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Crawling in Late: Spider-Man PS4 Impressions

Humdinger

Member
I'm finishing up Spider-Man, and I thought I'd share my impressions. The OT is dead, so I'm starting a new thread. I figured it might be worthwhile to revisit the subject, with Miles Morales coming up on PS5.

I'm at the point of no return in the story, just before facing off with the final boss. Here are my impressions of the game.

Insomniac did a great job in capturing the feel of Spider-Man (the world/universe, that is). You can tell how much work and care they put into it.

The story is pretty laid-back for the first two-thirds, but it really ramps up in the last third. Plenty of dramatic and touching moments, with good cutscenes, good characters and delivery.

I was concerned that I might find the battle system too complicated, but it wasn't long before it started to flow. I ended up enjoying it quite a bit. There are a lot of options, maybe too many. I didn't end up using about 20% of the moves (not intentionally anyway, ha), because I felt like I had more than enough already.

I appreciate the generous auto-save/checkpoint system. When you're in a complex fight or extended scenario, they don't set you all the way back at the beginning if you die. That really reduces frustration, and I like it. Even though I died plenty, I never felt frustrated, because I didn't lose much progress. I noticed the same generous checkpoint system in Ratchet and Clank, so it must just be part of their company's style.

Some people complain about the stealth sections, but they were fine with me. They provided a little counterbalance to the action sequences. It's a way to slow the pace a little and provide some variety, rather than just fight fight fight.

I've heard people complain about Peter's constant quips, but I wasn't bothered by that, either. They were frequent, but they usually made me smile or sometimes chuckle. It's part of his character. I'll grant you that it might have been a little overdone, but I didn't mind. Insomniac does a good job with humor, so it was a good fit for them.

Graphics were good, of course.

I didn't feel the need to unlock all the suits. I probably unlocked 6 to 8 of them. In terms of suit powers, I stuck with battle focus and Spider-Bro. I tried some of the others but didn't find them all that great.

Same with the suit mods. I unlocked maybe a dozen of them and only used four consistently. Just didn't feel a need for the others. I was playing on Normal, so maybe the other mods come in handy at higher difficulty levels. I used mostly focus mods, full charge capacitor, and stealth boost.

I upgraded almost all the gadgets. I felt like I had more gadgets than I needed, but that's pretty standard for Insomniac (similar in Ratchet and Clank).

My only real complaint about the game is that there are too many things to choose from, unlock, and upgrade -- suits, suit powers, suit mods, gadgets, skills -- and then too many side-activities to upgrade all these doo-dads -- backpacks, landmarks, towers, crimes, research activities, bases, challenges, new types of bases, new types of challenges, new types of crime, etc. It's all a little much.

Overall, I really enjoyed the game. I'd give it 8/10. It was good, quality entertainment. I won't claim it was particularly memorable, and I'm not likely to replay it, but it was fun while it lasted.


Marvels-Spider-Man
 
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RAIDEN1

Member
For me easily better than any of the batman games I've played from last-gen to this gen...and I was late to the party too, as I only got this back in June with the Game of the Year Edition, yet to get into any of the DLC, some missions were down-right annoying, especially the bomb side-quests, or the stealth side-quests as spiderman, which eventually I didn't bother with...as well as the environmental side-quests....MJ stealth missions were more than were needed...but in the end I enjoyed it more than I thought I ever would.....my next action adventure will be the Tomb Raider Anniversary/Legacy edition that was recently on PSN...
 

KungFucius

King Snowflake
I'm playing it now. At first I thought it was basically Batman. I still do, but it is enough of its own thing. My launch controller died in the middle of the fight with Li on the train. The reloading in the middle of the battle meant Spidey kept dying for about 36 hours until the replacement controller arrived.

I am playing with my kid so I am unlocking all the suits I can.

Overall the game is good and got me thinking of preordering a PS5 to play the 'expansion.'
 

Valentino

Member
I'm new to it too. Very very impressive. Another superb standout game on the PS4.
My only issue...........I'd come off the back of Last of us Part 2 - and went straight in to SM............. felt like I was being spoiled by Sony. But couldn't fully dive in to the world as I had LoU fresh on my mind. But happy I've got it there waiting for me and I know it's fantastic!
 
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Vawn

Banned
Insomniac knows how to make games that are just fun. The only others who can do that as well as Insomniac are Nintendo and From Software.
 

Neil Young

Member
Fantastic game. My ONLY complaint is that it overstays its welcome for about 5 to 8 hours. I couldnt take one more DNA or circuit puzzle. The point of no return should have been the end.
 

Humdinger

Member
WeirD way to say the game made you FEEL LIKE SPIDERMAN.

That's not what I meant. I meant Spider-Man the comic, not Spider-Man the character. I meant they captured the feel of the world of Spider-Man -- not just Spider-Man himself (although he's central of course), but all the characters, how they speak, the wholesome quality, the clear good vs. evil, the humor, the city, the cornball pathos, his rivals, etc.
 
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Krappadizzle

Gold Member
Insomniac are easily a top 10 studio. They really know how to pump out quality quality games. Their output this generation alone across multiple/all platforms is impressive.
 

Humdinger

Member
Just finished the game. Good stuff. Satisfying. Good entertainment.

On to the DLC. Based on what I've heard, I won't expect much, but that's okay.
 
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Kerlurk

Banned
 
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CrysisFreak

Banned
I hope that its real sequel that's sure to come after Miles improves the stealth MASSIVELY.
That would make the sequel so great jfl.
 

Humdinger

Member
Finished the Black Kat DLC. I thought it was pretty good, although my expectations were set low by hearing people saying it was mediocre. I enjoyed it. I thought it had some good story twists, a nice side mission, and some good combat sequences. I might've been more critical, had I paid extra for the DLC (I paid $20 for the complete game).

The ending didn't make a lot of sense to me.
It didn't make sense that Spidey would rush to save someone who had just abandoned him mid-battle, double-crossed him, lied to him about having a kid that might've been his, manipulated him, and then locked him in the enemy's safe. I know Peter Parker is a nice guy, but dude, come on.
 
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Humdinger

Member
Finished all three DLCs. They were better than I expected, given all the negative impressions I heard about them, although I suppose all that negativity helped me enjoy them, because I wasn't expecting much. I skipped all the side-activities they kept throwing at me -- that was way overkill. I was ready for the game to be done by about halfway through the second DLC, but I pressed on, mostly to see how the story unravelled.

Good game. Solid 8/10. I don't have any desire to play it again or do New Game +, but maybe I'll return to it in a few years. I usually don't care about superhero games/movies or games set in large cities, but I enjoyed this one. I attribute that mostly to the characters/dialog/story and the combat.

Looking forward to Miles Morales on PS5.
 
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