(Spoilers ahead)
(I beat the game a few weeks ago, but finally finished the blog. I'll play DLC at some point this fall)
I just completed a huge boss fight against a ghostly character that had major story ramifications, and I exhaled quite a bit. But I had a sense that it wasn't the end of the game, and I was afraid the ending would be a little anticlimactic.
Boy, was I wrong.
As I'm licking my wounds and heading back to my lab, a game prompt pops up and lets me know that this is my last opportunity to change my gear and upgrade my abilities. Oh boy, this is it, and it's going to be great! I love when game designers give the players the chance to do this before triggering the end of the game. I then kicked off the final cutscenes, then faced Doc Oc in a fantastic showdown to bring a highly satisfactory conclusion to an amazing game. Though Spiderman on PS4 certainly has its issues, it's a thoroughly enjoyable video game with high production values, a high-quality story with dramatic moments, and plenty of that oh-so-important "cool" factor.
Starting with the good, the most obvious one is the quality of the presentation. The cutscenes, production values, single-camera action, dramatic moments, and the voice acting all meet the high standards I'd expect in a Marvel video game. You know the video game is willing to go as over-the-top crazy as its cinematic counterpart when Spider-Man chases a helicopter in between skyscrapers. That scene led to an epic moment with a crane and Spidey's web, as well as some humorous lines to close out the scene. There were so many other great scenes that really looked good on my 4K TV. The movement and facial expressions of the characters had plenty of great detail. I know a lot of hoopla was made about the lighting and textures, especially with the water (those reddit losers should be banned from the internet). Rest assured, the visuals look pretty high-quality throughout the game.
The story was pretty good, though a bit predictable. But for a video game story, it definitely had depth, turns, and a strong pace, which isn't common for big open-world video games. One of the best characters of the game, though, was the city itself. The mechanic of finding new crimes every few minutes to help stop seems to be polarizing, but I personally love that idea. It makes everything feel alive, not static. Not to mention the radio - I left Jameson's station on all game, and it was sheer entertainment the entire time, if not a little too long-winded for its own good. And Spidey had his own Twitter feed! Too cool.
The story felt like it spilled into the world all around you. The primary villain Li (Mister Negative) had his goonies all over the city, and they evolved as the story progressed, which was cool to see. You start out helping policemen, but later, a specialized unit of elite soldiers start popping up, and it's hard to tell if they're on your side. The story always had me worried about what was coming next. Then when the other villains started showing up, the stakes continued to escalate.
Starring an older Peter Parker made so much more sense than using the high-school Peter Parker. The game utilized night and day cycles. The struggles and triumphs he experiences with Doctor Octavius needed more maturity than a teenager realistically could match up to. There were plenty of situations where a child just wouldn't have stood a chance in the battlefield, as well, even if it is Spider-Man. The choice in age allowed for a more down-to-Earth relationship with MJ, especially since they've already tried it once. The scene with him cooking food at her place had plenty of fun that isn't suited for a child. It was fun seeing mid-20s-aged Peter and MJ care about very serious, real-life situations, like helping the homeless or using real reporter skills. And of course, Miles Morales faced quite the challenging experience of losing his father. His scene of crawling through rubble and fire was an extremely blood-pumping, intense moment. One of so many throughout the game.
Having said that, it's perhaps ironic that I didn't really like playing as the other characters. Well, definitely not as much as I had to. Those are tough moments because you're given a character that you haven't invested anything into, so I know I'm not going to get to do too much. And it's not like the missions were all that bad; quite the contrary, they had plenty of drama. I just felt each one was a bit jarring to the pace of play, and most of them overstayed their welcome ever so slightly.
The overworld has been criticized for being boring, but honestly, most overworlds of games this size show strains at the seams any way you slice it (I say this right before Red Dead 2 gets released, so there's a possibility I'm wrong there), especially when the overworld is a real-life city and not a fantastical futuristic colony or a fantasy-style Earth. The photo mode definitely helped with that as you got to see different angles and fun effects. I loved the comic-cover mode most of all. There were plenty of collectibles to keep you busy, but I enjoyed the photos to find. It had a puzzly element to it. Speaking of puzzles, I enjoyed the wire-crossing stuff, but it got pretty repetitive after a while. I'm glad they put in some of that stuff, though. It was a nice chance-of-pace.
What was not repetitive, and what is a prime example of a good leveling system, was the combat. There are just so many moves, gadgets, suit abilities and loadouts, it was refreshing to try them all out. I did find myself sticking to a few key sets of combos and moves, but the variety of enemies and situations forced me to think differently throughout the game. I appreciated needing to know how to fight snipers, how to utilize stealth, and when to use suit abilities and gadgets to maximize their effect. I felt more and more powerful as I unlocked more, yet I never felt the game was too easy or the fights too repetitive.
There are a few other things I could nitpick, but this truly is a fun, fantastic game that doesn't deserve to be deterred. I can't wait to visit this world more when the DLC packs are released.