| Spider-Man | |
|---|---|
 North American PlayStation cover art | |
| Developer | Neversoft[a] |
| Publishers |
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| Producers |
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| Designer | Chad Findley |
| Programmers |
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| Artist | Chris Ward |
| Composers |
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| Series | Spider-Man |
| Platforms | |
| Release | |
| Genre | Action-adventure |
| Mode | Single-player |
Spider-Man is a 2000action-adventure game based on theMarvel Comics characterof the same name. It was developed byNeversoft and published byActivision for thePlayStation. The game was later ported by different developers to various systems, including theGame Boy Color andNintendo 64 that same year, theDreamcast andMicrosoft Windows in 2001, andMac OS in 2002.
The game's story follows Spider-Man as he attempts to clear his name after being framed by adoppelgänger and becoming a wanted criminal, while also having to foil asymbiote invasion orchestrated byDoctor Octopus andCarnage. Numerous villains from the comics appear asbosses, includingScorpion,Rhino,Venom,Mysterio, Carnage, and Doctor Octopus, as well as a Carnage symbiote-possessed Doctor Octopus named Monster-Ock, who was created exclusively for the game. The game features narration from co-creatorStan Lee, and is the first Spider-Man game published by Activision following their acquisition of the license, which would expire in 2014.
Spider-Man received an overall generally positive reception. It was followed by three sequels in 2001: the Game Boy Color-exclusiveSpider-Man 2: The Sinister Six, developed byTorus Games; the PlayStation-exclusiveSpider-Man 2: Enter: Electro, developed byVicarious Visions; and theGame Boy Advance-exclusiveSpider-Man: Mysterio's Menace, also developed by Vicarious Visions.
The game has the player controlling Spider-Man as he goes through each level, either trying to reach the exit or complete a certain objective. The player must retry the current level if Spider-Man runs out of health, falls off a building or fails to complete certain objectives such as rescuing a hostage. Spider-Man is able to utilize his spider powers to traverse the environments, being able to crawl on walls and ceilings, swing short distances and instantly zip between certain points. In combat, Spider-Man can utilize a limited supply of web-cartridges to attack his enemies, either webbing them up to stall or defeat them, increasing the strength of his attacks or forming an explosive barrier.
Spider-Man can also find comics, which unlock a Spider-Man comic book issue cover in the menu screen, as well as power-ups such as Spider-Armor which temporarily increases his strength and defense, and Fire Webbing which is effective against symbiotes. Several alternate costumes are available to unlock, each with their own attributes. Some costumes provide enhancements, while others provide no change or detriments. For example, theSpider-Man 2099 costume features enhanced strength, while the civilian Peter Parker suit limits the available number of web cartridges to two. TheBen Reilly costume in contrast contains no enhancements or detriments.
Many stages contain a prologue narration from series co-creatorStan Lee.
A supposedly reformed Dr.Otto Octavius is holding a scientific demonstration at the Science Expo 2000, but is interrupted when an impostorSpider-Man attacks the crew and steals his equipment.Eddie Brock tries to take pictures for theDaily Bugle, but the impostor shatters his camera. In a rage, theVenomsymbiote resurfaces inside Brock, and he vows vengeance against Spider-Man.
Meanwhile, the real Spider-Man, who witnessed the incident as Peter Parker, is held responsible for the theft and the police ensue a manhunt for him. Elsewhere, two unseen figures release dense amounts of mysterious fog from their hidden base into the city which quickly covers the streets. After meeting withBlack Cat and foiling a bank robbery by the Jade Syndicate, Spider-Man is forced to saveJ. Jonah Jameson fromScorpion at theDaily Bugle. He defeats Scorpion only for an ungrateful Jameson to call the police on him. While trying to escape, Spider-Man encountersDaredevil who promises to spread the word about Spider-Man's innocence.
After evading a police helicopter, Spider-Man reunites with Black Cat who informs him of two new problems:Rhino is attacking a power plant and Venom has kidnapped his wifeMary Jane Parker to lure out Spider-Man. Choosing to deal with Rhino first, Spider-Man and Black Cat defeat him and leave him for the police, but Black Cat gets badly wounded during the fight and is kidnapped by unknown assailants posing asparamedics. After encouragement fromHuman Torch, Spider-Man sets out to find Venom only for Venom to instead find Spider-Man and goad him, leading to a chase throughout the city and eventually into Venom's hideout in the sewers.
During his pursuit, Spider-Man encounters theLizard who was imprisoned by Venom after taking control of hisLizard Men (who attacked Spider-Man at various points during the chase). The Lizard points Spider-Man to Venom's lair where the former rescues Mary Jane and defeats Venom. To make amends with Spider-Man after learning he was framed, Venom offers to assist him in finding the culprit to which Spider-Man begrudgingly agrees.
