Bargain Bin Gaming- Episode One: Spider-Man: Friend or Foe

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Released in October 2007, “Spider-Man: Friend or Foe” clocks in at $17.99 at Gamestop and can even be found for as low as eight bucks on Amazon, making it a bonafide bargain bin title.

Ever since the days when games like “Ninja Turtles II” and “Double Dragon” hit the shelves in the mid-80s, beat-em-ups have always been a popular choice among gamers. However, over the past decade, games of this genre have been severely reduced in quality, thanks in part to greedy developers rushing their games or trying to make a quick buck by using licensed material, such as a movie or comic book character.

With that being said, a game like “Spider-Man: Friend or Foe” shouldn’t even have a chance to win over fans. However, in the end, the game is a tribute to the titles it shares so much in common with that are over 20 years old and not only works well on a next generation system like the Xbox 360, it actually thrives at times.

Not to be confused with the free-roaming “Spider-Man 3” game that was released a few summers ago, “Spider-Man: Friend or Foe” centers around a mysterious development on Earth that has left the planet in dire peril. As a matter of fact, the situation is so bad that Nick Fury, the head of SHIELD, has asked Spider-Man to personally travel the globe and destroy the powerful enemies and enlist the services of both his old sidekicks and friends, as well as some of his most notorious enemies. What proceeds after that is a barrage of missions where you first save your confidants and then use them to help you take down the enemy.

While the story itself isn’t amazing, the dialogue in between missions and in cut scenes is oozing with references and jokes that real fans of the series will eat up. Helping matters even more are the cartoon-graphics that will remind many of the original Spider-Man game that appeared on the PlayStation in the late-90s. Full of color and good-looking backgrounds, this game’s graphic are definitely not going to stop you from giving this game a shot.

However despite that, the frame rate isn’t the cleanest, as there are instances of slow down with multiple enemies on screen that can make fighting a chore at times, it doesn’t ruin or hamper the experience nearly enough not to enjoy the game though. The fixed camera as well takes a bit of time to get used to, but again it’s nothing so bad that it will make you stop playing.

As far as the gameplay is concerned, while being a tad on the easy side, “Spider-Man: Friend or Foe” plays well with others [as it features a well-designed and enjoyable two-player mode as well] and has plenty of things to unlock along the way, such as weapon upgrades, characters and arenas to fight in while playing in the other game modes. Again, the depth of the gameplay is far from something you’d see in a game like “Fallout 3” or “Grand Theft Auto 4,” but it is a fun 6-10 hour ride through the Marvel Universe that you won’t have to drive yourself crazy over.

Simply put, “Spider-Man: Friend or Foe” is a tribute to the beat-em-ups of yesteryear that will provide plenty of smiles your first play through. After that, much like the games it gets its inspiration from, it becomes a title that is played in company with friends looking to just relax, rather than be immersed in a hardcore game. Any fan of the series owes it to themselves to try the game, while anyone looking to reclaim some of their youth needs to look no further.

Those looking for a deeper gameplay experience may be disappointed at the length of the game, but those looking for something fun to just pick up and play will be pleasantly surprised.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14230 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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