The Evolution of Platform Gaming

Pitfall!, Prince of Persia, and Tomb Raider.

I recently revisited Prince of Persia for the SNES, a game that I had sworn off forever due to what I felt at the time was a ridiculous control scheme and an unwinnable timing mechanic.  I am glad that I came back to it, however, as it has proven to be one of the most enjoyable and rewarding games I have played in a long time.  It also got me to thinking about the nature of the game and platforming games like it in general.

It was whilst playing an evening’s worth of Prince of Persia that it occurred to me that what I was playing on my SNES was not so very different from other games I enjoyed a tremendous amount throughout the long and storied history of video games.  I realized that Prince of Persia, Tomb Raider, and Pitfall! were in reality pretty much exactly the same game.  The same game, allowing of course for the evolution of video games in general and taking into the account some of the advancements in programming and graphics, but at heart, the same game.

While this 

 may look dramatically different from this,

what these two characters do and how they do it are essentially the same.  All three games, Prince of Persia, Pitfall!, and Tomb Raider are platforming games and platforming games all share some key, fundamental characteristics.

Tedious Jumping Puzzles

Nothing defines a platforming game more than boasting a hearty hoard of tedious jumping puzzles.  In case you are new to all of this, a tedious jumping puzzle is one that requires the player to execute a series of jumps that must be timed and spaced exactly right or doom is guaranteed. Often these puzzles require such jumps to be made in succession while avoiding obstacles or the on-coming assaults of numerous assailants.    Pitfall! is almost entirely tedious jumping puzzles.  Sure you occasionally have the opportunity to climb a ladder or swing from a vine (that you  must jump to...), but the rest of the time you are timing jumps across crocodile heads or calculating the precise moment to jump the double rolling logs to avoid losing points.  David Crane could have easily named this game “Tedious Jumping Puzzle,” but “Pitfall!” sums that up pretty nicely as well.  

Likewise, the most challenging parts of Prince of Persia require you to execute nearly pixel perfect jumping routines to leap across successive gaps all while avoiding collapsing floors, spikes, and the occasional guillotine.  There are levels in the game that require multiple trial and error deaths in order to learn the precise moments to press the jump button or when to execute a standing jump instead of a running jump.  I have often postulated that Prince of Persia (at least the jumping parts) is actually a puzzle game that requires you to execute exactly the right moves at exactly the right time in order to clear the puzzle.  If you knew exactly what those moves were you wouldn't even have to see the TV screen to play.  It may not be that dramatic, but PoP does feature many hair-pulling moments of frustration due to ill-timed leap.

Then again, so does Tomb Raider.  While later games in the series would expand a bit upon the theme and introduce variations in the game play, the original game was absolutely riddled with tedious jumping puzzles.  Many of these also required throwing switches or opening doors, and some even culminated in combat, but the vast majority of them just asked you to make a leap of faith with the hopes that the gap was narrow enough for Lara to get a finger hold on the edge of a ledge or just enough room to land without overshooting the target and landing in a trap. Tomb Raider is particularly evil about requiring a series of perfectly timed jumps, many of them blind, in order to complete a level.  I am reminded particularly of the final levels where jumps to small, craggy rocks over molten lava are required.  Just plain mean.

The very best platformers are those that feature tedious jumping puzzles that are plenty challenging, but not so demanding that the frustration outweighs the fun.  I think the three games featured in this missive exemplify the kind of balance a great platformer must possess.

Limited Offensive Capabilities

Good platformers also keep you on the run.  The goal of a platforming game is to reach the end of the level, literally.  Most traditional platformers are linear in that they have a starting point and an ending point and the goal of the game is to move from Start to Finish, not to collect items or squash enemies, but to advance through the level.  Those other things can happen and are often necessary to the overall goal, but the primary goal is to move from Start to Finish.  This is why so many great platformers give the player few, if any, offensive capabilities.  Most great platformers ask you to overcome obstacles not destroy them.

Pitfall! is a perfect example.  In Pitfall! you have no offensive capabilities and Harry is beset by instantly lethal obstacles.  From crocodile pits to scorpions and snakes, Harry must simply avoid everything in his path as he desperately tries to clear as many of the 255 game screens as possible in 20 minutes.

You cannot shoot, stomp, or slice anything, you can only jump.  You can’t even duck.  Prince of Persia does give you a sword to use against your enemies, but once you get the combat system down, death due to combat isn’t terribly common unless you are careless.  The vast majority of the game is spent avoiding perils and pitfalls and making incredible jumps.  You cannot hack your way through a three story drop or a bed of spikes.
Tomb Raider is a bit different since Lara has her inexhaustible pistols that shoot anything that gets in her way, but in the first game there isn’t all that much to shoot.  And like PoP, you cannot shoot a tight jump or a pool of lava.

