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Post by Deleted on Nov 24, 2021 3:19:41 GMT -5
I'd been looking for Web of Shadows DS in the past without success so I would be interested in hearing whether it's any good or not, though my expectations aren't high. You also mention Ultimate Spider-Man on your list - I did a playthrough of that and write up on the site earlier this year to satisfy my own curiosity and I can confirm that it is a good step backwards from Spider-Man 2 despite being the direct follow up. I am really interested in what happened there with development but the game mostly seems rushed and unfinished.
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Post by ommadawnyawn2 on Nov 24, 2021 4:36:31 GMT -5
Ah that's a shame, I'll check out your article.
Web of Shadows seems solid actually, they've basically adopted the moveset from SM2 2004 for a 2(.5)D game and let you buy new combat moves at save points with points gained from beating enemies, while traversal abilities seem to be gained from beating bosses. Controls are responsive. You start out with both the standard and the black suit, with the latter having some alternate moves and you can switch on the fly.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 24, 2021 9:30:17 GMT -5
Sounds cool. Hopefully I come across a copy sometime. Are any of the other handheld Spider-Man games in the platform adventure genre?
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Post by ommadawnyawn2 on Nov 24, 2021 12:35:18 GMT -5
Hey I couldn't find your article here, or did you mean your own site?
That's something I'll have to explore further after I'm done with this one! I know the GBC game (simply Spider-Man, from 2000) sometimes is referenced as one but it has no ability gating and you just use what you start with in terms of movement abilities. It also uses a lives system and lacks a map, but might be worth a look still idk.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 24, 2021 12:43:00 GMT -5
Sorry I should have just posted it here in the first place. This is what I wrote within a few weeks of playing Ultimate Spiderman:
Ultimate Spider-Man (Gamecube, First Time, 5 Hours)
I asked a question over in the 'Good 3rd party Gamecube Games' thread what happened with the follow up to Spider-Man 2 not following in the footsteps of that game and I didn't get an answer so I figured nobody here has played Ultimate Spider-Man. I decided since it was only a few hours long I'd find the answer first hand.
As it turns out, the game is closer to Spider-Man 2 than I initially thought. The webswinging and open city are still there. But the swinging and movement is simplified to some degree. Spider-Man 2 did have issues of overcomplexity in it's controls at times and Ultimate Spider-Man gets rid of that but it is at the loss of feeling of complete control over Spider-Man's movement. It is as though, in deciding to simplify, they didn't rework anything, just stripped back what they didn't want. I really found swinging and movement based objectives some of the best things to do in Spider-Man 2's world, and the objectives are still there, it's just that I don't feel I have enough control over Spidey here to pull them off, or to enjoy trying really.
The open world is still there, however, in an attempt to meet the look of the Ultimate Spider-Man comics, the detail of the world is swapped out, it is as though they've just put a graphics filter on the same world actually. Unfortunately though it looks incredibly bare, and it is clear the technology isn't there to pull this look off. The backgrounds and buildings look unifinished and outright ugly.
On the positive side the look is noticeable on some of the models of the main heroes and villains, who are nicely animated also. Outside of the open world we have the usual mission based story structure and I would say there was a real attempt to make these missions feel dynamic and interesting. There are diverse goals, and comic book scenes pop up in order to add a visual flair to the storytelling. Unfortunately though the actual execution is often off. Combat is lacklustre as the enemies don't react to your attacks; there's no satisfying feedback, leading to that kind of combat where you hit the enemy and they hit you a second later which just lacks any real punch or excitement that a superhero game should have. Furthermore, the worst issue the game has is the awful camera, which often spins rapidly out of control. Boss battles can be a real chore, because they're often out of sight (and of course getting a hit in without receiving one in retaliation is difficult in this combat engine). All in all I have to say Ultimate Spider-Man needed some more time in the oven. There's some nice ideas here, they just haven't been pulled off.
Score - 5/10
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The only handheld Spider-Man game I really played was Mysterio's Menace on the GBA. That one had some hidden abilities, but they are more like Mega Man X optional upgrades. I believe you could revisit levels in a similar fashion but my memory could be failing me.
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Post by ommadawnyawn2 on Nov 24, 2021 14:26:41 GMT -5
Oh sorry I misunderstood you earlier. Thanks for posting it here.
You'd think they could pull off the look with games like Jet Set Radio Future and Sly Cooper in the same gen but it does look pretty bland besides the character models, and like the backgrounds and cars are in a different style.
SM2 also had some camera issues but they mainly happened when dashing up walls or in-between buildings IIRC. This does look much worse when you're on the ground and moving back and forth.
Shattered Dimensions and Edge of Time for DS are supposedly in the same vein as WoS, but as I said I haven't played them yet.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 25, 2021 11:40:16 GMT -5
I would be curious as to what you think to the game compared to Spider-Man 2 if you get around to playing it. I know you played that recently so it should be relatively fresh in your mind. I haven't played it in 15 years.
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Post by ommadawnyawn2 on Mar 4, 2022 3:29:28 GMT -5
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Post by ommadawnyawn2 on Mar 5, 2022 16:29:41 GMT -5
Latest updates: ​Info and mini-reviews for Rocket: Robot on Wheels (N64, 1999) and Ys: The Oath in Felghana (PC, 2005/2012)
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Post by ommadawnyawn2 on Jun 20, 2022 15:22:50 GMT -5
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Post by ommadawnyawn2 on Jun 28, 2022 9:06:30 GMT -5
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JA8_7Zf-RssMade an "evolution of" video for the first era, where I went with 1984-1993. Also updated and added a few more entries on the site like Main Frame (C64), Captain Comic 1-2 and Elfland.
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Post by excelsior on Jun 28, 2022 9:24:54 GMT -5
Nice work fella. Is this what the evolution thread was intended to help with?
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Post by dsparil on Jun 28, 2022 10:28:28 GMT -5
That does look very good! Small suggestion, it'd be nice to have the original platform and the version being shown if it's different.
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Post by ommadawnyawn2 on Jun 28, 2022 17:29:37 GMT -5
Thanks folks! Right, I can add more detailed info on those games below the vid. I wanted to use the original versions but I didn't have good footage of them and didn't really feel like playing PC-88 Xanadu for example (or at least not far enough to get good footage showing off the abilities/tools being used). excelsior Humm no not consciously at least! I've been meaning to make this one for a while, since I saw a kind of lacking one a while back (which has been removed) and now seemed like a good time as I had some spare time. Edit: Oh and I just added an entry for Wai Wai World on the site, played through it with that camera centering hack today. Also added some more info on Dr. Chaos, Shadow Complex, Gothic 1, Hunter X Hunter and Akuji the Demon.
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Post by ommadawnyawn2 on Jul 6, 2022 9:14:42 GMT -5
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