Spiderman, Web of Shadows: Amazing Allies Edition

"What are we? Beekeepers? Evil beekeepers?"

Sometimes it’s good to just play a simple game. Spider-Man: Web of Shadows PS2 isn’t a port of its seventh gen brethren, but it doesn’t really need to be. Amazing Allies Edition was obviously developed on a very, very, very tight budget. Most of the game, voice samples aside, could probably run on an N64. The character models are heavily re-used, the music is almost not even there, and the combat is more simple than some SNES titles. The game takes place on a 2.5D scale, and functions like most old school beat em ups, with the added mechanics of web slinging and crawling. 

 

Where the core combat, although competent, fails to impress, the dialogue and writing step in. The dialogue in Amazing Allies is nothing short of spectacular, and it shows that although this may be a budget title, the developers had their heart and soul in the game. From beginning to end, the dialogue in Amazing Allies is some of the most entertaining, quirky, and just plain amusing character interaction I’ve seen in any game. 

 

Each conversation, no matter how small, allows you to pick from three or more choices. These choices range from being a Spider-dick by going a little overboard with your jokes, being a humorous but helpful good guy, or playing solitaire on an A.I.M. computer. This game does an excellent job of showcasing who Spiderman is and how he acts, at least in the comics. 

 

Just as entertaining, if not more so, are the cast of characters he encounters. Finding a conspiracy theorist’s best friend seems sane enough at first, until you continue to find his friend is a pillow, named Shecky. Amazing Allies is more than aware of its often comical origins, and you also come across a man who talks with rats, someone obsessed with their pet pigeons, and some one who just can’t get their TV reception to work. 

 

The basic, beat em up gameplay is more than tolerable, but the real fun is in these interactions. The main plot itself moves along at a nice, un-frustrating pace, and has quite a few good twists and turns. Thanks to the amazing voice acting delivered by Spidey and his foes, as well as a pretty good variety of stages and scenery, the 7 hour adventure feels comfortable to play through. 

 

The only absolutely glaring flaw in this title is the ending. The game got by its low budget status by replacing cutscenes with enjoyable character interactions, but this didn’t hold up in the ending, where I assume the developers just didn’t know what to do. You destroy the final boss, and are awarded with a window prompt reading “Congratulations! You saved the city!” And that’s it. No credits, unless you want to use the options menu to locate them, and no ending. A sadly disappointing end to an otherwise surprisingly entertaining adventure.

First Written on Tueday, July 10th 2012