Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions - Archived Review
Originally published October, 2010.It’s been quite a while since Spider-Man got a mission-based game that didn’t deserve to go straight into the bargain bin. Spider-Man: Friend or Foe was the most recent game for the web-slinger that involved missions, but it was more of the Marvel Ultimate Alliance style in gameplay where players could choose various allies instead of Spider-Man and fight the endless hordes of mindless goons. Web of Shadows was a fun trip into the sandbox style, but by now the free-roam gameplay has started to wear thin, and people expect more out of the hero. So along comes Shattered Dimensions, a game that is held in high regard so far as the best Spider-Man game in years. Is that true? Or are people just hopeful for something new to swing their way?
Story
The story of Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions is straight out of an old comic book or even Saturday morning cartoon episode. Mysterio is stealing something he believes holds only monetary value—known as the Tablet of Order and Chaos, as though something like that is only worth money. In his attempt to steal the artifact, Spider-Man shows up, fights with him for a bit, and accidentally breaks the tablet during the scuffle. The different pieces scatter across alternate dimensions and it’s up to the different Spider-Men to recover the missing pieces to restore order; not too complex of a problem. The issue is exacerbated by different classic and new villains getting a hold of the pieces and becoming more powerful versions due to the tablet’s power.
It’s a pretty straightforward story to give a reason for players to fight as different versions of Spider-Man and fight different villains of the Marvel universe. But it never seems like a story that should really be taken seriously. Right off the bat, Stan Lee is narrating the CG scenes. If Stan Lee is narrating any game, it means it’s time to suspend thoughts of serious storyline and try to have fun. With that in mind, the game does a decent job at entertaining without trying to over dramatize the story too much. Though this is probably the best method of approaching the thin storyline, it still doesn’t prevent it from being forgettable.
Gameplay
The gameplay of Shattered Dimensions is what really sets this game apart from the others. As already mentioned, it’s not a free-roaming sandbox game. The levels are all rather linear with a certain rinse and repeat strategy to them where the player is after a villain with a fragment and must chase down said villain, but not before fighting countless henchmen. There is bound to be a midlevel boss encounter or two before one final showdown. It’s pretty much the same through each universe and doesn’t stray far from the path much. There is one level that doesn’t follow this linear formula and happened to become a personal favorite in this game, as this allows the player to approach the objectives in any order, but it was the unexpected exception to the rule. At the beginning of each chapter the player has the option of choosing to play as one of the four Spider-Men: Amazing, 2099, Noir, and Ultimate. Each is marketed as their own unique style of gameplay with different attributes and abilities to choose from on their missions.
The truth of the matter is that there is really only one Spider-Man that is actually unique from the rest. The game doesn’t ever go so far to set each universe apart; it’s far too structured. The fighting styles are all mapped the same way with light, heavy, and web attacks. The only differences are mostly aesthetics with the occasional damage multipliers. In the end, the combat seems fun only in small doses, and unfortunately the game gives it to the player in binges. Thankfully, there is a universe that manages to break the mold and set itself apart before the game becomes too stale.
Noir is what makes this game worth playing, if nothing else. The abilities of Spider-Man are all flashy and wild in each universe, but seem to lack much power behind each punch, making combat a chore. This is why playing as the silent predator in Noir is so much fun. Instead of spending the entirety of a level that could last up to 45 minutes beating up henchmen, Noir has the ability to do stealth takedowns so long as he remain in the shadows, undetected. This part of the game obviously took some ideas from Batman: Arkham Asylum. And though the gameplay from Batman is simplified in this rendition, it’s still satisfying to play if not only for a break from tedious fist-fighting.
Swinging through the levels isn’t bad, but it can be unresponsive. There can be plenty of moments where the finger is tapping the web button and nothing happens even after the icon pops on screen. The same can be said for the stealth moves of Noir. Nothing is more frustrating than feeling as though the henchmen found Spider-Man’s location due to the game’s inability to recognize the 20th tap of the button.
The fighting isn’t as unresponsive as the swinging, but it is definitely the most tedious part of the gameplay. With the four different versions to choose from and the marketed uniqueness to their gameplay, one might expect variety in the combat. Unfortunately, time and time again the player will be surrounded by goons and forced to fight them off. This gets tiresome, especially having to fight off enemies while saving hostages or accomplishing some other goal. Though rescuing hostages comes as a welcomed reprieve from the same action at first, it overstays its welcome.
There is an exception to the tedium though. Noir manages to avoid confrontation, while Ultimate Spider-Man completely dominates any fight. Tedium in the combat is lost because he is undoubtedly the strongest of them all and can take on the same waves of enemies and finish them off in less than half the time. The Venom suit helps boost his attack damage and range, which is only improved even more by the “rage” ability. With fighting being much more of a breeze in Ultimate and mostly avoided in Noir, where does that leave the other two?
Amazing stands as the basic archetype of the game. He has decent range with his web attacks and doesn’t have to fight too many foes at once. But he’s also the most boring. The villains chosen for the Amazing universe were lack-luster with Sandman proving to be the most interesting, despite his typical bumblebee outfit. The boss battles still manage to be dynamic in some way, but it doesn’t feel like the level design or much content was thrown this way. Yet, he is still preferred to 2099.
