The Amazing Spider-Man is a third-person open world action/adventure video game, a tie-in to the film of the same name featuring the Marvel Comics superhero, Spider-Man. It was developed by Beenox, developer of Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions and Spider-Man: Edge of Time,[5] and published by Activision. It was released June 26, 2012[6][7][8] in North America and June 29, 2012 in Europe,[2] on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo DS, Android, and iOS, and PC.[3][9] The game was written and scripted by Seamus Kevin Fahey, of Battlestar Galactica fame,[1] and serves as an epilogue to The Amazing Spider-Man film.[8]
The Nintendo 3DS and Wii features a different, more linear game with the same script and plot. The game is not Open World, instead following a style of approach similar to that of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, where the player selects a level from a Hub, in this case Peter's apartment, before playing a mostly linear level. It was natively designed for the 3DS, and later ported to the Wii. Beenox also developed this version.
Spider-Man tries to fight off the cross-species in the city, but they all escape, and a giant security robot attacks him too, causing great damage to the city. Spider-Man goes to the Beloit Psychiatric Hospital, where Dr. Connors has been incarcerated since the Lizard's rampage, and informs him of the incident. Connors agrees to escape from the institution and help Spider-Man develop a cure for the outbreak on the grounds that he be returned to the asylum when the crisis is resolved. After breaking out Connors, Spider-Man returns to his apartment with Connors, where they immediately set up a laboratory to begin development of the antidote, which soon becomes a race against time when it is discovered that Smythe is developing his own "cure" which involves nanobots destroying the host from the inside out. Along the way, Spider-Man hacks into police and Oscorp transmissions with his Spider-Tracers and forms an alliance with Whitney Chang, an investigative reporter who believes Oscorp's facelift operation is a scam.
Eventually, Connors manages to create an antidote, and Spider-Man rushes it to Gwen and the others at Oscorp; however, Smythe is skeptical that the antidote really works and impulsively uses it on himself. Unexpectedly, Smythe loses both the use of his legs and his mind, and programs his robots to attack Spider-Man in a fit of rage. Narrowly escaping Oscorp and getting back to his apartment, Spider-Man blasts Connors for the imperfect antidote before passing out from his injuries. While he is unconscious, Connors uses his blood to perfect the antidote, realizing that, since Spider-Man is a cross-species himself but retains his humanity, he was the key all along. Upon his recovery, Spider-Man immediately travels to the Oscorp biological labs, where Gwen and the others have been taken to be used as test subjects for Smythe's nanobot "cure," and successfully administers it to Gwen and the others.
With the public at large believing Spider-Man to be responsible for the outbreak, Gwen makes her way to the police station to inform them of the truth, while the CDC quarantines the city with the advancement of the virus, now known as the "cross-species virus." Smythe somehow discovers both Spider-Man's secret identity (most likely from spying on Gwen and him) and where he and Dr. Connors have been staying, subsequently kidnapping Connors and daring Spider-Man to come save him.
Spider-Man breaks into the Oscorp robotics facility and manages to free Connors, only to be subdued by the robots. While Connors escapes back to his old lab in the sewers, Smythe restrains Spider-Man and injects him with his completed nanobot serum, which strips him of his powers. Despite being severely weakened and assailed by the security robots, Peter escapes the building as Smythe activates his latest S-Bot.
Parker emerges on the streets to discover that the entire city is in chaos as a result of the outbreak. He makes his way to Connors' sewer lab to discover both Connors and Gwen there. With no other way to stop Smythe, Dr. Connors transforms himself into the Lizard again despite Gwen's objections, knowing that he will be able to control himself long enough to stop the robots, while Parker passes out.
