There is a common saying stating you will always remember your first time, implying the vividness of the encounter and the feelings erupting from the moment will forever be seared to memory. I remember my first time – the surges of rising excitement and subtle wrist motions leading to release. My hands had never worked so feverishly to hit the right spots. It was sweaty, breathtaking, and ultimately worth it. His name was Peter Parker, and his game was my first Playstation platinum trophy.
The experience was magical. As someone with an ever-expanding library of unplayed video games and diminishing opportunities to play, tackling all the challenges required to “platinum” a game is hardly feasible when I possess barely enough consistent focus to simply play a game from start to finish. The achievements akin to “Eliminate 3 enemies with 1 pistol shot” or “Finish the game on ‘Demoralizing’ difficulty in 15 minutes without taking any damage or attacking any enemies” do not call out to me as an enjoyable experience. Perhaps, if I could only play one or two games for the rest of time, I would find solace in such extensive challenges, but if I have already dumped 20-plus hours into a game and an achievement has not been completed through the course of normal gameplay, it is probably not going to happen. This is what makes Marvel’s Spider-man the perfect game…for me.
There Right Amount of Challenge
With some time investment and modest skill development, everything in Marvel Spider-Man is achievable. The trophies are structured to reward explorative, thorough, and determined play. As a consumer who appreciates lush environments that signify artists and developers crafted a digital world with love and wonder, I want to experience it. I want to find the secrets and off-the-path discoverables. Some games tuck baubles in nearly invisible nooks or locations that feel tucked behind the invisible walls of 3D environments. The Uncharted games immediately come to mind as infuriating beauties of majestic set pieces that I can explore, with what I feel is near completeness, only to discover I found a mere fraction of the possible collectibles. IF YOUR GAME IS GORGEOUS, ADVENTUROUS, AND FUN, WHY WOULD YOU NOT WANT TO ENSURE THE PLAYER SEES IT ALL?!!! I scream internally whenever I realize there are still undiscovered secrets despite my best attempt to traipse through every pixelated inch of the game world. Just like your “first time” may need some guidance, I need a game to help me experience it to the fullest. Marvel’s Spider-Man is the blessed saint of giving players a literal map of how to best experience the entire game.
Everything the player needs to reach 100% game completion (and that oh so beautiful platinum trophy) is provided in the menu. Need to discover more of Peter Parker’s hidden backpacks around the city? Find a police station, sync with the radio tower atop the building, and a new detailed section of New York City reveals itself on the map. Doing this highlights where backpacks can be found, photo scavenger hunt locations exist, and other challenges reside. All of these components play a role in upgrading Spider-Man’s abilities, gear, and unlocking new spidey-suits. Ladies and gentleman, I have never had greater appreciation for an in-game checklist. It was a step-by-step recipe for a platinum trophy.
You may be wondering if I feel the hand-holding cheapened the journey to achieving a platinum trophy. The answer is simply, “no”. I still had to play the game and play it damn well on top of investing some serious time. Unlike many games, however, I actually felt rewarded for the progress and dedication to the experience. There was not going to be anything left on the table because of a luck check or an online/competitive component (the most dreaded). I had to be creative with how I dispatched enemies and willing to experiment with new spidey tools to overcome varying challenges. When I could string combos to mow through waves of bad guys, without getting scratched, and while unleashing havoc with the flick of the wrist and delivering bone-crunching finishers, I became Spider-Man.
Online Prowess Not Required
Games that award trophies for accomplishing online feats are the bane of gaming’s existence. Online multiplayer can be a refreshing and welcome mode to expand a game’s playability. It should never never never factor into “completing” a game. There is too much variability in competition and availability. If you wait to play a game outside of its period of relative popularity, you may struggle to find an online game or square competition. In some circumstances, a game’s servers may be shuttered, eliminating any opportunity to play online and, hence, complete a game’s challenges. If a game loses the playability of a mode, it loses value – a risk of modern gaming. Marvel’s Spider-Man does not dance that dance and has no such requirement; a player must only interact with the endangered citizens of New York City. It is an introvert’s dream, as long as the New Yorkers are digital. The aim is to play the game and create an experience around playing without dependency on others.
The Great, The Good, The Less Good
Combat has crunch. The punches, kicks, and flings emit a “thud” that reverberates in sound and feel. Spider-Man’s speed and agility enhance his strength but not to the point of lethality. In the true manner of super heroes, Spider-Man will incapacitate but never eliminate. Even when swing kicking a baddie from the roof, the henchman does not plummet to his demise; he conveniently gets webbed to the side of the building. Peter Parker could not continue being the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man if he was dropping bodies from skyscrapers. Speaking of skyscrapers, swinging around New York City is an amazing experience. As Peter whips between lanes of traffic, traveling with reckless speed while dangling from the end of a string of webbing, the city comes alive, and the soundtrack amplifies to match the epicness. While there is a fast travel system, I only used it to reach the most distant ends of the map. Bounding from rooftop to rooftop or sailing between buildings is an organic part of the game that pulls the player through the controller into the game. The combat, movement, and overall feeling of being Spider-Man are great.
The game’s story is interesting and engaging with emotional peaks and valleys, humor, and clever banter. It is not a sprawling saga that rides with you, but it is effective in bringing classic Spider-Man villains together and generating feelings of despair, urgency, and overcoming tremendous odds. You care about the characters you should care about and revile those who deserve reviling. The story is good.
You play this game to play as Spider-Man, not as Mary Jane Watson or a powerless Miles Morales. Yet, the game has sections that strip away your abilities and force you to sneak around. The stealth sections slow the pace and disrupt your experience being Peter Parker. Splinter Cell is a stealth game. Marvel’s Spider-Man is not. While these missions are not terrible, they are less good.
The Escape Experience
The game is meant to be a journey for the player, keeping the player focused in the world as it develops. Each encounter builds the experience rather than being a disposable round of multiplayer shenanigans. When the credits finally roll, there is no desire to leave the world but instead continue into the next adventure and see what turn Peter Parker’s life takes or how it entwines with Mary Jane Watson. What path does Miles Morales’ life take under Peter’s tutelage? (Spoiler: we will find out in November!) Marvel’s Spider-Man is an escape, exactly what a videogame should be.
Marvel’s Spider-Man is one of the best and most complete video game experiences of my lifetime. While I do not feel the need to try out the remastered experience coming to the Playstation 5, feeling I have fully consumed what the game has to offer, I would definitely recommend the adventure to anyone looking for an action game, and I am absolutely going to play Spider-Man: Miles Morales. This was my first platinum trophy. It did not play too hard to get, accepted my early fumblings, and made the final flourish worthwhile. I will never forget it.
HobbyScope 