It’s disappointing that even this game couldn’t save the 2099 universe. It certainly is the most graphically detailed along with a great deal of dramatic cinema and character design. But because he lacks range in his attacks, the main special ability he has is only a brief bullet-time sequence, and the game throws the largest swarms of enemies at this Spider-Man, he is the worst one to choose from. The levels themselves aren’t that long, but they tend to drag due to how long it takes to clear all the enemies out of an area.
This all may sound a little harsh, but the game is still a refreshing switch from previous Spider-Man games. Even though the combat can drag there are plenty of secondary objectives to keep players busy. The developers had replayability in mind when they designed Shattered Dimensions because in each level there are at least half a dozen side missions for players to complete and earn points. These points can then be used for character upgrades to gain new moves, new art gallery items, and new costumes. The missions themselves can consist of fighting a boss a particular way or something as simple as throwing at least 5 items at opponents throughout the level. The goals are rarely that difficult to complete in each level making it easier for the player to say, “I’ll just do this one too.” Pretty soon the web of missions is filled up and the money spent on Shattered Dimensions has earned its worth.
There are also medals for combo length and variety, the amount of time each level is completed in, and number of secret medallions collected. Put all the extra side-missions, medals, and the fact that there are three different difficulties to choose from and it’s obvious this game is meant to be played multiple times. With three levels for each Spider-Man that take an average of 40-50 minutes to complete, the 8 hours can quickly become 12. Over the course of all that time, this game is best played in doses to make sure the tedium doesn’t overtake the quality of the gameplay.
Presentation
A great deal of effort was paid to the presentation of this game. Each universe was given a different style and look, with a different voice actor for each Spider-Man. All the people chosen to voice Spider-Man had done so in the past on an animated series. Neil Patrick Harris did a voice on the MTV Spider-Man series and does the voice of Amazing here, Christopher Daniel Barnes from the memorable 1990’s cartoon does the voice of Noir, Dan Gilvezan from the 80s cartoon does 2099, and Josh Keaton from the more recent Spectacular Spider-Man series does Ultimate. All of them were memorable, but 2099 tended to grate on the nerves because the snarkiness of the delivery was made irritating by the fact that he sounded a bit like a salesman while he talked.
While 2099 may be the weakest in voice, it is stellar in all other presentation. The constant pulsing of his suit and the bursting glow of the futuristic city is overwhelming for the eyes. The game is at its most dramatic and flashiest when it’s in this universe. There are always constant explosions and moments that require skydiving along endlessly tall buildings before facing off against some interesting new rendition of a classic villain. The textures are all very detailed and look aesthetically smooth without seeming fake. Plus the music for his sequences are also very exciting and worth a listen.
Amazing Spider-Man’s universe is cell-shaded. So the colors burst outside the outlines of characters a bit and it’s really more about just looking at the colors than the textures. There are no real hard edges to grab onto in this world so it comes across a little flat in the presentation department. Though, it was a choice to make the world look this way when the game can obviously handle something more intense. As a stylistic choice it makes sense.
Ultimate looks similar to Amazing in its choice of colors but manages to integrate textures into the characters and world. While 2099 had a lot of gloss and gleam to its colors with a constant blur effect and light reflections all over, Ultimate manages to keep the colors vibrant without hurting the eyes as much. It also manages to keep a comic/cartoon look without sacrificing outlines and textures; the black suit looks good with its smooth sheen.
Noir’s detail is tough to see as much of it takes place in the dark. When texture can be visibly seen, it’s on par with Ultimate. But what makes this universe stand apart in physical presentation is its black and white lighting. The gameplay was something out of Batman while the look was something similar to The Saboteur. Whenever Spider-Man is in the dark, the colors shift to black and white with stark contrasts, but if he enters the light and a yellow hue takes over the screen with the reds filtering in a little bit as well.
The character designs were all given proper attention and fit well into each world. The gangsters of Noir wear suits and say words like “punks,” and “say yer prayers.” Noir’s villains come across as creepy and dark while the Ultimate villains are just over the top and entertaining. In fact, some of the funniest moments in this game are during the Ultimate sequences. Comedic gold for the web-slinger. Amazing stays the tried and true path with simple designs in contrast to the wild and flamboyant ones of the future in 2099.
One little touch the developers did that seemed like a really good addition to the presentation was each level’s opening sequence. Before the level started, each Spider-Man would show up looking for the tablet piece. Then the villain of that level would make a dramatic appearance with their name/title slapped underneath. They were like comic book stills that were slightly animated with dramatic title cards and text. It was a nice touch that just got things revved up before the game even started.
Conclusion
Overall, Shattered Dimensions is a decent addition to the Spider-Man game list. It isn’t as fun as previous titles, but it’s a refreshing shift for the franchise, which allows the web-slinger to go in several different directions. The combat is unfortunately rather tedious but is changed up by the different dimensions just when it starts to overstay its welcome. With the overwhelming amount of replayablity, it’s recommended that this game be played in doses to get the value out of the game without letting the tedium interfere.