The two head to theDaily Bugle to search through Jameson's files for answers. During the search, Venom sensesCarnage's presence nearby and leaves to find him. Left to investigate on his own, Spider-Man discovers an infestation ofSymbiotes in the building and clears them out before encountering the impostor Spider-Man, who revealed to beMysterio in disguise. After defeating him, Spider-Man learns Mysterio was hired to keep Spider-Man distracted while his employer infests New York with Symbiotes and that the fog over the city will act as a beacon for the symbiotes, preparing the citizens forsymbiosis.
On his way to Warehouse 65 where the hideout of Mysterio's employer is located, Spider-Man encountersPunisher, whom he convinces about his innocence. In turn, Punisher offers Spider-Man help with infiltrating the warehouse. Not looking to raise the amount of casualties, Spider-Man declines.
Spider-Man discovers an entrance to a massive undersea base inside the warehouse and proceeds to investigate, quickly coming across a symbiote manufacturing operation and an imprisoned Black Cat. After disrupting the operation and rescuing Black Cat, Spider-Man finally confronts her kidnappers and the masterminds behind the Symbiote invasion: Dr. Octavius and Carnage. Taking up his Doctor Octopus persona once again, Octavius explains that he faked his reform and that, with the help of Carnage (who donated his Carnage symbiote to be cloned), he hopes to create a new world dominated by symbiotes under his rule. Later, Venom appears and takes on Carnage while Spider-Man fights Doctor Octopus. After both Doctor Octopus and Venom are defeated, Spider-Man fights Carnage and defeats him by sustaining him into a sonic bubble.
Following his defeat, the Carnage symbiote separates fromCletus Kasady and fuses with Doctor Octopus, creating "Monster-Ock". Unable to perform an effective battle, Spider-Man is chased by the monstrosity out of the self-destructing base until it is caught in one of the explosions which removes the symbiote from Doctor Octopus's body. As the Carnage symbiote slithers back into the burning base, Spider-Man carries the unconscious Doctor Octopus to the surface where they are salvaged byCaptain America, Black Cat, and Venom in an aircraft.
Sometime later, Spider-Man is playing cards with Captain America, Daredevil, and the Punisher, while Black Cat and the Human Torch are dancing.
In prison, Doctor Octopus' cellmates—Mysterio, Rhino, Scorpion, and a Jade Syndicate thug—are also playing cards. Mysterio mentions to Rhino, Scorpion, and the Jade Syndicate thug that nobody can control the Symbiotes. When Rhino mistakenly thinks he got a bingo, he accidentally sends the Jade Syndicate thug's head through the roof. Annoyed and despondent, Doctor Octopus bangs his head against the cell bars.
The game was announced on December 2, 1998.[9]Spider-Man uses the same game engine asTony Hawk's Pro Skater. Spider-Man was a hidden character inTony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, and a reference is made to this during gameplay. The PlayStation, Dreamcast, and Windows versions have pre-renderedcutscenes, whereas the Nintendo 64 version shows captioned freeze-frames done in the style of a comic book and with fewer voice clips, due to that console's technical limitations for cutscenes.
According to lead designer Chad Findley, the Lizard was meant to be a boss in the final sewer level, and Spider-Man would have fought Venom (who had kidnapped his wife Mary Jane) atop theBrooklyn Bridge. Due to time constraints, both of these ideas were scrapped.[10] The earliest footage of the game was found in the German demo disc "PlayDemo Vol. 17", which featured various changes such as a different opening sequence, placeholder voice performances, an unused model forScorpion that more resembles his classic comic appearance as opposed to his more recent design fromSpider-Man: The Animated Series in the final game (having been changed to help him be more visible according to Findley), an entirely differentRhino boss stage, as well as a sewer level not found in the final game.[11]
[Stan Lee] gave every line he read 110% [...] he would not move on until he gave it the delivery he thought it deserved.
— Chad Findley, lead designer on Stan Lee's voice narration.[12]
Some of the voice actors from bothSpider-Man: The Animated Series andSpider-Man Unlimited cartoons reprise their respective roles. For instance,Rino Romano reprises his role as Spider-Man/Peter Parker fromSpider-Man Unlimited as well as voicing Bank Thug #1,Jennifer Hale reprises her roles as both Black Cat from the 1994Spider-Man cartoon and Mary Jane Watson fromSpider-Man Unlimited.Efrem Zimbalist Jr. reprises his role asDoctor Octopus from the 1994Spider-Man TV series. The main song is a remix of the1960sSpider-Man cartoontheme by the UK electronic music groupApollo 440.Stan Lee narrates key parts of the story.Daran Norris voicesVenom/Eddie Brock,Mysterio,Scorpion,Punisher,Human Torch andCaptain America whileDee Bradley Baker voicesCarnage,J. Jonah Jameson,Lizard,Daredevil, andRhino.Christopher Corey Smith voicesMicrochip, Hostage, Police Pilot, and Sniper. Chad Findley, lead designer of the game, voices Bank Thug #1, Eagle-One Pilot, and Security Guard.[13]
The game's soundtrack was composed byTommy Tallarico and Howard Ulyate. It features a variety of tracks mostly arranged in individual samples, influenced by popular music genres of the time such asindustrial rock andnu metal. The samples correlate to actions in-game, such as when Spider-Man is battling an enemy, and fade out when the action is over. However some levels have a fixed soundtrack, including boss battles. The Nintendo 64 port includes a sound test where the individual samples of tracks can be listened to. It can be accessed via cheat code.
