Peter Parker’s been absent from game consoles since 2008, when Spider-Man: Web of Shadows came out. That all changes when the latest Spidey title from Activision hits later this year; the publisher showed it off in NYC this week and I had a chance to press on the buttons in the wall-crawler’s new video game.
Dan Slott–who’s taking over as Marvel Comics’ Spider-writer–will be serving as story consultant for the game. You know who the big bad of Shattered Dimensions is? Mysterio. Yes, ol’ Fishbowl-Head. In the course of trying to stop the former special effects genius from stealing the powerful Tablet of Order and Chaos, the mystical relic shatters into four pieces sending players into alternate realities as alternate versions of Spidey. Each arachnid hero comes from a piece Spidey’s publishing history and the various sections play a little differently. The mainline version of Spider-Man in Marvel Universe 616 plays much like the Spidey of games past: fast and agile with plenty of melee and web combos.
Things change up when the focus shifts to the other universes. Spider-Man Noir isn’t as strong but sticks to the shadows and uses stealth takedowns to whittle down the bad guys. If he’s spotted, he can slink away It’s pretty much a blend of mechanics from Splinter Cell: Conviction and Batman: Arkham Asylum with some web fluid thrown in. Ultimate gameplay centers on a Dark Suit Spidey whose attacks are all tendril-based. The Venom-esque feeling of these sequences is enhanced by the fact that you’re trying to take down Carnage, another shape-shifting enemy of Peter Parker’s.
Each universe has its own wildly distinct art style, too, which is a big accomplishment considering that one developer–the Montreal-based Beenox–is doing all the heavy lifting. Noir, as the name and game mechanics suggest, is filled with a black-and-white gameworld filled with shadows and overlaid with a slight sepia tone. The 2009 world looks appropriately overpopulated and overbuilt, with flying cars and gigantically tall skyscrapers. The Amazing universe replicates a clean, printed comic-book look with bright flat colors.
From a gameplay perspective, you’ll be punching and kicking and web-swinging in all four sections, but the AI and skills will be implemented differently. In the Ultimate universe, the enemy AI will make infected S.HI.E.L.D. agents and other goons swarm around you, better setting them up for your lashing tendril attacks. The gangsters in Prohibition-era Noir levels will patrol solo and be more wary. And the 2099 levels will have freefall sections as you dart in and out of sky traffic while chasing bad guys.
Guiding you through the four-part adventure will be the Man himself, Smilin’ Stan Lee. The co-founder and co-creator of Marvel Comics will narrate the game, which will also feature a slew of voice talent who’ve all voiced Peter Parker in the past. Josh did his turn most recently in “Spectacular Spider-Man,” which ran from 2008-2009. He’s joined by Neil Patrick Harris–who did the Pete/Spidey thing in the 2003 MTV Spider-Man–and Dan Gilvezan from the ’80s “Spider-Man and Hs Amazing Friends.” Finally, Gen X cartoon fans will recognize Christopher Daniel Barnes from the 1994 Fox “Spider-Man” series. The Amazing, Ultimate, Noir and 2099 versions will done by Harris Keaton, Barnes and Gilvezan, respectively.
Overall, it looks like Shattered Dimensions will provide a nice fusion of different looks and mechanics. We’ll see if the sum is greater than the parts when the multi-platform action title comes out on September 7th.