Gwen successfully manages to revive Peter, who immediately rushes out to help Connors despite being powerless. Making his way to the S-Bot with the aid of Whitney, Parker, on Gwen's advice, enters the robot and electrocutes himself, destroying the nanobots in his system and regaining his powers. With the aid of the Lizard, Spider-Man successfully disables the S-Bot and subdues Smythe, though Dr. Connors unfortunately loses control of himself to the Lizard's mind in the process. Smythe finally comes to his senses and is left horrified by his actions as he is taken away by the police, while Spider-Man pursues the Lizard into the sewers.
With the aid of a reprogrammed Hunter robot, Spider-Man tracks down the Lizard and manages to transform him back into Dr. Connors, proceeding to take him back to the asylum, as promised. Sometime later, Peter and Gwen watch a news report from Whitney Chang, who reveals the "cross-species virus" outbreak has been cured and Spider-Man is now revered by the city for his role in stopping the virus. Whitney subsequently receives news that Smythe has escaped police custody, but Gwen convinces Peter to deal with it later.
In a post-credits scene, Smythe, now able to use his legs again and in the final stages of cross-species infection, makes his way to his underground lab. With nothing left to live for and the virus about to mutate him completely, Smythe decides to commit suicide rather than become a cross-species himself and deliberately walks into the line of fire of an active Hunter robot to do just that.
Players can collect full, vintage comic books, such as Amazing Fantasy #15, as they progress in the game.[11][12]
The game uses a unique damage system, where the more damage you take, the more the suit is damaged. Though after you return to the main hub of the game, it is repaired. By finding different spider symbols in certain parts of New York and taking photos of them, alternate costumes can be unlocked, such as "Big Time" Spider-Man, Scarlet Spider (Kaine), a color-inverted version of the Future Foundation costume, the Sam Raimi trilogy red and blue suit when you get the Stan Lee pre-order DLC or Rhino pre-order DLC, the Spider-Man 3 black suit, a new version of the black suit and a party hat for Spidey's 50th anniversary, which can be changed when the player goes to Peter Parker's apartment.
There is also a special version in which players can play as Stan Lee(with Spider-Man's powers). There are also many in-game references to characters in other franchises (i.e. Batman, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Captain America), and even biblical references (David and Goliath).
Instead of photographing spider symbols or discovering comic book pages, Spider-Man is tasked with finding, and photographing, evidence that links Oscorp to the cross-species conspiracy. This includes photographing villains and Oscorp Logos, and finding special Oscorp items, such as audio files or other files. When he finds this evidence, it can give Spider-Man XP Points, or unlock extra content in the main menu, such as concept art. The photo mode makes use of the 3DS gyroscope, but can also be more easily controlled by the analog slider.
Spider-Man's moves in this game are more based on the previous moveset from the earlier Spider-Man movie based games, and not that of its HD counterpart or Arkham Asylum, although several changes have been made, such as the addition of a "Web Rush" mode, which allows Spider-Man to slow time down while he's looking for targets to aim at.
The 3DS version has an exclusive game mode named "Vigilante", which is a strategy-based RPG-style text game where you are given a map of locations and must complete tasks and missions and collect items needed for certain missions. A meter is shown with a slide moving to either a red or green marker. When Spider-Man succeeds the mission he gets awarded Vigilante Points (VP) and Action Points (AP) are required to do the missions. The higher your skill rank, the more locations and additional content get unlocked. Vigilante is Street Pass compatible allowing you to trade items with other players.
The game released on June 26, 2012.[6][7] The first concept artwork of the game was released on November 10, 2011.[14] A world premiere trailer debuted during the 2011 Spike Video Game Awards, on December 10, 2011.[15][16] The game was originally developed for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, Nintendo DS, and Nintendo 3DS.[17] It was later announced that game will be released for PC, however the port was released on August 10, 2012.[18] The game features PlayStation Move support.[8] The game featured pre-order bonuses. Those who pre-ordered the game from Amazon.com will be able to play as Spider-Man co-creator Stan Lee (The DLC is available only until Saturday August 4, 2012), whilst those who ordered from GameStop will receive a bonus challenge featuring the Rhino.[19] The pre-order bonuses were only made available for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 gaming consoles.[20]
Certain critics praised the game for the new features such as the 'Web Rush' ability and the cast of voice actors. However, some reviewers criticized the gameplay as 'repetitive' and/or 'too easy' on normal difficulty settings.