Limited offensive capabilities dramatically increase the challenge of a platformer.  It is all too easy to find an invincible star and run rampant over your foes, even to the point of being able to literally by-pass all of the challenge and simply charge from Start to Finish.  A great platformer keeps your attack power low and your deft maneuvering at an all time high.

Doing the Same Thing in Many Different Ways

Great platformers keep things simple, but they find new and inventive ways to use the same basic devices over and over.  Tomb Raider is, oddly enough, the best example of this.  In the PSX Tomb Raider games you can always visit Lara’s posh mansion and tackle her personal obstacle course under the guise of a tutorial.  Everything you need to be able to play the game and succeed is shown to you during that obstacle course.  Everything.  Every kind of jump, grab, roll, what have you, is put before you in a consequence-free practice environment.  The main game takes those basic building blocks and finds myriad ways of implementing those elements into 15 extremely challenging levels.  You will still need to jump and grab a ledge in level 14 as you did in level 4, but the circumstances are likely to be rather different and what came before and what comes next are most likely going to be radically different.

Prince of Persia is founded on this principle as well.  There are two basic kinds of jumps you execute, but where and how you execute them is constantly being re-invented during the game.  Some levels are a series of rapid running jumps while others require a standing jump followed by a running jump, then a climb or drop.  Even Pitfall!, while rudimentary by comparison, is not without variation.  You may only be able to run and jump, but not every screen presents the same jumping scenario and some do not require a jump at all (if you time it right).  You cannot simply run forward at full steam and leap over every campfire and log in front of you.

By taking simple game play elements and obstacles and inventing new and interesting ways to blend them together in level designs, great platformers construct entire games out of very small parts.  The best platformers are constantly finding new and challenging ways to look at fundamental aspects of game play.

Do It Again

It is rare that you are going to plug in a game like Prince of Persia for the first time, sit down and run through it in a single sitting with only one life.  I suppose it is possible, but I have yet to see anyone accomplish such a feat.  Great platformers require lots of practice and nearly endless bouts of trial and error.  The best platformers are also learning experiences that teach you how to succeed at the game as you go along.  My initial experience with Prince of Persia is a perfect example of this. The game seemed so difficult that I walked away from it because I didn't have the time or inclination to learn how to play the game.  I can easily recall my first 5 minutes playing the game were spent running off of ledges and falling into spike pits over and over and over.  Figuring out when to use a standing jump versus a running jump took time.  Learning how to ease my way up to a ledge and then turn around and lower myself to the next platform required lots of practice.  Heck, figuring out when to press the jump button to properly execute a running jump was still not a guarantee when I was on level 13! (SNES remember...)

As mentioned in the section above, tedious jumping puzzles are only overcome by trial and error.  Tomb Raider requires may leaps of faith to far away ledges or even just out into the open.  Chances are good you are not going to make the right jump every time just on instinct and luck alone.  And even when you do get lucky, you often find yourself just as dead on the next obstacle and starting the level over again.  Many times I have cheered as Lara completed a tricky jump only to watch her turn a corner and be crushed by a boulder.  Do it again, this time avoid the boulder.  Pitfall! is a bit less forgiving.  Unlike in PoP or Tomb Raider, Pitfall Harry only has two lives.  If thrice you succumb to any of the various hazards on Harry’s journey, you’ll be starting over from the very beginning.  On the upside the game cannot last more than 20 minutes, so at the very most you are only 19:59 away from the starting point should you lose all of your lives.

Go ahead, jump!

It is the trial and error nature of great platformers that make them so rewarding.  It is also this feature that creates the learning experience mentioned in the section above.  By repeating jumps and other obstacles over and over you become more adept at overcoming them and better prepared for new and more difficult challenges ahead.  You also get really good at the early parts of games!  The best platformers avoid having the player repeat extremely long sequences of the game due to trial and error and reward doing something repeatedly with new challenges and more importantly, in-game check points!

Conclusions

Therefore I maintain that Pitfall!, Prince of Persia, and Tomb Raider represent a snapshot of the evolution of the platformer genre of video games.  Stripped of their fancy trappings, these three games are, at their core, the same basic game: Move from Start to Finish avoiding the majority of the obstacles in your path and executing tedious jumping puzzles by process of repeated trial and error across a diverse body of game levels.  By this logic, if you enjoy the game play of Tomb Raider, you should be right at home with Pitfall!.  For me, I find this to be quite true as the elements that they share appeal to me as a player and I find them all enjoyable for pretty much the same reasons. (well, and Lara’s ample if somewhat pixilated physique)

And what of the present day?  I’m not sure.  I've not seen too many modern games that exemplify the essence of a classic platformer.  I am sure they are out there.  Games like Lost in Shadow and Kirby’s Epic Yarn give me hope, but I've not found many games past the PS2 era that scratch my platforming itch the way these three games do.  If you have any recommendations, I’d love to hear them.

