How turning bad could make Spider-Man good again

6: Eight square miles of a Marvel-ised New York to own
The entire game will take place in the streets of New York. While we were playing we saw Times Square, which was immediately recognisable even in this alternative comic book reality. While you get the major landmarks and districts, this is a skewed version of the real-life NY. So expect to see loads of Marvel landmarks such as the Daily Bugle in the finished game. Scenery is moderately destructible too, so smashing foes into shop fronts will break the shop. Yay!

Above: The environment looks crisp and solid, and big too

7: Fight Marvel bosses
One of the best parts of the game we've yet seen was a boss fight with Vulture, whose wings were made up of individually rendered blades. The new combat system allows you to stay in the air thanks to the new webbing mechanic, so the fight takes place high above the city. While we weren't allowed to see how the fight ended, it was cool enough to get us wondering what the other boss fights will be like. After all, Venom's confirmed and there are more announcements coming.

Above: Venom used to pull the legs off spiders as a kid. Nothing's changed

8: New voice talent
Thanks to the non-movie license, Tobey "disinterested" Maguire is out and regular videogame voice actor Mike Vaughn is in. To be honest, his voice is incredibly similar to Maguire's, only with much more enthusiasm.Vaughn assumes a much nastier tone for dark-suited Spidey, too. Mmmm, versatility... Battlestar Galactica fans will be pleased to hear that Tricia Helfer provides the voice for Black Cat, after assuming the role in the TV series The Spectacular Spider-Man earlier in the year.

9: Spidey has to fight NY citizens
While the exact plot is being kept under wraps for the time being, we can confirm that NY citizens are being turned into zombies by the evil Symbiote. At first, they don't look any different from normal inhabitants of New York, so you'll have to tell from their behaviour whether they're bad or not (clue, if they're scaling building's, they're probably evil). Later on, they turn a nasty white colour and move more like zombies, so you won't feel so bad about piledriving their faces into the ground.
Of course, the police will wonder why Spider-Man's beating up civilians so Peter Parker will have to explain himself at several points in the story.

Above: The zombies shuffle towards you, looking at your neck and then... punch you in the face

10: Multiple endings
With the red and black suits offering up different moral choices (and entirely separate plot threads depending on initial choice), there are multiple endings for the game. This should give it some longevity, so as long as that combat system holds up under extended play and you don't mind that traditionally single-player Spidey experience, there should be plenty to keep you happy.

07 Oct, 2008