Spider-man: Shattered Dimensions

Are four Spider-men better than one? Is a linear, more focused approach to gameplay better than an open world environment? That’s what Spider-man: Shattered Dimensions is counting on as it trades in the previous games’ open world for discrete levels and missions and adds three additional Spideys to the usual roster of one.

The plot of Shattered Dimensions feels like it could be ripped out of one of the Spider-man comics of yesteryear (and in fact, the story was penned by one of the current Spider-man writers, Dan Slott). As Spider-man prime (or the Amazing Spider-man), you encounter Mysterio trying to steal some ancient artifact. As these stories go, hijinx ensue and the artifact is shattered into fragments and sent off into different dimensions and it’s up you the four webslingers of different universes to retrieve them.

A lot of the abilities that you’ve come to know and love in Spider-man games, i.e. wall crawling, web slinging, etc., return, but this time around combat is a major focus. You’ll swing on a web to get from place to place, but you’ll spend the majority of your time punching and kicking people in the face. Even though you’re mostly beating up enemies the entire length of the game, it never feels like you’re beating up the same guy over and over again, partly because of the structure of the game, switching back and forth between the four universes.

Splitting up the missions between the various wallcrawlers makes for a more directed game experience but also a shorter playtime, about 10 hours worth. The lack of a true open world cuts down on the aimless swinging from place to place completing random missions like stopping robberies, saving little girls’ balloons and playing the role of high flying ambulance. The game is more focused as a result, like trimming the fat. But like a good piece of bacon, some of you out there might like the fat. Shattered Dimensions gets down to business right away and doesn’t let up until the final boss, for better or worse.

Of the four different Spider-men, three of them (Amazing, Ultimate and 2099) all play very similarly (albeit still enjoyable). There are slight differences, Ultimate Spider-man (with the black symbiote costume) can activate a “rage mode� where you become more powerful, take less damage, etc., Spider-man 2099 has “accelerated vision� where time slows down and you can dodge attacks more easily, and Amazing Spider-man has the benefit of being voiced by Neil Patrick Harris. And whereas the Amazing levels feel linear, Ultimate’s levels feel like a little open worlds and 2099’s levels have vertical sequences embedded in, where you’re chasing someone or something down a futuristic landscape.

But Spider-man Noir plays much differently than his other universe counterparts. Noir’s m.o. is to hide in the shadows and take down enemies stealthily... which would be a lot of fun (not to mention reminiscent of a certain other game based on a comic book character) if the controls weren’t so finicky. To takedown an enemy, all you need to do is hit one button once they’re in range. Unfortunately, it seems that what constitutes “in range� is random given any particular situation. Wall crawling is a great way to stay hidden, but you’ll find yourself fighting with the camera to get a good look at the situation below you... which will probably end up getting you spotted. The stealth portions of the game are a welcome change of pace, but it seems like the game is actively trying to make it more frustrating then fun.

Where the majority of the Spider-men play similarly, the art style of each world perfectly matches the personality of the Spider-man portrayed within. The Amazing Spider-man is brightly colored with bold lines, Ultimate Spider-man is darker, Spider-man 2099 is shiny and glittery (as any future world should be) and Spider-man Noir is dark and monochrome, evocative of the 1930’s world it takes place in. And for you fans of any and all of the Spider-man cartoons, you might immediately notice the voice talent behind the webheads. All of the voices for the various Spider-men have voiced the wallcrawler before but interestingly (maybe only to me) none of them reprised their roles from the cartoons.

In many ways, Spider-man: Shattered Dimensions is fan service. There’s no way we’d see a game based on Spider-man Noir or Spider-man 2099. But by expertly weaving each of the different wallcrawlers’ stories and worlds, we get to experience a taste of each without ever getting bored by repetitive gameplay. So, I guess in a way, four Spider-men are better than one.

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