Confusing Web Still a Fun One For Loyal Web Heads

spiderman_web_of_shadows_360_mainLike many of the other Spider-Man games released over the past decade, “Spider-Man: Web of Shadows” is an action/adventure/beat-em-up that sees Forest Hills’ favorite super hero defend New York City. Different in the fact that the entire world may depend on the webslinger’s action or inaction this time around, this game allows you to carve your own path by either harnessing the power the black symbiote suit or Spidey’s traditional garbs, giving “Web of Shadows” more gameplay choices than any other game based on the comic.

However, an uneven story and repetitive combat take away the majority of the fun, making the title one that will only be enjoyed by the most loyal of web-heads.

And even they will find the story a bit too much to handle at times.

Much like “Spider-Man 3,” gamers will have the opportunity to web-sling all over New York City. This element makes the game a thrill-ride for loyal Parker fans. The game’s look is a bit different from others in the series and has the feel of the comics, as Spidey’s eyes are a bit smaller this time around, an obvious homage to the good ole days of the series. While these elements give the game its own distinct flavor, the way the story progresses hurts the credibility of the title and makes it a bit hard to follow.

Taking a note from the Avengers story line “Venom Bomb,” it appears that the symbiote has taken control over the city and its inhabitants, forcing Spidey into action, all while he still has to come to grips with the black suit finding its way to him once again. Add in Luke Cage, Wolverine, the Black Cat, Moon Knight and several other characters who appear in the story and you should have enough of a cast to tell an amazing tale, right?

Not exactly.

Much like the last Spider-Man film, there’s just too much going on and the story doesn’t have the staying power it should, making your progression through the game feel more like a chore than an adventure. At first, the story feels fresh and exciting, but falls flat after a few hours of gameplay. Many of the guests have a garden variety feel to them, slowing down what could have been a fast-paced tale to an almost snail-paced one.

Making the game even harder to swallow is the control system that while, simple and fun, is repetitive and shallow. Despite having a plethora of moves and items to unlock along the way, most enemies have easy weaknesses and only a few button pushes away from defeat. It does take some time to unlock all the moves and again, while they are fun to experiment with, they’re not essentially needed to take down many of the enemies. Combining elements from “God of War,” the boss battles too are at times monotonous and derivative, taking away the originality of the character, replacing them with time-proven gameplay techniques that are not the least bit original.

With a lackluster story and brainless controls, “Web of Shadows” isn’t going to be the game to attract new fans to the series. However, those who have the older titles will quickly be at home with it and will not have a problem playing through it. They’ll enjoy their time with it just because web-slinging through the city is a blast, but they won’t remember it for being amazing, spectacular or sensational.

In spite of obvious flaws, “Spider-Man: Web of Shadows” is still a fun romp through New York City that will unfortunately remind you of the other games you’ve played in the past more than anything you experience for the first time while playing it.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 13821 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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