Spider-Man ‘X’ List - Spideys 9 Greatest Gaming Hits & 1 Biggest Miss

by Michael Bencic on October 16, 2007 at 12:27 pm

I handle my lists a little differently than many websites/magazines. I call the lists “THE X LIST”, X as in Ten, giving you a list comprised of nine hits (with Spidey as the main character or at least a featured player), and One ENORMOUS miss.

Even though Spidey may be a hero in the funny-pages and in our hearts, only a handful of his games have become full-on classics. However, if you attended high-school during the 90’s, much of this list will have a special place in your web-entangled hearts.

Now, for your viewing pleasure, in celebration of Activision’s Friend or Foe, is Spider-Man’s nine greatest video gaming hits, and unfortunately, his one biggest miss!

9. The Amazing Spider-Man (Released: 1991, Nintendo Gameboy, LJN)
There may be better games than this on the original Gameboy… or any system for that matter, but this was the first REAL Spider-Man game that began the pure onslaught of Marvel Entertainment-related simulators that would follow over the next 16 years. Gameboy was the hip, cool toy during that era and this was the game to have! Not only was this the first to feature all Spidey’s powers and popular villains, it also played the theme-song from the 1960’s animated series in stunning stereo sound! All in glorious green and green-er graphics!

8. Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage (1994, SNES/Genesis, Acclaim)
During the mid-90’s Acclaim was EA. They were releasing one licensed hit after another, gobbling up smaller companies (like Spidey’s LJN) in their path. Marvel was attempting to promote the bastard child of Venom, Carnage. Grooming Carnage as the next big villain/franchise event of comic books. Thus, Acclaim released Maximum Carnage (the game) towards the end of the comic-crossover event. A better than average side-scrolling Final Fight wannabe where you could play as Spider-Man or Venom. An unusual marketing scheme, Carnage fans who placed a deposit received an audio-tape music single by the band Green Jelly… god we were stupid.

7. Spider-Man (2000, PSOne/Dreamcast/N64, Activision)
Before the movies and merchandising madness that followed the films, Spidey still had to prove himself as a profitable (and fun) theme in the entertainment world. Along came Activision and Neversoft (hot off the the success of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater) with a game that gave fans what we always desired… thwipping and swinging on webs through NYC, clinging to ceilings, and thwarting the attempts of bank-robbers in a real 3-D world! Any game that features a Doc Ock /Carnage-symbiote and Stan ‘The Man’ Lee narrating is a geek-feast.

6. Marvel Super Heroes (1995, Arcades, Capcom)
First came X-Men: Children of the Atom. When Capcom realized the Street Fighter engine could milk the 2D quarter-dumping arcade geeks better with a Marvel license, and thus came a ton of cross-overs, and amalgamations. X-Men Vs. Street Fighter. Marvel Vs. Capcom. Marvel Vs. The Lochness Monster. The Capcom That Ate Chicago. With more sequels, the difficulty was continuously turned up a notch, thus alienating those who fell in love with the simplicity, grace, gorgeous 2-D sprites and fun-factor of the original classic. Released a year later on the PSOne, prepare to drop $50 on a used eBay copy. I should know, mine just arrived. Thank you PS3 backwards compatibility!

5. Marvel Super Heroes: War of the Gems (1995, SNES, Capcom)
Despite ignoring their own abilities to bring amazing Arcade-ports to the SNES (Street Fighter Alpha 2, etc.) Capcom created a whole other (and very enjoyable, at that) Marvel game for the 16-bit home console. This side-scrolling 2-D adventure game was based more directly on the ‘War of the Gems’ comic book series. Featuring Spidey, Cap. America, Wolverine, Hulk and Iron Man (not to mention evil-clones of the Silver Surfer, Daredevil and Sasquatch). Popular due to (once again) a distinct Capcom art-style/graphics, and fun play mechanics established in X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse the year before.

4. Spider-Man (2002, PS2/Xbox/Gamecube, Activision)
Based on the Sam Raimi masterpiece… wait, that’s Evil Dead 2. Based on the Sam Raimi comic book masterpiece… oh wait, that’s Dark Man. Ok, based on the FIRST Raimi-Marvel collaboration, Spider-Man is loosely designed around the PSOne hit, but with vastly improved graphics and control. While the N64 had Stan Lee’s voiceover, the Gamecube featured Bruce Campbell leading the player around by the ear. Which is the geekier fan service? You decide.

Groovy.

