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| Spider-Man |
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Developer: Neversoft
Platforms:  PlayStation
 Windows
 Nintendo 64
 Sega Dreamcast
My Rating:  
 This game has timing issues. This game has locked resolutions. |
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| Spider-Man 2: Enter Electro |
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Developer: Vicarious Visions
Platforms: PlayStation
My Rating: 
 This game has been recalled. |
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Spider-man is a game originally released for the PlayStation and developed by Neversoft, the same creators behind the "Tony Hawk Pro Skater" games.
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The PC version gets interesting because apparently the port was rushed, the main problem with it is that it's directly ported from the PS1 version, without any framelimit which is just asking for problems. (The funny thing is though, they did cap the framerate on the main menu.)
However they did put the models from the Dreamcast version on this one!
Unless your processor is a "Pentium 2", you're going to run into quite a few problems. First of all, spider-man falls and jumps way quicker and is pretty inconsistent. But the number one flaw is the timing goes way off in the in-game cutscenes where you can't control. Usually you'll end up dying in the cutscene itself.
The only way to fix it is by capping the framerate using a 3rd party program, it's still a bit buggy but at least it's now beatable.
The first cutscene issue happens is when you VS scorpion. Instead of swinging through the window, he swings way underneath the building. Probably happens due to the "falling/jumping is really fast" issue I mentioned earlier.
The 2nd issue is on the police level just after the scorpion boss, what's supposed to happen is the helicopter blows up the platform, Spidey falls down and automatically webswings to the building and the level ends. However what happens on the PC version is the platform and Spidey falls but, doesn't webswing to the building and just falls to his death. You can't skip the cutscene either so you're basically fucked here.
If you wanted to watch these 2 glitches, here is a video by "razorbulan" showing them off:
There's also a 3rd timing issue I've had and thankfully the last that I know of. This one is on the level where you have to catch venom. There's a part in the middle of the map where Spidey and Venom go into a building and go out on the other side. However what happens instead is only Venom walks in the building while Spider-man takes longer, and when he does come out, he either loses venom or just falls out and dies.
If you wanted to see this glitch in action, "OfficialVGOvideos" made a video showing the glitch:
The Nintendo 64 version is basically identical to the PlayStation version of the game except the cutscenes and a few other things like What-If mode are stripped out.
Instead of FMV's, they have a comic book-like screen with text.
Obviously this is because the Nintendo 64 uses cartridges rather than CD's so there wouldn't have had enough storage for the FMV cutscenes at all.
Texture sizes and certain polygons have also been reduced down in this version.
This one is basically a HD release of the PS1 version, this is what the PC version of the game borrows it's models and cutscenes from. It is a very solid port of the game and I'd say this is the absolute best way to play Spider-Man. It's basically the PC version I looked at earlier without any issues whatsoever.
What's this? The game got a sequel? Yes indeed! Well, only for the PlayStation. One thing to note, this one wasn't developed by Neversoft, instead it was developed by Vicarious Vision using the same engine.
The gameplay is basically the same but some levels are on foot! I wouldn't say it's AS good as the first but still good, I give this one 3.5 Stars.
But yeah another classic Spider-Man game however it has an interesting backstory during development.
The game was completed in 2001 and was ready for production. The final level of the game was on the World Trade Center however, as it was on the production line, 9/11 happened and so Activision decided to delay the game and make a few edits. The pre-9/11 version of the game is very rare as it was only sold to the employees who worked on the production line.
There are a few differences to the final version, one of them being the level names.
Here's a list of the level names that got renamed in the final version.
But the main differences is the final level. In the cutscene when Spidey asks where Electro is, he says:
"I think I might have an idea!"
and climbs up on the World Trade Center and follows with:
"Where would you go to be on top of the world?".
In the final version, he just says "I think I might have an idea!" and climbs on a generic looking building. He just happens to guess correctly I suppose.
The other difference is the level itself is on the towers. On the final one they changed the windows on the side of the building and put a bridge between them, making it easier.
Here's some footage of the pre-9/11 version of the game by "SolidSnake11" if you're interested:
Well, that about wraps up the Spider-Man games.
Special thanks to "SolidSnake11" for giving me a copy of the Pre-9/11 version of Spider-Man 2.
Here's some useful information about the game on this incredibly obscure archived page:
http://web.archive.org/web/20120128012012/http://www.game-rave.com/psx_galleries/feature_spiderman3/index.html