Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions Review

Posted in Gaming, Reviews by Aaron, September 10, 2010 at 7:25 pm | 852 views, 23 comments

This game is all about fan service. Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions brings us four different versions of the Spider-Man hero from four different comic series. We have our classic, Amazing Spider-Man, along with Ultimate Spider-Man, Spider-Man Noir and Spider-Man 2099.

Each one has his own unique levels to play through, and each level is themed after a boss, which is great. A lot of classic foes are here, from Kraven to different versions of the Vulture or Hobgoblin.

The boss fights are the real draw for the game – you usually face off against the boss twice in any given level, and they give a little variety to the gameplay. Especially when the game takes you into first person, face to face with your enemy while you wail on them.

It’s what will keep you playing, as enemy variety is a little slim. You have a few standard enemies that you face in every level, like grunts, big guys or shielded enemies, just re-skinned for each level.

Visually, the game is, for the most part, good to look at. With the exception of a few bland textures (especially in the Amazing Spider-Man levels), there’s enough visual flair to keep you interested, and every universe does look unique and busy in its own way. The last level of Spider-Man Noir looked fantastic.

Each character has their own variation of attacks and combos. Essentially, it’s the same combos and effects, but animations are unique to each character. Amazing Spider-Man is easily the most pleasing to look at though, as he creates hammers and generally bigger looking attacks.

Three of the four universes play the same as well, which is unfortunate. Little quirks change up the game, with Ultimate Spider-Man having the symbiote suit which allows him to go into a high damage “rage” mode, and Spider-Man 2099 has some flying sequences which break up the action. At the end of the day, as I said before, their fighting variations of the same enemies with the same attacks.

Spider-Man Noir mixes things up with his stealth gameplay, which is fun at first but gets repetitive very quickly. He hides in the shadows, rescues people from cages, and can be gunned down very quickly if spotted. Which is awkward, because during his action sequences he suddenly becomes just as tough as his other versions.

The combat is pretty solid throughout. By collecting emblems and beating up bad guys, you gain experience (Spider Essence), which you can spend on upgrades and new combos.

You can also gain Spider Essence by completing challenges. My biggest problem with this was reading the challenge descriptions could spoil the level for you. Things are a little less tense or exciting if you know they are coming, which is a waste if the challenge itself was just getting past the sequence.

The game is also plagued with bugs – more than once I fell through the floor and was stuck there, unable to move, and forced to restart.

On the flipside, the writing, especially Spider-Man’s quips, are great and genuinely funny. The voice acting is good throughout, with the voices of each version of Spider-Man coming from actors that voiced him in past cartoons. Stan Lee does narration.

The story is basic, concerning Mysterio and a powerful tablet, but it gets the job done. Unfortunately, the different universes never really cross paths, so we don’t see the Spider-Man versions interacting with each other. Seems like a missed opportunity.

In the end, it’s a solid action game and should please fans of the character.

This review was for the Xbox 360 version of the game. We completed the entire game on “normal” difficulty. It took us eight hours to beat the main game.

To contact the author of this post: aaron.chatha@wildgunmen.com