Random stray thoughts about the game (Some Spoilered):
I think Insomniac has officially set the new standard for Spider-Man/Peter Parker. He's witty, smart, nice, awkward, compassionate, and always taking the weight of the world on his shoulders as he tries to keep helping and saving as many people as he can. He has a lot of cool tech, but it doesn't negate or overshadow his natural abilities. He's not treated like an absolute loser who everyone seems to have something against, just someone living a double life with all the personal and financial issues that that entails. He's competent and effective as a Superhero without needing to be some Avenger's sidekick and doesn't need to get saved by his supporting cast left-and-right, only occasionally needing help, while still handling most everything on his own. He feels like how
Spectacular Peter would probably be like as an adult, and I think Yuri Lownethal has earned a spot as one of the top Spidey VA's with his performance in this game.
Mary Jane felt like Ultimate MJ grown-up, with the reporting job, similar relationship issues with Peter, more of a girl next door then a bombshell, and she hardly ever refers to Peter as Tiger (and her iconic line is completely absent). I thought the game did a good job of integrating her into the story and making her (re)developing relationship with Peter believable, meaningful, and one of the emotional cores of the game. Laura Bailey also did a good job of injecting a lot of heart and humanity into MJ here. And it's really just nice to see Mary Jane as a major character in a Spider-Man adaption again.
I guess I have to give Slott credit for Yuri Watannabe. Now adaptions have a police buddy for Spidey who can fulfill both Captain Stacy and Jean DeWolff's role with the added benefit of diversity (actually, I think Yuri and Philip Chang are the only Asian characters in this game who aren't villains or criminals). Although it's kind of funny to think she just started off in the comics as a detective, turned vigilante, turned criminal and she keeps getting bumped up to captain or police chief in adaptions.
I think this game had probably the best implementation of the concept of Mr. Negative, making him both a legitimate threat but also someone people can really feel for and understand, on-top of a more personal connection to Peter.
Harry's design and Scott Porter's performance reminded me a lot of Dane DeHaan's Harry from
Amazing Spider-Man 2.
spoilers:
| Which I guess makes sense considering this version of Harry also has medical problems. |
end of spoilers
I thought Miles was much better integrated into Peter's world here then he has been in any other adaption, although he gave me a lot of Wally West vibes in this. I think they were a little on-the-nose at times with what people were already expecting of him, but I'm curious to see how they'll handle his character progression in future games and how that will work with Peter. Adaptions have always seemed to struggle making the pair work together in one setting, although Insomniac has gotten things off to a solid start here.
spoilers:
| I gotta say, I think this was the most refreshing and interesting take on Doc Ock I've seen in a while. They start him out as this Max Modell, Curt Conners-type science mentor for Peter, but slowly but surely unveil him as the Doctor Octopus we all know and loathe. They also make him sympathetic but don't make any excuses for the horrible things he does in the latter half of the game. Boy was it satisfying watching Peter wail on him at the end. And credit to William Salyers performance, he did a terrific job. Reminded me a lot of Peter MacNicol's performance from Spectacular, if not exactly as hammy. |
end of spoilers
spoilers:
| I was not expecting Biker Gang Tombstone. It was cool to see him though. |
end of spoilers
spoilers:
| I think this game officially has the craziest version of Screwball yet. Like, committing crimes and roughing up somebody for views is one thing, but I don't recall her ever threatening to blow stuff up before. Her mission reminded me a lot of Anarky's in Arkham Origins. I wonder if she'll be back in the next game considering they had the police point out how unlikely it was that the charges against her would stick? |
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spoilers:
| Taskmaster reminded me of Azrael and Lady Shiva from the Arkham games, with following and testing the hero and then teasing a mysterious organization that wants that hero. |
end of spoilers
spoilers:
Interestingly enough the two main villains of the game are never referred to by their Supervillain names out loud.
Li is never once called Mr. Negative outside of subtitles, as far as I have seen, and the only time they even come close to calling Otto Doctor Octopus is during the final boss when one of the hints refer to him as "Doc Ock."
Conversely we do hear Otto say "Sinister Six" in one of the recordings left in the Six' lair. |
end of spoilers
spoilers:
| I'm surprised we never got a Silver Sable boss fight, especially when we kept seeing her manhandle Spidey throughout the game. Maybe that's being saved for the "Silver Linings" DLC? Although she came around to Spidey by the end of the game. |
end of spoilers
spoilers:
| I'm kind of surprised there was no follow-up to what happened to Li after Otto knocked him out. Maybe he'll pop back up in the "Turf Wars" DLC? |
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spoilers:
| I wonder when Otto finally realized Peter was Spider-Man. Did he realize from the start and just played it off, or did he only put two-and-two together after his paranoia started to really exacerbate? |
end of spoilers
spoilers:
| One thing that will definitely set this Spider-Man apart from the others...he actually let Aunt May die for the greater good. No deal with the devil this time around. Kind of a shame though, I liked this version of May. She's also probably the best utilized Aunt May has been in an adaption in a while. |
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spoilers:
| I wonder what Peter's next job will be? Maybe he'll go back to the Bugle... |
end of spoilers
spoilers:
| Given this whole game was basically the origin story for Doc Ock, I'm curious if each subsequent installment will feature one of Spidey's Big Three villains as the main antagonist. The teaser already has Harry attached to the Symbiote and you can see some potential prototype Goblin Gear in Norman's penthouse. |
end of spoilers
Originally Posted by The Negative Zone
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