Having been absent throughout Sony's E3 2017 conference, this particular scribe was getting a little worried that Insomniac Games' take on the Marvel universe with the PlayStation 4's Spider-Man wasn't going to make an entrance, but the developer came swinging in with a hefty look at how we're going to be fighting through baddies and traversing our way throughout New York City sometime in 2018.
The flow and strategies available to players instantly reminded us of Batman: Arkahm Knight, which shows Spider-Man silently taking out the goons of Mister Negative one-by-one with his webbing and even a web tripwire of sorts. The environment can also factor into how enemies can be knocked out, such as swinging a crane to sweep through a whole group. The stealth is followed with combat that's also reminiscent to the Arkham series with plenty of combos, counters, and dodging with Parker's spider-sense. A short boss battle ensues where players have to be more creative with brutes that can tear right through Spider-Man's webbing, which leads into a helicopter chase through the city that shows that Insomniac Games' has a glorious handle over making it as smooth and enjoyable as it was in Treyarch's Spider-Man 2. It definitely has a cinematic angle to with seamless transitions between cutscenes and gameplay with plenty of QTEs in between.
What do you think of the direction that Spider-Man is taking with its gameplay? Is this all that you hoped for, or do you think it borrows a little too heavily from the Arkham games? Deck yourself out in red spandex in the comments section below and tell us how much you're looking forward to Insomniac Games' latest.
Comments 44
I think the Arkham-esque combat makes sense, and it looks like it's been executed really well. The animation is excellent. Production values in general seem sky high.
Really excited for this one. Shame it's next year, but luckily it looks like it'll be worth waiting for
Insomniac definitely taking the Arkham approach with this (might as well steal from the best) love the cinematic transitions, casual audiences will be all over that.
Loved It!
Simply INCREDIBLE.
Looks absolutely fantastic. Looks to me like Insomniac took the good elements of the Arkham games, Spider-Man 2 and what they learned from developing over the years and put it together.
I hated this so much. Was so looking forward to going crazy all over the city as Spidey. I'm playing Sunset Overdrive on X1 now, same developer Insomniac, and the game is so fantastic, so fun, so free. Then this Watch Dogs meets Arkham game that's QTE loaded. Loaded. I've seen rythym games with less screen prompts. So happy GoW dumped them, but then Spiderman went all in.
Maybe this was just a set piece, but I'm not playing a game that is playing me, telling me what buttons to press all the time.
Graphics were fantastic, but not what I expected or wanted.
Joey, just to be clear, Spider-Man was SAVING Fisk's goons from Mr Negative's men - he wasn't fighting them.
@rjejr Don't worry, most Sony game trailers as scripted as hell. And that was a main mission, pretty sure the open world nature of the game will be more powerful once the game is in your hands.
@Nickolaidas Corrected! Thanks for that.
Looked quite good - a bit too many QTE's for my liking in that sequence and hope its more Arkham Knight overall with side missions etc
@rjejr I'm pretty certain this was just a singular set piece from a story mission. This will be the open world Spidey game you're after, I'm sure. Also highly doubt QTEs will be present outside of action-heavy story sequences.
The trailer was very scripted, but it looked wonderful. I don't think the Miles tease was legitimate, as he was probably just a bystander.
I am not gonna lie. This has to be my biggest surprise of e3. I really thought it wouldn't look this good. Bravo, insomniac, bravo.
Alright, I'm interested. Was curious about this game since I liked Insomniac Games, but now I actually like it.
Hopefully this game should make up for the lack of a new Ratchet & Clank game I wished for this year.
I loved it. I think we are in for something good if this is how the game will look. Maybe have less QTEs, that's the one thing I could nitpick from this.
@rjejr Agreed, very disappointed with the 'push this - wiggle that' approach. Seriously? I Was so looking forward to Spider-man and then this.
It's a looker, but I'm hoping there's not too many QTE. I despise those.
This looks amazing, yes there are a few QTE prompts but we don't know the context with regards the rest of the game and this type of action would be near impossible without it. Hopefully we'll soon get to see the open world in all it's glory and the swinging looked great as did the rest of the game, the graphics are superb, really excited for this
Super sweet!
A spiderman game should make you feel awesome, and if the has to use QTE's to get the job done at times then so be it.
@zimbogamer same
Agree with the QTE comments. Look forward to seeing more though. On a side note, I'm not feeling the costume. The white spider on his chest just doesn't look right.
@JoeBlogs Exactly, we have to remember that this is Insomniac as well. There not too many studios that I would place higher in terms of delivering consistent quality.
