Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions Impression Review

pider-Man 2099 was actually one of the first comics that I ever had gotten my hands on. So, it shouldn’t be a big surprise that when I heard 2099 would be making the casting call for Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, it started to garner my interest for the game. I was worried though; having four different characters each playing differently made me wonder if the developers would be able to keep the game from being shallow. Yet, I still had hope. If Batman: Arkham Asylum can pull it off, why not this game?

Graphics/Presentation: You won’t really be impressed with the graphics as a technical feat, but if you’re a fan of any of the Spider-Man universes, you’ll love the attention to detail put in each world. With accented heavy lines and the cel-shaded colors, the Amazing Universe feels like a living breathing comic book whereas the Noir universe feels like it’s straight out of an old detective movie filled with dimly lit alleyways devoid of color and smokey rooftops littering the landscape. The Spider-Man 2099 universe is really just how I pictured it: a cyberpunk dystopia that fills up the landscape plastered with neon lights and cars speeding through the air all in a coordinated fashion. The Ultimate universe has this smooth clean look with almost everything feeling as if they were popping out, exactly the way you would find in the comics. Not only does these universes feel fully realized but each and every Spider-Man fits right into their respective places. The costume design on each character really shows and each of them have very unique animation styles from the Noir Spiderman’s creeping walk to the flashy split-second acrobatics of Spider-Man 2099.

There really isn’t much to a story to Shattered Dimensions. Pretty much everything about the main plot is given to you from the very beginning: after clashing with Mysterio in the Amazing universe, Spider-Man accidentally “shatters” a tablet with mystical powers that has traveled into other worlds. With the help of Madam Web and the other Spider-Men, they slowly gather the pieces back together to prevent the worlds from tearing each other apart.

That’s it. You won’t see any big plot twists throughout the game and even if something out of the blue does happen, you’ll see it coming from a mile. It’s such a shame to see such a wonderful concept that could be built upon fall very short imagination by the developers.

Sound: I didn’t really find any of the music to be memorable or worth taking some time to listening to, but that is all made up with some excellent voice acting from the cast.  Each Spider-man is voiced by a veteran Spidey who has taken the role on television. Neil Patrick Harris does his role as the Amazing Spider-Man extremely well and it was very nostalgic to hear the voice of Christopher Daniel Barnes from the Original Spiderman TV show voice the Noir version of Spiderman. You’ve also got Josh Keaton and Dan Gilvezan voicing Ultimate, and 2099 respectively. The dialogue is humorous and kept me entertained throughout the game as the web-slinging crew stayed true to their characters with their cheesy and sarcastic remarks; I completely forgot how much of big mouth these guys were. Imagine if you put all four of them in one room? You’d never hear the end of it. Speaking of big mouths, there’s one particular character I really enjoyed seeing but I won’t spoil it for you!

Gameplay/Controls: As I mentioned in my introduction, I was really worried that with 4 different characters, the developers would end up thinning out the gameplay. I’m glad to say I was mistaken. Taking a direction from Rocksteady (Developers of Batman: Arkham Asylum) Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions is not a sand-box game and it greatly benefits from this style.

The game is broken up into 4 acts with each act consisting of one level per universe; you’ll be allowed to tackle each level in any order per act and once its completed you’ll move onto the next act. This is cool since if you have a favorite you can head straight into that level without trudging through the other three. Most of the level is pretty linear with some having a few branching paths but Beenox made sure to keep things fresh in each chapter. On one level I spent my time jumping from crates that were swooped up by Sandman’s twister. As the epic tornado grew, I had to constantly keep moving before it could engulf me. In the Ultimate universe, I found himself on a wacky TV show hosted by that “one particular character I won’t spoil for you” and had to race against a giant tsunami before it wiped me out. What helps to add to this diversity is the universes themselves, making it feel like that you’re never repeating yourself and doing the same tasks all over again.

Not only did Beenox keep the blueprints for each level mixed, they’ve also been able to keep no two Spider-Man to be alike. Though they all can web-sling from place to place, use their spidey-sense and punch their way through a group of enemies, they all play differently in some manner or another as well as have different gameplay aspects that set each other apart. In the 2099 universe, Spider-Man will often dive down through through the futuristic streets of New York similar to the way you traveled through Icarus tunnels in God of War III. He is also is pretty brutal and quick compared to his counterparts and can slow down time with his accelerated vision giving you some opportunities to pull out some impressive combos. If you were to do this in the Noir universe, you would be beaten down to a pulp by enemies who wield Tommy Guns. Instead, you’ll have to play a game of cat and mouse as you lurk in the shadows taking out each of them silently. Of course, there will be times where you’ll have to come into the light and batter down and few mobsters and you’ll be quick to notice that unlike 2099, his attacks don’t pack a so much heat but being extremely agile gives him a big advantage to avoid incoming punches. In the Ultimate universe, I noticed that this Spidey can really take on a large group of enemies all at the same time with the black symbiote suit. I’ve had about almost 30 enemies on screen at the same time and Spider-Man quickly took care of them with style by using the symboite as an extra limb to knock out adversaries. And if they really started pissing me off I could always unleash my rage meter and use it as anger management therapy.

I really enjoyed all of the boss battles you encounter in each level. They all stick very well to the characterizations of their respective universes. They start of as somewhat of a challenge at first but eventually once you recognize their pattern it becomes pretty easy to take care of them. There’s also a mini-game in some boss battles where it takes you in first-person view and you have a “Punch Out” esque brawl with them. Beenox really made sure that you had an unique experience with and every boss encounter and personally thought it was a step-up from the boss fights you had in Rocksteady’s Batman:Arkham Asylum.

The combat system is very deep and as you progress through the game, you’ll be collecting emblems of all sorts that give you “essence points” that let you unlock even more move sets and skill buffs for either all the Spider-Men or for one particular Spider-Man. Other than collecting emblems, you can also grab essence by taking out enemies and also completing 180 different types of challenges. Each level consists a web of challenges that you can easily track and it eventually becomes somewhat of a side quest that you take on as you play the game. It adds a whole new level of depth and adds more content that is fun to complete since there are some that require you to do accomplish specific objectives. Add to the mix that you get ranked after completing a level and you’ll have countless time to add after the 8-9 hour main portion of the game.

As much fun as I had playing with all four of the Spider-Men, there are a few glaring issues that plague all of them. The biggest issue is how awful the camera angles can get at certain times and it becomes frustrating  when you’re constantly are in a midst of a battle and the camera zooms straight into Spidey’s back out of nowhere. There also moments where I’ve accidentally clipped into a wall and it unintentionally breaks that fourth wall. While I’ve enjoyed the game it can sometimes feel like I’m repeating the same things over again. This is particularly clear in the Noir universe where the level seems to have framework that consists of “sneak, rescue civilians, sneak, rescue civilians, and finally a boss encounter”. But don’t get me wrong, the Noir universe was probably my favorite universe due to the fact I had the opportunity to make stealthy approaches and as I mentioned before, the various level designs keep everything fresh.

Conclusion: I honestly did not have much expectations for Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, but I completely washed away my doubts as I played through this game. Beenox really gave an equal amount of attention to each of the worlds and not one of them seems to be lagging behind in terms of gameplay and characterization. The camera angles can get a little iffy at times but overall it’s a very fun package as well as a single player experience that still has a lot of re-playability once your done with the game. If you got the cash, you’ll definitely get your moneys worth.

*A copy of Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions was provided by  Play N Trade (Oviedo, FL) for this review.