Spider-Man (2002 video game)
Spider-Man is a 2002 action-adventure video game based upon the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man, and is loosely based on the 2002 film of the same name. The game was developed by Treyarch and published by Activision, and released in 2002 for Game Boy Advance, GameCube, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, and Xbox. The game expands on the film's plot, featuring scenes and villains not present in the film.
It was followed by Spider-Man 2 two years later to promote the release of the second film. In 2007, to promote the release of the third film, Spider-Man 3 was released. Tobey Maguire and Willem Dafoe reprised their roles from the film.
Gameplay
Like the 2000 Spider-Man video game, along with , Spider-Man is a level based beat 'em up video game, where the player takes on the role of the superhero Spider-Man. While most levels are indoors, there are several levels set outside, among the sky-scrapers of New York and require the player to web-sling from building to building, as falling will result in Spider-Man's instant death. Levels use a scoring system that covers more aspects, such as "Time", "Perfect" and "Style". Some levels have other specific aspects, such as "Secrets", "Combat", and "stealth". Players can gain, depending on difficulty, points on completing these tasks. On easy mode, each bonus is 500 points, normal is 700, and hero is 1000 each.The basic abilities are swinging, zipping, punching and kicking, dodging, web, camera lock, and the Web Mode in Enhanced Mode. Depending on how the player combines different buttons, it will have different results. Wall-crawling is automatic, and players are also able to lift up heavy and light objects such as cars and chairs. There are 21 different combos, which are unlocked by collecting Gold Spiders, with 4 web controls, each having a type of "upgrade" to each. The game also features stealth segments, where Spider-Man can hide in the shadows and remain undetected from the enemy. While the game is primarily in third-person, a cheat code allows players to switch to first-person view.
Completing the story mode on each difficulty unlocks different bonuses, namely alternate skins for Spider-Man: completing it on at least easy unlocks Peter Parker in his civilian outfit and Spider-Man's wrestler costume; on at least normal, Alex Ross' prototype design for the movie Spider-Man costume ; and on at least hard, the Green Goblin. Unlike the others, the Goblin plays entirely different from Spider-Man, replacing his web-based abilities with gadgets, such as his signature glider, pumpkin bombs, and razor bats. If playing as the Goblin in story mode, while the levels remain unchanged, the narrative is different, and follows Harry Osborn as he becomes the Goblin after his father's death and investigates a secret plot involving OsCorp, while facing off against another Goblin, who claims to have been hired by Norman Osborn.
More playable characters can be unlocked through cheat codes, such as the Shocker and Captain George Stacy, though they serve only as alternate skins for Spider-Man and play similarly. Mary Jane Watson was initially planned to be unlockable through a code as well, but was dropped due to the perceived lesbianism implications of scenes featuring the player kissing with the in-game Mary Jane.
Plot
develops spider-like superhuman abilities after being bitten by a genetically altered spider created by OsCorp. The game opens with an optional tutorial, narrated by Bruce Campbell, where Peter learns to use his powers and the player learns the controls of the game and how to read the HUD. After competing in a wrestling match as "Spider-Man", Peter is cheated out of his prize money by the fight promoter. The promoter is then robbed by a thief, whom Peter lets go out of spite. Shortly after, Peter is devastated when his Uncle Ben is killed by the leader of the Skulls gang. Peter uses his powers to track down and defeat the murderer, only to learn he is the same thief he let go earlier, who then dies afer accidentally slipping out of a window. Remembering Ben's words that "with great power comes great responsibility", Peter vows to use his powers to fight evil, becoming the superhero Spider-Man.Meanwhile, Norman Osborn and OsCorp are investigating the appearance of this new hero. Anxious to develop his Human Performance Enhancer "Super Soldier" serum, the main goals of which are already exhibited by the super-hero, Osborn sends hunter-killer robots to capture Spider-Man, but he destroys them. Later, Spider-Man witnesses Shocker and the Vulture robbing a jewelry store and escape separately. Going after Shocker first, Spider-Man pursues him through the sewers and into a subway station, where he defeats him and learns about Vulture's lair: an old clock tower on the Lower East Side. Spider-Man climbs Vulture's tower, avoiding bombs in the process, but the villain escapes. Chasing Vulture through the city, Spider-Man ultimately defeats him on the Chrysler Building, leaving both him and the stolen loot for the police.
