Ultimate Spiderman

The other day I decided to do some more videogame research and played Ultimate Spiderman with Charlie Dube. It is only a one player game so we had to take turns playing, switching off after learning new tricks or defeating certain missions in the game. After the opening scenes show how Spiderman and Venom came to be, the game begins in a very interesting way. Moreso than other games that I have played, Ultimate Spiderman teaches the gamer how to move and act in the videogame world. For instance, in the videogame Zelda for Nintendo 64, some movements are diegeticly displayed to the gamer, but mostly, the videogame allows the gamer to learn the controls for him or herself; there are signs which the gamer can reference to learn more information as well. However, in Ultimate Spiderman, the movements are taught to the gamer from the very beginning. I enjoyed this appraoch because it helped me adjust to the videogame world easier. For instance, learning how to shoot the web, and swing from the building to building is extremely advantageous when moving around the city. It allowed me to explore the parameters of the videogame world more easily. Also, some of the missions involve racing and fighting, which tests the gamer, making him or her better at the techniques of the game. This strategy is interesting because not only did it make me more interested in the game by strengthening my basic techniques, but it allowed me to learn harder strategies as the game continued to develop. For instance, after learning how to shoot my web to detain the “bad guys” while they are on the ground, the game taught me a new technique, which allows a gamer to hang the “bad guys” from street lamps in order to defeat them.

Another interesting option of this game is its unbiased approach to gaming. As a gamer learns the controls of Spiderman more in depth, after a certain point, the computer offers Venom as a substitute. Say that one is tired of doing good for the city, and would prefer to terrorize the game, the videogame naturally breaks to teach the gamer how to be Venom instead of Spiderman. This option is a huge perk because the characters are completely different. As Spiderman is relied upon to save the city inhabitants from devastating monsters, Venom literally eats people to feed the powers of his suit, or else he dies. The contrast allows for a larger audience to enjoy the game. As one becomes more crafty with the controls, different missions help advance the plot for each character. Also, the movie storyline between certain segments helps the gamer understand the general premise at different stages. The best part of the game is similar to GTA, as the gamer is given the freedom to pick the order of the missions he or she wants to accomplish. However, If he or she just wants to swing around, looking to bring justice to the random incidents that occur, that is fine too.        

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