Insomniac's Spider-Man for PS4 releases on September 7th

[Kevinroc]

http://www.gameinformer.com/b/featur...-revealed.aspx

And 114 rapid-fire questions with one of the developers.

http://www.gameinformer.com/b/featur...pider-man.aspx

[Lukmendes]

Ah, it'll be locked at 30FPS, too bad...

I chuckled when he asked about whether or not there would be catching balloons mini game lol.

Also funny that guy asked if the "Raven Corporation" is on the game, while it's from another of their games, the comics have that "Raven Society", but they're Anya's villains lol.

[Cloudman]

Shame it's an exclusive, or I'd buy it after a sale or two. Not really as hyped about this as a lot of people seem to be though, as the combat looked very bland and the web-swinging nothing to write home about.

[Frontier]

[Lukmendes]

Ah, so the game can finaly be pre-ordered, that took long enough lol.

[SuperiorIronman]

A pre-order is a spider-bot. My money is on at least one of the Superior Spider-man costumes.

[gregpersons]

I looked around for another thread on this and couldn't find it, so apologies if this is a duplicate. I just played this over Christmas and thought the story was really well done, if a little bit rushed in the end.

The writing and characterization were both solid -- seemed to be inspired by a mix of Dan Slott & Bendis, a mix of the classic 616 Peter and the Ultimate version, particularly with his relationship with Mary Jane.

I also liked some of the changes to the usual status quo, like Norman Osborn being mayor of New York, Peter as Octavius's lab assistant, J Jonah Jameson as an angry radio host, and Aunt May working at the homeless shelter full-time.

What did you think of the story and characterization?

(Also, isn't it crazy that the Venom suit isn't in the game? It's the most famous alternate suit, Sony just put out a Venom movie, and the character is nowhere in this Game of the Year candidate? I'm sure there's SOME explanation but it's still pretty surprising that they missed that cross-promotion? Same with the Miles Morales suit. Maybe that DLC is coming... ?)

[Snoop Dogg]

I love the GAMERVERSE! #MoreCostumes #Where'sKraven

[John Ossie]

From where I'm up to in the game I'm loving the gamerverse.

[Dragonick]

I hope in the next game we get a Spiders-Man suit, the power could be something like once activated enemies won't come close to you. Enemies with ranged options would still attack, that way it's not overpowered.

[Frontier]

I love the GAMERVERSE! #MoreCostumes #Where'sKraven

It'll be interesting to see what they do about the costumes in the sequel since there were so many in this game and they were pretty comprehensive. I can only think of 1-2 major suits that they didn't cover, excluding the ones that are probably more plot relevant.

There's also the fact that they'll potentially have a second playable spider-person, so would Peter and Miles share or split the costumes?

I assume Kraven was Spider-Man's "number 1 favorite Russian" since Rhino was called his second favorite during the boss fight.

[gregpersons]

It'll be interesting to see what they do about the costumes in the sequel since there were so many in this game and they were pretty comprehensive. I can only think of 1-2 major suits that they didn't cover, excluding the ones that are probably more plot relevant.

There's also the fact that they'll potentially have a second playable spider-person, so would Peter and Miles share or split the costumes?

I assume Kraven was Spider-Man's "number 1 favorite Russian" since Rhino was called his second favorite during the boss fight.

Does anyone know why, exactly, the black/symbiote/Venom suit isn't in there? It's such a strange exclusion considering the game's release coinciding with the Venom movie and both were from Sony.

My only guess is they're saving him for a sequel, but... why? Like, why even have a sequel when you already have the city & the combat built and polished? I'm completely open to them adding more DLC, but as far as I know, there isn't any stated plan for more episodes following City That Never Sleeps which was pretty underwhelming, tbh, but if that's all these are going to be, I'm fine with that, provided that Insomniac gives us the villains we want to fight, and the alternate Spider-Man costumes/personas that we want to play as!

Playing as Miles, or... hell, anyone -- Spider-Gwen, Superior, etc -- these additions really wouldn't be that impossible to pull off. The game is already built. Given that, then we're only talking about a new skin, an alternate suit power set specific to the character, and new dialogue/script.

You could even deliver less and I'd be satisfied — I'm already beyond satisfied! I'm enthusiastic. That's why I'm posting, and asking for more. It's all there, seemingly, so why isn't it happening already? Does anyone know?

We just had 3 episodes focused around some B/C-tier level Spidey characters -- not that I dislike Hammerhead, Silver Sable, Black Cat, just that it's true they are lower status, when you have Kraven, Lizard, Sandman, Venom, Carnage, Green Goblin, Mysterio, Prowler. You could keep releasing DLC and thereby keep this game at the top of the sales charts for the rest of the PS4's lifetime. The only answer, really, is that they are saving these characters for the sequel, but I keep coming back to -- why?? Why even bother rebuilding the game mechanics when they are already fine-tuned and the game is already gorgeous? It's the best possible version of the Batman Arkham gameplay but, just, better, and those games were fun too.