The game's title screen and credits roll use thetheme song of the1960sSpider-Man animated series, remixed by English electronic bandApollo 440.
| Aggregator | Score | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dreamcast | GBC | N64 | PC | PS | |
| GameRankings | 80%[51] | 67%[52] | 83%[53] | 68%[54] | 87%[55] |
| Metacritic | 80/100[56] | N/A | 72/100[57] | 68/100[58] | 87/100[59] |
| Publication | Score | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dreamcast | GBC | N64 | PC | PS | |
| AllGame |    [14] | [15] | [16] | [17] | [18] |
| Electronic Gaming Monthly | 7.5/10[19] | N/A | 7/10[20] | N/A | 7.83/10[21] |
| Eurogamer | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 9/10[22] |
| Game Informer | N/A | N/A | 8/10[24] | N/A | N/A |
| GameFan | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 73%[23] |
| GamePro | [25] | N/A | [26] | N/A | [27] |
| GameRevolution | B[28] | N/A | C[29] | N/A | B−[30] |
| GameSpot | 7.2/10[31] | 6.5/10[32] | 7.8/10[33] | 6.6/10[34] | 7.7/10[35] |
| GameSpy | 8/10[36] | N/A | N/A | 77%[37] | N/A |
| GameZone | 7/10[38] | N/A | N/A | 7/10[39] | N/A |
| IGN | 8.4/10[40] | 9/10[41] | 8.5/10[42] | 6/10[43] | 9/10[44] |
| Next Generation | [46] | N/A | N/A | N/A | [45] |
| Nintendo Power | N/A | 7.1/10[47] | [48] | N/A | N/A |
| Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | [49] |
| PC Gamer (US) | N/A | N/A | N/A | 78%[50] | N/A |
While reviews varied from system to system,Spider-Man received generally positive reviews.GameRankings shows aggregate scores of 86.53% for the PlayStation version,[55] 66.91% for the Game Boy Color version,[52] 82.52% for the Nintendo 64 version,[53] 80.23% for the Dreamcast version,[51] and 67.96% for the PC version.[54]Metacritic shows scores of 87 out of 100 for the PlayStation version,[59] 72 out of 100 for the Nintendo 64 version,[57] 80 out of 100 for the Dreamcast version,[56] and 68 out of 100 for the PC version.[58] In September 2000 Activision reported that the game held the number two position for third-party published games on the PlayStation, though no official sales numbers were given.[60]
IGN gave the PlayStation version a 9 out of 10, calling it "arguably, the best Spider-Man game",[44] giving a 8.4 for the Dreamcast version calling it "good fun for anyone with a Dreamcast that hasn't played the PlayStation version", while expecting more from a powerful system like the Dreamcast.[61] The PC version, however, got a scathing review for essentially being a port of the Dreamcast with no major changes.[62]GameSpot gave the PlayStation version a 7.7, calling it "excellent framework on which to base future Spider-Man games – and an exceptional game to boot".[35]
Greg Orlando reviewed the PlayStation version of the game forNext Generation, rating it four stars out of five, and stated that "Excelsior! Great web-slinging fun".[45]
Scott Steinberg reviewed the Dreamcast version of the game forNext Generation, rating it four stars out of five, and stated that "a fun but slightly flawed superhero action adventure that'll have you bouncing off the walls. Literally".[46]
Spider-Man's PlayStation version received a "Platinum" sales award from theEntertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA),[63] indicating sales of at least 300,000 copies in the United Kingdom.[64]
The game has spawned three sequels in 2001:Spider-Man 2: The Sinister Six served as an alternative continuation that followed the events of the Game Boy Color version instead. The game eventually got a true sequel titledSpider-Man 2: Enter: Electro, released exclusively for the PlayStation, and a standalone sequel,Spider-Man: Mysterio's Menace, for the Game Boy Advance exclusively.
In a November 2019 interview, former Neversoft employee and lead designer ofSpider-Man Chad Findley expressed interest in developing a remaster of the game, but admitted that it would be unlikely due to "the nightmarish licensing and approval processes that are around these days".[65][66]
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