By: Dylan Frazier
Email: Frazierd@findlay.edu
It does not appear that the superhero craze is going anywhere as PlayStation has release their latest game, “Marvel’s Spider-Man”. This is not the first time a superhero game has taken over the gaming world. The Batman Arkham games were the craze for a while but now it appears the mantle has been passed on the Spider-Man.
The story starts off with a bang where Spider-Man has to fight Wilson Fisk, Kingpin, and eventually defeat Fisk and throw him in jail. However, the crime in New York City will soon become worse as Spider-Man will soon find out that Fisk kept the crime in the city controlled. In this game, the gamer is not only Spider-Man, but is also Peter Parker. Spider-Man is the crime-fighting superhero who keeps New York City safe, while Peter Parker is a young adult who tries to deal with a job that makes no money to live off and maintain his relationships with his friends and family. One of the relationships in the game we focus on the most is with his idol, Dr. Otto Octavius, whom Peter works for. Dr. Octavius loves Peter like a son but constantly struggles with his hatred for Norman Osborne, the mayor of New York city, and his struggle with a degenerative disease that will eventually kill him. He and Peter developed a cure for his degenerative disease and eventually they work on a device that gives him full control of his body again. With this device, he is ready to destroy Osborn.
The game progresses once Octavius is ready to go out with his plan but realizes he cannot do it alone. He is forced to do something drastic; break out all of Spider-Man’s villains to create the Sinister Six. The city is in ruins and they need Spider-Man more than ever. Spider-Man then fights the likes of Electro, Rhino, Scorpion, Mr. Negative, and Vulture. Once Spider-Man defeats the evil villains, he then must battle Dr. Octavius. This is a tremendous struggle for Spider-Man because he has to fight his toughest foe, and it is tough for Peter Parker because he is fighting his idol and friend.
To me, the main point of the game was that anyone can be a hero. Obviously, Spider-Man is the main hero in the game, but the game did a great job of making other characters important to the plot. Most notably Mary Jane Watson and Miles Morales, they were very important to the game. Mary Jane is a writer for the Daily Bugle. In the game she helps Spider-Man obtain more information about Mr. Negative and Norman Osborne. She risks her life to help Spider-Man but without her, Spider-Man could not have done what he did in the game. As for Miles Morales, he is a boy who Peter Parker takes under his wing after Miles’s father was killed. Miles helped Spider-Man as well, especially with Rhino as he gave Spider-Man the whereabouts of Rhino. He is also very important because Miles sets up what the next game could potentially be about. So, matter whether you are Mary Jane Watson or Miles Morales, you can help people; which the game does an excellent job of portraying.
If you want a game that can take days to play and just roam around Manhattan, this game is for you. The game offers a ton of fun for fans of Spider-Man and for those who just want a game they can play forever and not get bored with.