The Nintendo 3DS and Wii features a different, more linear game with the same script and plot. The game is not Open World, instead following a style of approach similar to that of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, where the player selects a level from a Hub, in this case Peter's apartment, before playing a mostly linear level. It was natively designed for the 3DS, and later ported to the Wii. Beenox also developed this version.
Contents |
Plot
Some months after the events of the film, Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy sneak into the restricted areas of Oscorp after hours, where Gwen reveals her suspicions that they may be continuing Curt Connors' cross-species experiments. In the process, they are caught by Alistair Smythe, the new director, who explains that some scientists were indeed secretly continuing Connors' cross-species experiments by injecting animals with human DNA; the cross-species carry a powerful virus and are currently being shipped to the bio-lab for disposal. At that moment, the cross-species all react to Peter's presence and escape, infecting all of the scientists, including Smythe and Gwen, in the process. Alistair unleashes his security robots, which are programmed to defend them from cross-species. However, they end up attacking Peter. Peter quickly dons his Spider-Man suit and gets the infected to quarantine, fighting off the robots in the process, but is unable to stop the cross-species from escaping into the city.Spider-Man tries to fight off the cross-species in the city, but they all escape, and a giant security robot attacks him too, causing great damage to the city. Spider-Man goes to the Beloit Psychiatric Hospital, where Dr. Connors has been incarcerated since the Lizard's rampage, and informs him of the incident. Connors agrees to escape from the institution and help Spider-Man develop a cure for the outbreak on the grounds that he be returned to the asylum when the crisis is resolved. After breaking out Connors, Spider-Man returns to his apartment with Connors, where they immediately set up a laboratory to begin development of the antidote, which soon becomes a race against time when it is discovered that Smythe is developing his own "cure" which involves nanobots destroying the host from the inside out. Along the way, Spider-Man hacks into police and Oscorp transmissions with his Spider-Tracers and forms an alliance with Whitney Chang, an investigative reporter who believes Oscorp's facelift operation is a scam.
Eventually, Connors manages to create an antidote, and Spider-Man rushes it to Gwen and the others at Oscorp; however, Smythe is skeptical that the antidote really works and impulsively uses it on himself. Unexpectedly, Smythe loses both the use of his legs and his mind, and programs his robots to attack Spider-Man in a fit of rage. Narrowly escaping Oscorp and getting back to his apartment, Spider-Man blasts Connors for the imperfect antidote before passing out from his injuries. While he is unconscious, Connors uses his blood to perfect the antidote, realizing that, since Spider-Man is a cross-species himself but retains his humanity, he was the key all along. Upon his recovery, Spider-Man immediately travels to the Oscorp biological labs, where Gwen and the others have been taken to be used as test subjects for Smythe's nanobot "cure," and successfully administers it to Gwen and the others.
With the public at large believing Spider-Man to be responsible for the outbreak, Gwen makes her way to the police station to inform them of the truth, while the CDC quarantines the city with the advancement of the virus, now known as the "cross-species virus." Smythe somehow discovers both Spider-Man's secret identity (most likely from spying on Gwen and him) and where he and Dr. Connors have been staying, subsequently kidnapping Connors and daring Spider-Man to come save him.
Spider-Man breaks into the Oscorp robotics facility and manages to free Connors, only to be subdued by the robots. While Connors escapes back to his old lab in the sewers, Smythe restrains Spider-Man and injects him with his completed nanobot serum, which strips him of his powers. Despite being severely weakened and assailed by the security robots, Peter escapes the building as Smythe activates his latest S-Bot.
