Gameplay edit

Marvel's Spider-Man is an open world action-adventure game that is set in the borough of Manhattan in a fictionalized version of modern-day New York City.[1][2] It is presented from a third-person perspective showing the playable character on screen and allowing the camera to be rotated freely around it.[2] The primary playable character is the superhero Spider-Man,[3] who can navigate the world by jumping, using his Web Shooters to fire webs that allow him to swing between buildings, running along walls, and automatically vaulting over obstacles. The character can precisely aim webs to pull himself towards specific points.[2][4] Physical objects are required to attach webs to for swinging, and momentum and speed of the swing can be controlled by releasing the web at specific points to gain height or move more quickly.[5] The game features an optional fast travel system that uses the New York City Subway system.[6]

Combat is enacted using three buttons; one for dodging, one for physical strikes, and one for web-based attacks.[2] Webbing can be used to incapacitate enemies and stick them to nearby objects, immediately removing them from battle. Enemies who are knocked from great heights are automatically stuck to a nearby surface in a web-cocoon, preventing death.[7][8] Spider-Man can also use the environment to fight by jumping off walls and throwing objects like manhole covers, grenades and webbing-restrained enemies.[4] Successful and consecutive attacks build "Focus", which can be partially used to heal Spider-Man while full Focus allows special finishing attacks to take down an enemy instantly. This depends on they type of enemy, brutes and enemies with whips require two full bars.[2][4]

Spider-Man possesses "spider sense", which is shown as a white icon above the character's head, indicating an incoming attack that can be dodged. A precise dodge performed just before the attack hits allows Spider-Man to retaliate with webbing against the enemy.[4] Some enemies must be overcome using different approaches. Melee-weapon-wielding enemies must be knocked into the air and shielded enemies must be attacked from behind. Enemies armed with whips will drag Spider-Man out of the air and require a counterattack to fight effectively. Other types of enemies include heavily armored agents who can take more damage, brutes, and jetpack-wearing enemies who remain airborne.[8]

Spider-Man has access to a variety of gadgets that can be deployed in combat; these include electric webbing, concussive blasts, and impact webbing that launches enemies backwards and can stick them to a nearby surface.[7][4] Gadgets are unlocked by progressing through the game and can be accessed from a radial menu.[4]

Spider-Man has several unlockable suits that are based on existing versions of the character in media; there are also original suits that were created for the game. Many of these offer special abilities that can aid in combat, such as increasing Focus gain, reducing gravity, enhancing stealth, making the player invulnerable, and unleashing an electromagnetic pulse to disable enemy weapons.[7] Once unlocked, suits and powers can be freely combined.[2] Stealth combat involves Spider-Man moving around raised locations using gadgets or webbing to neutralize isolated enemies.[7] Leveling up allows the player to unlock skills from three different specialties, focusing on ground combat, aerial combat, and traversal.[6]

Suits, suit mods, gadgets, and their associated upgrades are purchased with resources called Tokens, which are awarded for completion of specific tasks. Each unlockable item requires different quantities of each Token type: Challenge Tokens for completing Taskmaster's time-and-skill based combat, stealth, and traversal missions;[9] Backpack Tokens for locating Spider-Man's old backpacks containing mementos from his past;[10] Research Tokens for completing research station missions, science mini-games, and the collection of pigeons;[11] Crime Tokens for stopping ambient crimes;[12] Base Tokens for clearing out enemy bases;[13] and Landmark Tokens for taking pictures of specific locations around the city.[14] There are also minigames that are rewarded with experience points and research tokens including Circuit Puzzles the require the arrangement of an electric grid and Pattern Puzzles that require the recreation of a specific pattern using composite parts.[15] Radio towers in different areas can be unscrambled, highlighting collectable objects, missions, and active crimes.[16]

Some sections of the game are played as Spider-Man's alter-ego Peter Parker,[3] his friend Mary Jane Watson, and ally Miles Morales. Peter's sections often involve puzzle-solving while Mary Jane's and Miles' segments focus on the use of stealth to avoid enemies.[17][18][16] The game originally featured three difficulty levels; Friendly (easy), Amazing (normal), and Spectacular (Hard).[19] A post-release update added a fourth "Ultimate" difficulty that increases enemy damage and health while decreasing Spider-Man's, and a "New Game Plus" option that allows the player to start a new game using all of the suits, powers, gadgets, and suit mods unlocked in a previous playthrough.[20] The game also includes accessibility options, enabling players to skip the puzzle minigames, enable larger subtitles, automatically complete quick time events, and replace button tapping with holding.[21]

There is also a photo mode that allows the player to take pictures of Spider-Man using a variety of image filters, frames, and stickers for customization. The camera can be used to take selfies and can be freely moved around Spider-Man to capture him in action.[22][23][24]

Synopsis edit

Characters and setting edit

Yuri Lowenthal in 2009 (left) and William Salyers in 2013. They voiced Spider-Man and Dr. Otto Octavius respectively.

