In the past decade, we all know that video-game publisher Activision held the Spider-Man license to develop games. It was a mixed bag of beans and was more of a hit and miss for Spider-Man games under Activision’s grasps. Spider-Man: Web of Shadows (2008) and Spider-Man 2 (2004) were one of the best Spidey games that gave players new experiences.
Grand Theft Auto III’s success paved way for an open-world based Spider-Man game. When Spider-Man 2 launched in 2004, Treyarch developed a Spider-Man game like no other in its time; players were given the freedom to roam around Manhattan, New York.
The last Spider-Man game, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, didn’t do well critically. It was poorly criticized for its lack of innovative gameplay, horrible graphics, and glitches.
In this generation, a new Spider-Man game was announced and that it’s going to be a PS4 exclusive and developed by the studio behind the Ratchet & Clank and Resistance franchises, Insomniac Games. We’ve seen the impressive cinematic and gameplay trailers and even witnessed a positive look from Game Informer.
This week’s question for the team is: will Insomniac Games’ Spider-Man be a huge success when it hits the store shelves on September 7?
Leif Bornales: I’m not sure. I would like to say that it would because of what they have showcased about the game so far. This is what Spider-Man fans have probably been waiting for but it all depends on the execution of story and gameplay or if we will get 3-dimensional characters. I’m looking forward to this game though that’s for sure.
Gareth Newnham: I think so, Insomniac has an incredibly strong track record, other than getting Sucker Punch to make it I really couldn’t think of a better studio to do it.
Years of making Ratchet and Clank have shown they can make games that have a similar sense of humor and gift for the ridiculous that Spiderman has, and it looks like they have done their homework and focused on making a game that is true to the comics and takes its queues from Spider-Man 2. It’s looking very promising indeed.
Jason Ong: I think it has promise. The game looks like they actually gave thought to the story and mechanics for this iteration, compared to the usual movie tie-in games that were most likely rushed just to join the hype train.
Erickson Melchor: It’s going to have strong initial sales. That much I’m certain. It‘s being made by Insomniac. That alone is going draw a lot of people in. What happens after is going to depend on fun factor and how engaging the whole game is. Personally, I’m rooting for it. If it’s anything like Spiderman 1 on the PS1, it’s going to be a strong title.
In my take, I have faith in Insomniac Games to pull this off. The amount of time that the studio gave to develop Spider-Man and its direction for the story and gameplay (based on the gameplay videos they’ve shown), it’ll definitely be a big hit both critically and commercially. It’s going to be better than the Activision-published ones for sure.
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Sirus Talks is a weekly feature where the team and likely special guest put their thoughts about a certain subject — may it be anything gaming-related, hot controversies, or pure nonsense! Check the previous Sirus Talks episodes here.