3. The Amazing Spider-Man (1991, Arcade, Sega)
Memories. Pressed between the pages of my arcade-loving mind… More Side-scrolling-punch/kick/jump affairs spun directly from the success of Konami’s 1990’s multiplayer, highly-addictive hits (The Simpsons, TMNT, X-Men w. 6-players).

Sega had similar success with the classic Golden-Axe. Spidey pushed limits with not only beautiful animation, but a new graphic trick that zoomed the camera in and out changing the action from a Street’s of Rage-type standard to quasi-Mario/16-bit era platforming levels where our hero and his Amazing Friends would take on gigantic bosses (like a mutated Venom). Featuring one of the best line-ups of Spidey-Haters ever. Venom, The Kingpin, Doc Ock, Electro, Lizard, Scorpion, Green Goblin, Hobgoblin, and Fantastic Four nemesis, Dr. Doom. However (Black Cat, Namor, and Hawkeye are quite lame compared to the Amazing-one, causing a fevered race by buddies towards the machine for the Player One slot.

2. Spider-Man 2 (2005, PSP, Activision)
While the Playstation 2 movie version was the first GTA-open world Spider-Man game, the PSP launch title was more directly based on the story of the film, and showed us great potential for the pocket-powerhouse. While the big-console-brother broke new ground for super-hero freedom of control and web-powers, it also had frustrating boss fights and in-door areas that spun the camera with dizzying side-affects. The PSP game continued the legacy of the PSOne original, which was perfect for the new system.

1. Ultimate Spider-Man (2005, Xbox/PS2/Gamecube, Activision)
I fear Activision may have sealed their fate with Ultimate Spider-Man, since it is the finest simulator to date and will be a challenge for developer Treyarch to top if they decide to continue the legacy. Based on the comic book series of the same name, USM perfected the New York City (and Aunt May’s neighborhood of Queens) open world playground established in the Spider-Man 2 console games. Which is the reason why SM2 is not on the list, despite being a very competent game in it’s own right. Cell-shading separated Ultimate even more from it’s movie-tie-in’s.

All the art in the game is based on the illustrations of Ultimate-comic’s 100-issue strong Mark Bagley, and look phenomenal. If you play this game on an HDMI-enabled Xbox 360, it looks absolutely flawless and stands proudly along side newer, next-gen titles. The animation for the main characters is outstanding, which includes Venom on secondary quests. While Peter has all his usual repertoire (but with flawless controls), Eddie Brock isn’t an afterthought. In fact, his levels (even though in slightly less open streets) are outstanding with different moves and controls than Web-Head. Venom is more of a Hulk-like monster, who can jump completely over buildings, pick up and throw vehicles, latch onto civilians to suck their energy, etc. Almost all of the levels are outdoors, thus avoiding the horrid claustrophobic camera angles of past 3D adventures.

The only drawback is the slight repetition of a few Spider-Man 2 ideas (races) and that some of the Ultimate-villain designs may not be as recognizable to casual fans (the Green Goblin is an actual goblin-type mutant in the Ultimate-Universe, as opposed to the Rubber suit of the classic comic or Armored incarnation of the film). This game is readily available second-hand for about $10, and is compatible with all current-gen hardware, so there’s no excuse. Find Ultimate Spider-Man, go for a swing around town, and cross your fingers that Activision makes an even more impressive sequel for the PS3 before a fourth movie ruins the franchise.

And now for the worst…
This Dog Bites: Finding a Spidey-stinker wasn’t difficult, but there’s a difference between the worst game, and the most disappointing. Disappointment, in my opinion, is even more painful.

On that note, Spider-man 3 (the game) really brings the pain. The game misses the target on almost all levels—somehow, the controls aren’t as responsive as Spider-Man 2 or USM, which makes no sense since the assets are already in place from the previous games. The story is even more convoluted than the film’s.

Then there’s the interactive cinema sequences, which scream “We are too lazy to make a fighting engine as good as the original movie-game.” Rumour has circulated that too many cooks in the kitchen (Sony, Sam Raimi, Tobey McGuire, Marvel) screaming their input over each other may have been the explanation for this dud. Game politics are fun to read, but shouldn’t be rewarded with hard-earned cash.

The movie may be forgivable on some levels, what with Cayenne-spicy Gwen Stacy, the evil (but under utilized) Venom/Sandman 1-2 punch. This game, is exceedingly boring. I would rather sit through another Aunt May speech. “Blah blah blah Uncle Ben is dead blah blah marriage blah blah be Mary Jane’s little bi-otch”. AVOID.

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