Marvel's Spider-Man features a large ensemble cast of characters drawn from the history of Spider-Man comics. Peter Parker (voiced by Yuri Lowenthal)[25] is a 23-year old research assistant,[3][26] who gains superhuman abilities after being bitten by a genetically-modified spider. Assuming a secret identity as the superhero Spider-Man, Parker uses these abilities to protect the residents of New York City.[27] Eight years into his superhero career, Parker has become an experienced crime fighter but struggles to balance his superhero and personal lives. Parker is assisted by Daily Bugle reporter Mary Jane Watson (Laura Bailey),[25] his ex-girlfriend,[26][3] and NYPD Captain Yuri Watanabe (Tara Platt).[25] In his civilian life, Parker is supported by his Aunt May (Nancy Linari)[25] who volunteers at the F.E.A.S.T. homeless shelter run by philanthropist Martin Li (Stephen Oyoung).[25][3] Parker is employed by his friend and mentor, the respected scientist Dr. Otto Octavius (William Salyers).[28][26]

Spider-Man's adventure brings him into contact with other characters, including Miles Morales (Nadji Jeter)[25][26] and his parents, NYPD Officer Jefferson Davis (Russell Richardson) and Rio Morales (Jacqueline Pinol), OsCorp CEO and New York mayor Norman Osborn (Mark Rolston),[25][29] and Silver Sablinova (Nichole Elise), leader of the private military company Sable International.[26]

Spider-Man's mission to protect the city brings him into conflict with several supervillains, beginning with his longtime foe and Kingpin of crime in New York Wilson Fisk (Travis Willingham),[30][3] and a supernaturally powered gang called the Demons who begin dividing the city for Mr. Negative, who can corrupt people through his touch.[3][31] Spider-Man must also confront Electro (Josh Keaton), Rhino (Fred Tatasciore), Scorpion (Jason Spisak),[32] Vulture (Dwight Schultz),[29] Shocker (Dave B. Mitchell), Taskmaster (Brian Bloom), Screwball (Stephanie Lemelin), and Tombstone (Corey Jones).

Several other characters—including Parker's and Watson's childhood friend Harry Osborn (Scott Porter),[30] who has disappeared during a long holiday,[33] and anti-Spider-Man podcast host J. Jonah Jameson (Darin de Paul)—have voice roles in the main game.[25][26] Spider-Man co-creator Stan Lee appears in a cameo role as a short-order cook.[34] The game's downloadable content features appearances by master-thief Black Cat (Erica Lindbeck, who has a voice role in the main game[35][36]), Maggia mobster Hammerhead (Keith Silverstein),[37] and Felicia's father Walter Hardy (Daniel Riordan).[38]

Marvel's Spider-Man depicts fictional locations and entities from the Marvel Comics universe, including Avengers Tower, the Wakandan Embassy, the Sanctum Sanctorum,[27] the law offices of Nelson and Murdock, Alias Investigations, the superhero cleanup company Damage Control, the Roxxon Energy Corporation, and Empire State University.[39][40] It also features real-world locations including the Empire State Building, Freedom Tower, Madison Square Garden, and Chrysler Building.[1]

Plot edit

Parker captures Wilson Fisk after the police obtain enough evidence to arrest him. As Fisk is being sent to prison; he warns Spider-Man that order in the city will crumble in his absence. Afterwards, Parker is late for work as an assistant helping Octavius demonstrate his advanced prosthetic limbs for his government financiers, who are concerned when the demonstration fails. Meanwhile, the Demons begin seizing Fisk's illicit assets. Watson investigates an auction of Fisk's goods that is attacked by Demons. Watson and Spider-Man learn that the Demons are seeking something called Devil's Breath. With the aid of Officer Jefferson Davis, Spider-Man stops a Demon attack. Davis is lauded for his heroism at a re-election event for Mayor Osborn attended by Parker, Watson, and Davis' wife and son Rio and Miles Morales. Osborn receives a telephone call threatening to punish the city for his sins and flees the event. The Demons then attack, killing Davis and many other attendees. Parker witnesses their leader Martin Li transforming into an inverted form dubbed Mr. Negative but he is knocked unconscious before he can intervene. Following the attack, Osborn hires Silver Sablinova and Sable International to supplant the police. Parker befriends Morales and persuades him to volunteer at F.E.A.S.T.

Parker and Octavius continue their research but Osborn withdraws government funding in an attempt to force Octavius to work for Oscorp. While searching for Li, Spider-Man discovers that Devil's Breath is a lethal, virulent bio-weapon inadvertently created by Oscorp while developing a cure for genetic diseases at Osborn's behest. Li locates and steals the only sample of Devil's Breath and threatens to release it unless Osborn surrenders to him. Li is foiled by Watson and Spider-Man, Devil's Breath is secured, and Li is incarcerated at a nearby maximum-security prison called The Raft.