Parker emerges on the streets to discover that the entire city is in chaos as a result of the outbreak. He makes his way to Connors' sewer lab to discover both Connors and Gwen there. With no other way to stop Smythe, Dr. Connors transforms himself into the Lizard again despite Gwen's objections, knowing that he will be able to control himself long enough to stop the robots, while Parker passes out.
Gwen successfully manages to revive Peter, who immediately rushes out to help Connors despite being powerless. Making his way to the S-Bot with the aid of Whitney, Parker, on Gwen's advice, enters the robot and electrocutes himself, destroying the nanobots in his system and regaining his powers. With the aid of the Lizard, Spider-Man successfully disables the S-Bot and subdues Smythe, though Dr. Connors unfortunately loses control of himself to the Lizard's mind in the process. Smythe finally comes to his senses and is left horrified by his actions as he is taken away by the police, while Spider-Man pursues the Lizard into the sewers.
With the aid of a reprogrammed Hunter robot, Spider-Man tracks down the Lizard and manages to transform him back into Dr. Connors, proceeding to take him back to the asylum, as promised. Sometime later, Peter and Gwen watch a news report from Whitney Chang, who reveals the "cross-species virus" outbreak has been cured and Spider-Man is now revered by the city for his role in stopping the virus. Whitney subsequently receives news that Smythe has escaped police custody, but Gwen convinces Peter to deal with it later.
In a post-credits scene, Smythe, now able to use his legs again and in the final stages of cross-species infection, makes his way to his underground lab. With nothing left to live for and the virus about to mutate him completely, Smythe decides to commit suicide rather than become a cross-species himself and deliberately walks into the line of fire of an active Hunter robot to do just that.
Cast
- Sam Riegel - Spider-Man / Peter Parker
- Kari Wahlgren - Gwen Stacy
- Steven Blum - Lizard / Dr. Curt Connors, Vermin
- Stan Lee - Stan
- Fred Tatasciore - Rhino
- Bruce Campbell - Xtreme Reporter
- Ali Hillis - Black Cat / Felicia Hardy
- David Lodge - District Attorney Anthony Harper
- Nolan North - Alistaire Smythe
- Claudia Black - Whitney Chang
Crew
- Keith Arem - Voice Director
- Valerie Arem - Talent Coordinator
Gameplay
HD Version (PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
The game has an open world/free-roaming concept. The combat system is reminiscent of the Rocksteady Studios-developed Batman game series (Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City) using a freeflow design and counter attacks.[10] Beenox took a cue from the Batman games, with Dee Brown (Beenox studio head) stating "I played both Batman games and liked them. For me, the Spider-Man character is very different than Batman. You have to approach both in a different way. I think the Rocksteady guys did a good job at providing what was required to make a great Batman game, and we're doing everything we need to this time to make a great Spider-Man game."[5]Players can collect full, vintage comic books, such as Amazing Fantasy #15, as they progress in the game.[11][12]
The game uses a unique damage system, where the more damage you take, the more the suit is damaged. Though after you return to the main hub of the game, it is repaired. By finding different spider symbols in certain parts of New York and taking photos of them, alternate costumes can be unlocked, such as "Big Time" Spider-Man, Scarlet Spider (Kaine), a color-inverted version of the Future Foundation costume, the Sam Raimi trilogy red and blue suit when you get the Stan Lee pre-order DLC or Rhino pre-order DLC, the Spider-Man 3 black suit, a new version of the black suit and a party hat for Spidey's 50th anniversary, which can be changed when the player goes to Peter Parker's apartment.
There is also a special version in which players can play as Stan Lee(with Spider-Man's powers). There are also many in-game references to characters in other franchises (i.e. Batman, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Captain America), and even biblical references (David and Goliath).