CAN'T WAIT TO PLAY IT That is all I thought after seeing it in Action
It looks like a mix of the Batman Arkham games and Uncharted as far as the cinematics go. It almost seems like the game will be a bit more linear than I thought. I think it looks great. Definitely curious to see where they go with Miles, and I am glad they are using a newer villain like Mister Negative.
I do hope people are right about the QTEs I really enjoyed Spider-Man 2 on the PS3.
I suspect Iron Man will make an appearance as the spidy uniform has his design touches from Civil War.
Also I noticed the destruction of an 'Osborne for mayor' billboard. Which might play into the game's story at some stage
2 main things WRONG with this game:
1- Quick-Time-Events
2- Miles. That character sucks so bad! Hopefully that piece of sh*t isn't mandatory to use!
A.m.a.z.i.n.g... looks like it'll be the best spidey game ever! I was blown away by the gfx and spidey's new moves. I think comic heroes will enter a new golden age of gaming (thanks also to the devs who created batman and injustice)
@JoeBlogs Fair points. I guess with all the environmental action options, it was probably the only way to go. Hopefully they'll give us a demo
The gameplay made me instantly not want the game, it's just an Arkham rip off with too many QTEs.
A few to QTE for my taste but it looks sublime.
Gotta say I loved every second of it. Loving Spidey's new look. Action and combat looked intense and spectacular (ho ho), kind of a cross between Uncharted and Arkham Asylum. The writing and voice acting seem very good so far too. Very excited!
@Bliquid Every game plays itself essentially (you press a button and something happens). Spiderman is meant to be slick and acrobatic but how can he tie that helicopter up if it was all done in complete open gameplay? It would probably get frustrating and awkward (I know cos I've seen games try it in the past) this way they keep the player involved but also keep the presentation and pace up too.
@Quintumply @Nickolaidas
After sleeping on it I do feel better, it probably was a set piece and there probably is a whole lot of fun in there. But as somebody who games regularly on a PS4, Xbox and Wii U, and I'll have a Switch before this releases I'm sure, well it's not only the timing but the random buttons, just having R1 and L1 sometimes and R2 and L2 sometimes, well that's just unnecessary.
My idea of a Spiderman gameplay trailer - last year was all CG I think - would be the Spiderman theme from the original cartoon blasting while Spidey swings, climbs, webs a few guys and punches a few others in the face. Basically Id' reenact the opening credits of the show, how cool would that be?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7GmBwjSbrI
@nathanSF @Bliquid @Neolit Wow, kinda surprised anybody agreed w/ me on that, much less 3 people, and regulars I know from here at that.
OK time to go, uh, watch something.
My game of the show, I hope we get more creative fight with boss or middle bos that force spidey use the environment.
I'd prefer a new Batman game myself.
@JoeBlogs Thanks for the interview. I do think it will turn out well enough, my initial gut reaction got the better of me. I'm not a big fan of that style of combat though. Mario hoping around that city looks more my speed.
@rjejr Yeah, I'm tired of screen-prompts. Have them in the "easy/story" modes if you must, but please turn them off for "normal/hard" modes. If the QTEs are timed and fluid, I don't mind them as long as there are not too many.
The animations and art are superb!
@starhops "If the QTEs are timed and fluid"
I dont' mind QTEs if they are extra. In games like Paper Mario and maybe 1 or 2 JRPG I've played you get an extra point bonus for either attack or defense, so it's optional. What I dont' like is having to redo a scene 5x b/c I confuse circle and triangle or R1 and L1. I play games to have fun, not to be tested on my memorization of left and right.
Oh, sometimes games do that timing thing, big circle, little circle for bonus. I'm pretty good at timing, really bad at which button is which. But optional is still better.
@rjejr At least it's not Dragon's Lair
@starhops I always forget the name of Dragon's Lair, but "Space Ace and that other game" did cross my mind while watching the live E3 presentation. It certainly isn't that bad, or really similar at all, so I never brought it up, but it did make me think of those games. I always sucked at all of those games so I never played them much, so it wasn't a good moment for me.
@rjejr Those old arcade games were the grandmother of micro-transactions---feed in quarter after quarter just to memorize the gameplay. You would easily spend hundreds just trying to get through the game. I remember watching someone really "good" at Dragon's Lair-- he had the whole arcade watching. It was pretty amazing. I was personally always awed by the person playing Defender for an hour! O.o
@starhops All of my arcade time in the 80's was just a cover to drink w/ my friends in the parking lot.
@rjejr Ah, the good ole days.
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