Review: Spiderman: Shattered Dimensions

Four Web Heads for the Price of One

        To start off this review, I'm going to say that Spiderman is my absolute favorite super hero ever, (it's not Batman, deal with it) so I was excited to be able to play as four different Spidermen when I began Spiderman: Shattered Dimensions. The developers, Beenox, decided to move away from the sandbox format from recent Spiderman games and went for a linear brawler style of game. Adding to this, the player controls four different versions of Spiderman from four different comic book universes thanks to an ancient tablet that has been broken into pieces and has begun to unravel space and time.

        With each Spiderman, the atmosphere and art style along with gameplay elements shift. The original Amazing Spiderman universe takes on a traditional, colorful, comic book vibe and has Spiderman using his webs for just about everything. From just swinging from perch point to perch point to forming giant mallets, fists, and spiked maces to obliterate his enemies, there's so much that Amazing Spiderman can do. Ultimate Spiderman has the cartoon visuals that the comics are known for, and feature Spiderman in the symbiote suit that gives him increased strength and allows for a super powerful rage mode. Spiderman Noir adds some Batman: Arkham Asylum type stealth moments along with a classic black and white art style. And finally, there is the futuristic rave world of Spiderman 2099 that includes crazy fast free falling sections. All of these different art styles and gameplay shifts create lots of excitement and variety, and is easily the strongest part of the game. 

        As for the story, it may not be the most compelling tale ever told, but it certainly isn't bad. The dialogue is full of bad puns that I think only I can enjoy given my enjoyment for bad puns, but not everyone would find them particularly funny. The whole story sort of feels like a super hero cartoon I would have watched when I was younger, so it didn't really bother me.

        Shattered Dimensions also has a surprisingly deep challenge and unlockable system called the Web of Destiny. The player completes challenges for extra points and unlock combat moves and upgrades. One can easily complete and unlock the majority of these, but it takes multiple play thoroughs to acquire everything adding more replay value to the eight to nine hour story. 

        The worst part of this game is easily the camera, targeting, and bug issues. There were multiple times where I was spotted by guards due to the camera freaking out and times where I blew myself up with a bomb I was throwing, because the system targeted the enemy right beside me instead of the guy half-way across the room. The most infuriating moments were the game-breaking bugs. These were few and far between, but added enough frustration to knock the score back a few. The worst part was during the final boss battle where I was knocked off a platform and instead of the game switching to first person mode and initiating the sequence that lets me save myself, I just fell into nothingness for all of eternity. The game didn't even register that I had fallen too far. I had to restart from the last checkpoint. 

        Overall, Spiderman: Shattered Dimensions is an exciting game that never grows tiring. The different universes along with great voice acting from actors of previous Spiderman cartoons and a fitting soundtrack create an entertaining experience. If one overlooks the frustrations and doesn't mind a hokey story and dialogue then this can be a fun experience for all kinds of Spiderman fans.

Final Verdict: 8.75/10