Nintendo Version (3DS and Wii)
These versions of the game are an entirely different game, despite also being developed by Beenox, and have different gameplay despite sharing exactly the same plot, voiceovers, and some of the HD's versions level design. Instead of being an Open World game, this version employs a "Force Unleashed" style hub approach, where the player selects a level from a Map screen in Spiderman's Apartment, and can also "talk" to Dr Connors. Once a level is selected, Spider-Man is immediately dropped off at the start of the level. The game also includes some sub-missions that help the player work up their XP.Instead of photographing spider symbols or discovering comic book pages, Spider-Man is tasked with finding, and photographing, evidence that links Oscorp to the cross-species conspiracy. This includes photographing villains and Oscorp Logos, and finding special Oscorp items, such as audio files or other files. When he finds this evidence, it can give Spider-Man XP Points, or unlock extra content in the main menu, such as concept art. The photo mode makes use of the 3DS gyroscope, but can also be more easily controlled by the analog slider.
Spider-Man's moves in this game are more based on the previous moveset from the earlier Spider-Man movie based games, and not that of its HD counterpart or Arkham Asylum, although several changes have been made, such as the addition of a "Web Rush" mode, which allows Spider-Man to slow time down while he's looking for targets to aim at.
The 3DS version has an exclusive game mode named "Vigilante", which is a strategy-based RPG-style text game where you are given a map of locations and must complete tasks and missions and collect items needed for certain missions. A meter is shown with a slide moving to either a red or green marker. When Spider-Man succeeds the mission he gets awarded Vigilante Points (VP) and Action Points (AP) are required to do the missions. The higher your skill rank, the more locations and additional content get unlocked. Vigilante is Street Pass compatible allowing you to trade items with other players.
DS Version
This version features 2.5D side-scrolling action with the same script and plot.Development and marketing
A video game based on the film was first announced at the 2011 New York Comic Con. The game was developed by Beenox, the development team behind the previous two Spider-Man games, Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions and Spider-Man: Edge of Time. During New York Comic Con a producer at Activision, Doug Heder stated that the game will take place after the events of the movie.[7][13] Heder realizing the mixed reviews with the last video game, promising that the video game will find a different fate, thanks to its lengthy development time.[7] The video game has been reported to be in development by Gerard Lehiany, the creative director of Beenox.[7] Dee Brown of Beenox felt that the film was an inspiration of the development of the video game on how the creators wanted it to turn out. "The fact that our game is based on the movie, and the movie is re-approaching the universe in a completely different way — a more grounded, more realistic approach — gives us an incredible setting to play with".[5]The game released on June 26, 2012.[6][7] The first concept artwork of the game was released on November 10, 2011.[14] A world premiere trailer debuted during the 2011 Spike Video Game Awards, on December 10, 2011.[15][16] The game was originally developed for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, Nintendo DS, and Nintendo 3DS.[17] It was later announced that game will be released for PC, however the port was released on August 10, 2012.[18] The game features PlayStation Move support.[8] The game featured pre-order bonuses. Those who pre-ordered the game from Amazon.com will be able to play as Spider-Man co-creator Stan Lee (The DLC is available only until Saturday August 4, 2012), whilst those who ordered from GameStop will receive a bonus challenge featuring the Rhino.[19] The pre-order bonuses were only made available for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 gaming consoles.[20]
Reception
Upon release, the game received a score of 76 out of 100 on Metacritic, signifying "generally favorable reviews".[21] GameSpot gave it a 7.5, praising its controls while criticizing its easiness. [22] GameInformer had a more critical view of the game, scoring it 6.75 out of 10, citing failure to live up to potential[23]. G4 gave the game a score of 4 out of 5. IGN gave the game a 7.0 with Greg Miller of IGN saying "The visuals aren't stunning, the story isn't crazy exciting, and the missions get repetitive. But The Amazing Spider-Man is fun to play."[24]. The game was also criticized for revealing spoilers from the film.Certain critics praised the game for the new features such as the 'Web Rush' ability and the cast of voice actors. However, some reviewers criticized the gameplay as 'repetitive' and/or 'too easy' on normal difficulty settings.
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