Later, OsCorp creates several spider-shaped robots to track down Spider-Man, only for Norman to learn that there are two individuals with arachnid DNA at large in Manhattan. After he orders the capture of both, a desperate Scorpion is seeing being chased by the robots through the sewers. He runs into Peter at the subway, who has returned to take pictures of his battle site with Shocker for the Daily Bugle. The two work together to destroy the robots, only for an apparently paranoid and unhinged Scorpion to then attack Spider-Man, who defeats Scorpion, but he escapes afterwards. Meanwhile, Norman is fired from OsCorp and takes his own untested super-soldier serum to become the Green Goblin, donning an experimental armor along with an arsenal of high-tech weapons. Spider-Man fends off the Goblin's attack on the yearly OsCorp Unity Day Festival, and defeats him, refusing his offer to join forces. The Goblin then escapes after revealing he has planted bombs all over downtown, which Spider-Man manages to defuse in time.
In the Xbox version only, Norman hires Kraven the Hunter after the failed bomb threat to capture Spider-Man. Kraven lures Spider-Man to the zoo, where he poisons him with a lethal gas, forcing Spider-Man to track Kraven through corridors filled with traps, before finally confronting and defeating him in a cage match in the main area of the zoo, obtaining an antidote in the process.
After studying a piece of the Goblin's gear that fell during their fight and learning it was manufactured by OsCorp, Spider-Man goes to OsCorp to research its connection with the Goblin, avoiding detection by security in the process. He discovers that the company is producing chemical weapons, which he neutralizes. He then narrowly escapes from OsCorp after fighting a giant robot and learning that the Goblin kidnapped Mary Jane Watson. Spider-Man chases him down to the Queensboro Bridge, where the two have their final battle. The Goblin is unmasked as Norman before being impaled by his own glider in a failed attempt to kill Spider-Man. Mary Jane and Spider-Man then share a kiss, preventing him from revealing his secret identity to her. The game ends with Spider-Man breaking the fourth wall by saying "Looks like you're done now. Go outside and play."
Reception
The critical reviews for the game were positive. GameRankings gave it a score of 78% for the Game Boy Advance version, 76% for the GameCube version, 75% for the PC version, 76% for the PlayStation 2 version, 78% for the Xbox version; and likewise, Metacritic gave it a score of 77 out of 100 for the GameCube version, 75 out of 100 for the PC version, 76 out of 100 for the PlayStation 2 version, and 79 out of 100 for the Xbox version.Many critics at the time considered it the best Spider-Man game. However, criticism fell on the indoor levels, Tobey Maguire's voice acting and bad camera, as well as the fact that it was too short and could easily be completed in 3 hours. The Cincinnati Enquirer gave the game four stars out of five and stated that it was "worth climbing the walls for".
By July 2006, the PlayStation 2 version of Spider-Man had sold 2.1 million copies and earned $74 million in the United States. Next Generation ranked it as the 15th highest-selling game launched for the PlayStation 2, Xbox or GameCube between January 2000 and July 2006 in that country. Combined sales of Spider-Man console games released in the 2000s reached 6 million units in the United States by July 2006. The PlayStation 2 version also received a "Platinum" sales award from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association, indicating sales of at least 300,000 copies in the United Kingdom. Its GameCube and Xbox versions sold over 400,000 copies. These high sales allowed the game to enter the "Best-Sellers" of each console. It was recently promoted to "Best of Platinum Hits" on the Xbox. In the United States, its Game Boy Advance version sold 740,000 copies and earned $23 million by August 2006. During the period between January 2000 and August 2006, it was the 30th highest-selling game launched for the Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS or PlayStation Portable in that country.