Lastly, and most unlikely to come as DLC, I would love the ability to go inside more locations, like FEAST or the lab or the Bases, during 'peace time.' Being able to walk around and interact with citizens is a cool and very in-character addition to Spider-Man... it contrasts very well with Red Dead 2, where you seemingly have tons of interactive options but actually it's impossible to be kind and polite; most of your choices are aggressive or stand-offish. Spidey is a man of the people. Open up the MJ locations, or the art museum or whatever. Similar to the Bases, but with non-fighting/stealth/swinging minigames.

. Especially in the post-game, when the story is complete and you can change more options like the time of day, it'd be cool to be able to just swing around and almost truly go ANYWHERE in the city. Like a remake of Batman Arkham trilogy but you can actually go around inside Asylum, visit reskinned districts of Arkham City, and the Gotham of Arkham Knight. Spidey, Batman, and Zelda BOTW are all fun when you're just wandering around, and that's more fun when there are more things to discover.

tl;dr

My top 3 requests, in order of how likely (relatively) they'd be added as DLC.

1. Venom or Miles costume options
2. New bosses / DLC for more popular villains or continue/conclude Mayor Osborn's storyline.
3. More buildings with accessible interiors, like the Bases but with Civilians doing normal things. Possibly including minigames like playing cards in RDR 2 but not as extensive. Like, you can go into the lobby of The Avengers building and try to negotiate with the receptionist about seeing Tony Stark in a dialogue tree, but ultimately not being able to, he's busy elsewhere. Or, crawling past the window where JJ Jameson is recording his show, and he freaks out.

I loved the little touches like the quick cut/load scene of Spidey taking the subway for fast travel, or people asking for pictures or high fives, and would encourage Insomniac to keep going in that direction and keep developing the "Friendly Neighborhood" aspect as a gameplay device.


EDIT:

I found this quote from the game's creative director:

"I think something like that suit (symbiote suit) deserves its day in the spotlight. I think just making it an unlockable suit wouldn't be doing it justice. It's one of the best stories for Spider-Man. I think it's a complex story. And I think it's a story that needs to be told, and it needs to be told the way Insomniac would tell it."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoP_lwh8070&t=2199s

He goes on to talk about the choice of featuring more obscure characters like Mr Negative so that you're not just seeing the same Spidey villains you've seen before. In other words, it's a conscious creative choice, which I respect and admire, but also feel like the Batman Arkham games balanced this better. There were more obscure villains emphasized like Professor Pyg or Hugo Strange, but ultimately, you still have to include The Joker and Catwoman, you know?

tl dr tl dr

I want more and I want it nowwwww

[Lukmendes]

(Also, isn't it crazy that the Venom suit isn't in the game? It's the most famous alternate suit, Sony just put out a Venom movie, and the character is nowhere in this Game of the Year candidate? I'm sure there's SOME explanation but it's still pretty surprising that they missed that cross-promotion? Same with the Miles Morales suit. Maybe that DLC is coming... ?)

Venom himself seems to be in the game, at the end we see a black... Something reaching out to Norman in that thing Harry is in, it looks like Venom, maybe Venom is even that "GR-35" that is shown while MJ is searching Norman's files, at least that's my theory.

It'll be interesting to see what they do about the costumes in the sequel since there were so many in this game and they were pretty comprehensive. I can only think of 1-2 major suits that they didn't cover, excluding the ones that are probably more plot relevant.

There's also the fact that they'll potentially have a second playable spider-person, so would Peter and Miles share or split the costumes?

I assume Kraven was Spider-Man's "number 1 favorite Russian" since Rhino was called his second favorite during the boss fight.

Couldn't it be Chameleon as well? I forget if he's from Russia...

[CosmicGoji]

My only guess is they're saving him for a sequel, but... why? Like, why even have a sequel when you already have the city & the combat built and polished?I'm completely open to them adding more DLC, but as far as I know, there isn't any stated plan for more episodes following City That Never Sleeps which was pretty underwhelming, tbh, but if that's all these are going to be, I'm fine with that, provided that Insomniac gives us the villains we want to fight, and the alternate Spider-Man costumes/personas that we want to play as!

We just had 3 episodes focused around some B/C-tier level Spidey characters -- not that I dislike Hammerhead, Silver Sable, Black Cat, just that it's true they are lower status, when you have Kraven, Lizard, Sandman, Venom, Carnage, Green Goblin, Mysterio, Prowler. You could keep releasing DLC and thereby keep this game at the top of the sales charts for the rest of the PS4's lifetime. The only answer, really, is that they are saving these characters for the sequel, but I keep coming back to -- why?? Why even bother rebuilding the game mechanics when they are already fine-tuned and the game is already gorgeous?It's the best possible version of the Batman Arkham gameplay but, just, better, and those games were fun too.

Because there's still to room to improve, the web swinging, combat, stealth, traversal, etc. And with the announcement of the PS5 on the horizon, Insomniac is gonna want to pull off all the stops to make the sequel more ambitious and hopefully more innovative than its predecessor. A level of ambition that the PS4 may not be able to handle. DLC updates aren't gonna cut it either, and from a consumer's perspective, they aren't gonna be too happy having to pay more than what they bought the base game for (or the latest DLCs) every 3 months or so.

[Spiderboi]

Let me know your thoughts on the kind of new Spider-Man game.