Meanwhile, Octavius obsesses over creating enhanced limbs that exceed the limitations of the human body, creating four mechanical tentacles operated from his back and mentally controlled via neural interface. He reveals to Parker that he is suffering from a neuromuscular disease that will inevitably immobilize him, and that enhanced limbs will allow him to continue his work when his body fails. Parker warns Octavius that the interface could impact his mind and personality. Octavius continues its use in secret, overcome with anger at Osborn; the pair were once friends who founded the mega-corporation Oscorp before Octavius left due to Osborn's unethical experiments.

Spider-Man is drawn to the Raft by a prison breakout. He learns that some of his greatest enemies—Li, Electro, Vulture, Rhino, and Scorpion—have escaped. They subdue Spider-Man and present him to Octavius, who is now calling himself Doctor Octopus. Octavius warns the beaten Spider-Man not to interfere before retaking the Devil's Breath and releasing it in Times Square, causing a mass outbreak that infects Aunt May. New York descends into chaos while Octavius and his subordinates attack Osborn's properties. Osborn declares martial law and blames Spider-Man for the incident, branding him a fugitive.

Spider-Man gradually takes back the city, defeating Electro, Vulture, Rhino, and Scorpion. Watson infiltrates Osborn's penthouse and learns that Devil's Breath was developed to cure Osborn's terminally ill son Harry.[33] As a child, Li was a test subject for the cure, gaining his abilities in an explosion of energy that also killed his parents and caused his hatred for Osborn and the split between Osborn and Octavius. She also learns an antidote for Devil's Breath exists and that Li has stolen it. Spider-Man defeats Li and recovers the antidote but Octavius arrives, brutalizes Spider-Man, and escapes with the antidote and Osborn. While Spider-Man recovers, Morales is bitten by an Oscorp genetically modified spider that Watson unknowingly carried from Osborn's lab.[33]

Parker, who is wounded, builds himself an armored suit and confronts Octavius atop Oscorp, freeing Osborn. Halfway through the fight, Octavius reveals that he knows Parker's secret identity and the two argue about Octavius' ideals. Spider-Man recovers the antidote and defeats Octavius; his artificial limbs are removed and he is sent to the Raft. Parker must choose between using the limited quantity of antidote to save May and allowing doctors to use it to synthesize enough to cure everyone; he chooses to save everyone. Before dying, May reveals she knows he is Spider-Man and that she is proud of him.

Three months later, New York has returned to normal, and Parker and Watson rekindle their relationship. Morales reveals to Parker that he has gained spider-like powers, prompting Parker to reveal his own. Osborn enters a secret laboratory where Harry is kept in stasis with a black, web-like substance. As Osborn places his hand on the tank, the substance reacts and copies him.[33]

Downloadable content edit

Three episodes of downloadable content (DLC), collectively known as Spider-Man: The City that Never Sleeps was developed for Marvel's Spider-Man.[41] Each episode includes new story missions, challenges (hosted by Screwball), enemies, and trophies.[42][43]

The first episode, "The Heist", was released on October 23, 2018;[41] set several months after the end of the main game,[37] the story follows the return of Spider-Man's ex-girlfriend Black Cat to New York for a heist. However, it is revealed that Black Cat actually has her own reasons for getting involved in the gang war. Black Cat is trying to find a number of USB Flash drives that were hidden throughout the city by the Maggia family. The first chapter of the three part series on a cliff hanger for the next two episodes. [44][45] "The Heist" DLC expansion includes three unlockable costumes; Spider-UK, Scarlet Spider II, and the Resilient Suit—an original design by artist Gabriele Dell'Otto.[46][41][42]

Episode 2, "Turf Wars", was released on November 20.[47] The story follows Spider-Man's and his ally Yuri Watanabe's efforts to stop Hammerhead taking over the Maggia crime families and seizing control of crime in New York. However, Hammerhead's forces are too much and Yuri Watanbe gets overwhelmed and even loses some of her sanity leading her to execute the crime boss in front of Spider-Man. However, similar to The Heist, it ends on a cliff hanger to the final episode. [37] "Turf Wars" includes three new costumes; Mangaverse Spider-Man, the Iron Spider, and the Spider Armor MK I.[48]

The final episode, "Silver Lining", was released on December 21. Its plot features Silver Sable's return to New York City to reclaim her technology that has been stolen by the Maggia. She teams up with Spider-Man to confront Hammerhead, who has used her technology to make himself virtually indestructible. Once Hammerhead is defeated the gang war ends and after the credits, another scene is shown of Parker training Morales with his new spider powers. "Silver Lining" adds three new costumes; Into the Spider-Verse (based on the concurrently released film), Cyborg Spider-Man, and the Spider-Man armor created by Aaron Aikman—an alternative version of Spider-Man.[49]

The Spider-Man costume used in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man film trilogy was released separately in December 2018.[50] Two more costumes were released in January 2019; one is based on his Future Foundation costume and the other, titled "Bombastic Bag-Man Suit", is based on issue 258 of The Amazing Spider-Man (1984), in which Spider-Man is forced to wear a Fantastic Four costume and a brown paper bag to conceal his identity.[51]

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