Spider-Man: Web of Shadows Review

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A wise man by the name of Ben Parker once said, “With great power comes great responsibility”. I’m pretty sure he meant to add “and 1337ness” there at the end, but it must have slipped his mind. One tends to forget little details like that when one is fictionally slain by a fictional character. If he were still fictionally alive, though, Uncle Ben would no doubt be fictionally proud of his fictional nephew in his latest video game, Spider-Man: Web of Shadows..

Web of Shadows is not only the best Spider-Man game to date, but it is also an incredibly kickass game on its own merits. Building upon many of the stronger points of previous Spider-Man titles, the similarities and superiorities of Web of Shadows to its predecessors are almost immediately apparent. Not only has every aspect of gameplay been improved, but the game is driven by a completely original storyline that offers many pleasant surprises to Marvel Comics fans. This is like a breath of fresh air after playing through three titles that are confined to the setting and plot of the Spider-Man movies.

The graphics in past Spider-Man games haven’t always been the best for their time, and unfortunately Web of Shadows is no exception. The graphics are, however, the best in any Spider-Man game yet, and are adequate for its purposes. The buildings and (some) characters have reflective surfaces and only occasionally look slightly pixelated. The in-game animations are very well-done, but the character movement in some of the cutscenes is still a little awkward and clumsy. Spider-Man is especially well-done, as are most of the boss villains and allies.



The sounds you will find in Web of Shadows are typical for any Spider-Man game, movie or cartoon, from the classic “thwip” of Spider-Man’s webshooters to the ambient sounds of Manhattan Island. The voice acting is also surprisingly good, as the game features more characters from the Marvel Universe than any other Spidey title. Most of the voice actors nail their characters, even using the appropriate accents and dialects usually associated with a particular character. Oddly, I felt Spider-Man’s voice was the most out-of-place of all – his raspy, ditsy surfer-type voice leans more toward ninja turtle than web-slinger (although it’s still a hell of a lot better than listening to Toby McGuire). Thankfully, though, the dialogue is still great, and Spider-Man delivers some pretty hilarious smartass remarks throughout the game.

The gameplay is, hands-down, the best part of Web of Shadows, and that’s really what matters most. Although similar to previous games (i.e. a free-roaming city in which random crimes occur, and the player is given the option to intervene or not), nearly every aspect of the gameplay has been improved. Web-swinging is smoother, easier, cooler, and much more fun; combat is a blast, offering a ton of moves that can be executed in various combinations; collecting hidden objects - which used to be a useless distraction and overall pain in the ass – is now not only enjoyable, but improves Spidey’s speed and stamina throughout the game.

The storyline in a nutshell is that Spider-Man’s arch-nemesis, Venom, is succumbing more and more to the will of his alien symbiotic costume, causing him to forgo his oath to protect the innocent and thus driving him to cause widespread chaos in New York City. Venom creates more and more symbiotes, spreading his malice throughout the city and infecting its citizens, causing them to transform into somewhat less-powerful clones of himself. Initially you will have only a few infected civilians to contend with, but pretty soon the city will become overrun with venomites, creating a scene much like one would find in a zombie apocalypse movie. Spider-Man and his allies must then find a way to stop Venom and rid the city of its symbiote infestation.

Adding to the depth of the usual Spider-Man gameplay, Web of Shadows allows the player to choose the “black suit path” or the “red suit path”, based on decisions made throughout the game. As Spidey himself is infected by the symbiotic spawn, choosing the black suit path will turn Spidey into a darker, angrier, and ultimately more evil character, whereas the red suit path will have the opposite affect. Regardless of the actual path that the player chooses, however, you are still allowed to switch between Spidey’s red and black suits at will throughout the majority of the game. Each suit has its own arsenal of unlockable maneuvers, giving the player access to a huge array of special moves and combos between the two suits.

Another great addition to the gameplay is Spidey’s ability to summon an ally to aid him in battle (note: to those of you who landed on this site after searching "how to summon ally", you have to hold the button down until Spider-Man's head flashes a blue color before your ally will appear). If you have chosen the red suit path more often than the black suit path, you may summon either Luke Cage, Wolverine, or Moon Knight – all of whom are pretty handy in a pinch. If you choose the black suit path, you can summon Electro, Vulture, Rhino or Black Cat. Regardless of who you summon, allies will prove to be incredibly useful when dealing with hordes of symbiotes. When you’re finished with your ally, you may dismiss them at will and either summon a different ally (after your special meter recharges) or go solo until you feel you need their help again.



Spider-Man calls on Luke Cage and Wolverine to lend a hand.

Web of Shadows is an excellent game, especially if you’re a Spider-Man fan. The graphics and sounds, while not perfect, are fairly appropriate and do not detract from the experience of playing the game one iota. The gameplay is intense and incredibly addictive, and the amount of combat moves coupled with the ability to choose a path of good or evil makes the game highly replayable. However - if you own a PS3 or Xbox360, I would recommend purchasing or renting those versions as opposed to the PC version, as the PC version has some performance issues even on higher-end systems. Either way, though, there is little chance that you won't enjoy playing this game.

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