven's is set in a jungle, Deadpool (in probably the most outright-hilarious section of the game) is oriented around an ego-driven Battle Royale-style gameshow-- which also ensures that while there are some gameplay trends between each level, there's a great deal of variety in what each one is calling for you to do. There's a similar rhythm each time, but the tune itself is always different, to use a rather awkward metaphor.
Also, the level design deserves some considerable note here. It's difficult for a series to transition from an open-world hub-based structure to a succession of linear stages, but while you're always moving from Point A to Point B there's alot of openness and space to your progression. It reminds me a little of the "Sonic the Hedgehog" games, actually-- always a clear goal to get to, but it's giving you some breathing room to do it in and looks great to boot.
"Shattered Dimensions" is an ambitious game, and for the most part it succeeds in being Spidey's answer to Batman's latest outing, but in some ways it does too well-- each world is so well-realized and so visually interesting that it becomes a disappointment when you find yourself swinging to a distant corner in search of collectables only for Spider-Man to hit the invisible wall and turn around, but I suppose it says a lot when the biggest issue you have with a game is that there's not enough of it.
Overall, it's undeniably fun, and that's about all you can ask for, really. Well, that and a slightly lower price.
The Good: Art direction, level design, the villains, voice-acting, the Deadpool level.
The Bad: Really short, some setpieces (rescue civilians, make them allow you to progress) get a little tired.
The Ugly: Noir!Vulture is really really fucking creepy, wonky combo timing, 'grab' and 'web strike' being tied to the same button can lead to frustration.
Rating: Z out of 4 Stan Lee Narrations
Rating: T
Platform: PS3/Xbox 360/Wii/DS
Developer: Beenox
Publisher: Activision
Released: September 2010
I'm not much of a believer in the idea that as people who play video games, we're "owed" a certain amount of gameplay time proportionate to the cost based on some magical unspoken measurement system. A game can be utterly massive, boasting hundreds of hours of gameplay, but that doesn't mean that those hundreds of hours are going to be all fun; in some ways a shorter game that's good the whole way through is worth a dozen massive epics that are really tedious grindquests in disguise.
"Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions" almost made me redact this perspective.
"Shattered Dimensions" is basically about everyone's favorite arachnid-themed superhero trying to recover the pieces of a mystical artifact before its aftereffects tear the universe into pieces, which brings us to the game's big selling point-- in order to get all the fragments in question, good ol' familiar Spider-Man has to get help from 3 other Spider-Men existing in parallel universes (or 'dimensions,' if you will). There's Amazing (the classic one), Noir (the AU 1940's one), 2099 (the future one), and Ultimate (the redundant one), each boasting its own villains, art directions and gameplay mechanics.
It's certainly an ambitious undertaking, and for something like this to work two major problems have to be addressed:
1) The gameplay between what are basically four different games has to feel unified but not repetitive, and
2) equal attention has to be given to every world.
While Beenox definitely succeeds on 1 (Noir's more deliberate stealth approach being the most distinct between the other three's focus on fast-paced crowd-control), and while each universe feels fleshed out in terms of design we're not given hardly enough time to spend in any one place, which brings me to the philosophical conundrum I mentioned earlier.
The game just feels incredibly short. There are 14 missions total, including the final boss and the tutorial, which leaves 12 missions to be evenly divided among 4 worlds. And considering that each mission will take you anywhere from 30-45 minutes, this adds up to a maximum of barely three hours per universe (and that's assuming you're not playing on Easy). If the game were focused on just one universe, it would probably feel like it'd be a decent enough length, but "play as four different Spider-Men" sounds alot better as a pitch I suppose.
The flipside of this is that while it's over quickly, it's definitely quality throughout. The voice-acting and writing are fun in a very classic "Spider-Man" way (to those who still feel disappointed by any "Spider-Man" media, especially the movies, for being 'too cheesy,' I suggest you may want to actually familiarize yourself with "Spider-Man"), the art direction for each universe is consistently excellent (2099, with its 'Tron'-esque neon lighting and Ultimate with its clean cel-shading and vibrant colors being my favorites), and the combat is both flashy and satisfying. And while it's definitely borrowing from that OTHER combo-breaking great superhero game "Arkham Asylum" in terms of some of the stealth elements, the Noir universe provides a welcome break from button mashing for a more tactical approach to henchmen elimination while feeling like Spider-Man.
Actually, one thing it definitely handles better than "Arkham Asylum" is in how it utilizes its villains. While "AA" featured several famous Batman villains and they were certainly important, they felt a little disconnected from the game itself, or even underutilized in the case of Killer Croc. In "Shattered Dimensions," every level is built around a villain, capitalizing on their strengths-- Electro's level is in a hydroelectric plant, Kraven's is set in a jungle, Deadpool (in probably the most outright-hilarious section of the game) is oriented around an ego-driven Battle Royale-style gameshow-- which also ensures that while there are some gameplay trends between each level, there's a great deal of variety in what each one is calling for you to do. There's a similar rhythm each time, but the tune itself is always different, to use a rather awkward metaphor.
Also, the level design deserves some considerable note here. It's difficult for a series to transition from an open-world hub-based structure to a succession of linear stages, but while you're always moving from Point A to Point B there's alot of openness and space to your progression. It reminds me a little of the "Sonic the Hedgehog" games, actually-- always a clear goal to get to, but it's giving you some breathing room to do it in and looks great to boot.
"Shattered Dimensions" is an ambitious game, and for the most part it succeeds in being Spidey's answer to Batman's latest outing, but in some ways it does too well-- each world is so well-realized and so visually interesting that it becomes a disappointment when you find yourself swinging to a distant corner in search of collectables only for Spider-Man to hit the invisible wall and turn around, but I suppose it says a lot when the biggest issue you have with a game is that there's not enough of it.
Overall, it's undeniably fun, and that's about all you can ask for, really. Well, that and a slightly lower price.
The Good: Art direction, level design, the villains, voice-acting, the Deadpool level.
The Bad: Really short, some setpieces (rescue civilians, make them allow you to progress) get a little tired.
The Ugly: Noir!Vulture is really really fucking creepy, wonky combo timing, 'grab' and 'web strike' being tied to the same button can lead to frustration.
Rating: Z out of 4 Stan Lee Narrations