Game Info
GAME NAME: Spiderman: Shattered Dimensions
DEVELOPER(S): Beenox
PUBLISHER(S): Activision
PLATFORM(S): PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, PC
RELEASE DATE(S): September 7, 2010
In the interest of full discloser I will admit the following two facts: 1) I have been a Spider-Man fan since I was young boy and I have many fond memories of the various incarnations of Spider-Man, and 2) I have not played the other Spider-Man video games that have come before this one – so I’ve got nothing in the way of preconceived notions of what a Spider-Man game should be. So, that being said, I think Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions is damned fine superhero video gaming experience! Developed by Beenox and published by Activision, Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions is a solid offering and some are calling it the best Spider-Man game to date. And I am certainly inclined to agree.
The story begins with Spider-Man fighting Mysterio in a museum. During the conflict, Spider-Man unwittingly shatters a museum piece, the Tablet of Order and Chaos. Shattering this powerful relic scatters it across multiple alternate realities, each with its own Spider-Man. Madame Web then enlists the aid of these various Spider-Men to recover the lost fragments and restore balance to the multiverse. The base reality is that of the Amazing Spider-Man, but the opening tutorial in the game offers a quick introduction to the other Spider-Men and their realities; Spider-Man Noir, Spider-Man 2099, and the Ultimate Spider-Man. Each Act in the game also has four levels, one for each of the Spider-Men.
The gameplay is typically fast and furious. And while this game isn’t an open-world game, Spider-Man still has plenty of room to jump around, swing from webs, and crawl on walls. Like most action games, Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions is filled with unlockable combos and moves (as well as whole host of other unlockable content like suits and character upgrades). Each dimension has its own look and feel, as does each different Spider-Man due to the inclusion of distinct combos and attacks. The in-game achievement system is very much like a road map, with most of them coming during the course of play without having to go too far out of the way to complete. Even falling is usually just a matter of throwing out a web and jumping right back to where Spidey fell from.
The sound and graphics are both very well crafted. Some critics and fans have noted that some characters’ mouths don’t move during the movies at the beginning of levels, but this seems to be more by design as those movies are made to look like still-frame comics. The Amazing Spider-Man reality is very cartoony, possessing an art style very like Darksiders. The Noir reality is very dark and foreboding, slightly reminiscent of Batman: Arkham Asylum. The 2099 reality has a very high-tech sheen to it. The Ultimate reality is probably the most normal and video-game looking. But the real magic is in flipping from one level, and one reality, to another. When played back to back, the differences become readily apparent and provide a varied and multi-layered gaming experience.
All told, I played about 8 hours of Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions while I had it rented out, and I really want to rent it again and possibly just buy it to keep. It’s a good video game and very good Spider-Man video game. Any fan of Spider-Man should greatly enjoy this game – and not just because Beenox did a good job, but because you get to play 4 Spider-Men! Four! That’s like buy-one-get-one times 3! Add in the 3 levels of difficulty, the harder achievements and all the unlockable character upgrades and this game looks to have a fairly high replay value. I highly recommend this game to all Spider-Man fans and I give it an 8.5 out of 10.
