Freedom, though, is fitting.
Its freedom of movement, of focus, of expression.
Its freedom, in this case, that Insomniac Games truly nailed.
Traversing a city of eight million is endlessly enjoyable, and an obvious place to start.
it’s possible for you to track most of the games most enjoyable elements to just this, movement.
Fighting, for example, offers numerous potential combinations of ground, sliding, swinging, and airborne moves.
Its acrobatic, and pleasure to watch even when you arent playing the game.
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In 20-ish hours of play time, the fighting element never got old.
The story itself is enjoyable, cinematic even.
But its an open world game, so the story, at times, is almost secondary.
Advancing the plot line is all about leveling up through side missions and open world activities.
Eventually, youll get to take on various members of a makeshift Sinister Six.
To get there, youll have to put in some work completing various open world challenges.
Its here that you grind out your upgrades by earning tokens.
Its a grind, but leveling-up happens frequently enough to keep it from feeling like too much work.
Tokens are divided into categories crime, landmarks, challenge, research, etc.
Customization options arent plentiful, but each brings something to the table in adding nuance.
What starts off as fun quickly becomes monotonous, as each scenario must be completed numerous times.
In aggregate, the repetition can be overlooked.
Its also less apparent later as you unlock new activities.
Flawed as they are though, crime missions still offer an opportunity to fight.
And fighting is easily the most fun youll have playing the game.
The biggest fights come from base missions, one of the few open world elements that doesnt suck.
Youre, again, awarded tokens for the effort that help level-up your character.
But base missions offer more opportunities for creativity.
Graphically, the game is stunning.
As for the Puddlegate conspiracy making news recently, if theres a graphical downgrade, I certainly didnt notice.
Final Thoughts
The game is sound, if not spectacular at times.
I had a great time zipping around the city as my favorite superhero.
Itll be short lived, though.
Annoying as it may be at times, its simply too much fun to play.
These missions are already on their way, according to Sony, by way of downloadable content.
November will see the Turf Wars expansion, and then December will bring Silver Lining.
Each will set you back about $10 or you could buy the bundle for $25.
Overall, theres a lot to like about Marvels Spider-Man.
For one, its undeniably an improvement over its predecessor.
Would I buy it?
Story byBryan Clark
Bryan is a freelance journalist.Bryan is a freelance journalist.