“What About Me? Mario?”

Yes, yes, we all love you Mario (at least those of us who still have a sense of wonder and whimsy in our lives), but you've strayed a bit too far from the beaten path and you break one of the most important rules of platforming: you have too many offensive capabilities!  It seems like you gain three or four new ones every time you release a game.  Don’t you turn into a bee now or something kind of goofy?  Super Mario Bros. (and the newly revisited games of the same concept) is about the closest the Mario franchise comes to being a pure platformer of the type I describe above.  Mario simply has too much firepower (some of it literal) at his disposal.  He can stomp on most things and those that he cannot, he simply blasts with a fireball or knocks off with a koopa shell.  Mario games are all about getting from Start to Finish by taking out bad guys not avoiding obstacles.  And then there are the invincibility stars.  While a platforming game might have a power-up like this, Mario damned near banks on their existence to get through some levels and many can be cleared by running straight from Start to Finish while under the influence of the penta-pointed opium.  After SMB3 when you could start stockpiling power-ups, Mario transitioned from a pure platformer to something else.  The franchise literally transcended the genre.  Mario games are something alright, and there are plenty of clones out there that try to capture that same magic (looking at you Sonic, Crash Bandicoot and Spyro), but they have moved beyond the simple pleasures of the pure platformer.  

A Closer Look at Downloadble Content: Is it Really Good for Gaming?

A Closer Look at Downloadable Content: Is it Really Good for Gaming?

Oh sure it’s all the rage, from WiiWare, to Madden NFL roster updates on your 360, downloadable content is the new vogue in modern gaming.  But caveat emptor, my friend, downloadable content is seductive and chic, but it might leave you high and dry in the morning and it will never, ever call you the next day.  Don’t be fooled.


For me, it all started back in the heyday of the original Playstation.  Final Fantasy IX came out and it was awesome! I scrambled to get it.  After playing the peerless FFVII and the so-so FFVIII, I knew I had to have the latest installment of the Final Fantasy franchise.  Also, thanks to my knowledge of the previous games, I knew a good strategy guide would ensure that I would be able to ferret out every last secret from a game known for having some of the best kept hidden treasures in the gaming universe.  So, like a good consumer I rushed right out and picked up the Brady Games Official Strategy Guide to Final Fantasy IX.  I had bought both guides for FFVII and they were exceptional, so of course I expected the same from this publication.  Boy was I in for a surprise!  Much to my chagrin the guide contained no actual tips, secrets or, get ready, strategies.  No, if you wanted that kind of in depth information you would have to go online, following the links provided in the “guide,” to PlayOnline.com.  Sounds fair.  I paid twenty dollars for a book to tell me to go online for free and get the information I am seeking.  Never mind the fact that this is back in the days of dial-up and my internet access was the equivalent of shouting across a canyon to a deaf-mute.


All of those things aside, this was not the most egregious part of the deal.  Oh no, that would come years later, when I decide to play through FFIX again, this time armed with a high speed internet connection.  Finally I could eke out a little satisfaction from that horrid “strategy guide” I paid for all those years ago.  So I go to PlayOnline.com and what do I see, absolutely nothing about FFIX.  Everything was all up FFXII’s butt, and it was as if FFIX never existed.  After some digging I discovered that when the newer games came out, all online support for FFIX was discarded.  So not only did I waste twenty dollars all those years ago, but my waste was compounded by insult when the company that initially ripped me off, ripped me off all over again by removing support for a product they had produced.  Little did I realize that this annoying incident would lay the foundation for something that would change the face of video gaming and collecting and not necessarily for the better.  Downloadable content was coming on fast, and it wasn’t all good news.

Now, let me jump ahead a bit and tell you that I absolutely love Mega Man 9, Castlevania Adventure Rebirth, and I am extremely excited about the new Blaster Master game that is available via WiiWare.  That’s right, I am guilty of partaking in the very thing I am about to rail against.  However, I am partaking with full knowledge of what I am doing and the implications thereof.  I wonder if my fellow consumers are doing the same.  If not, then it is the purpose of this missive to enlighten and warn the modern gamer/ collector that downloadable content may be the hottest new craze, but it is fraught with potential peril!  Brace yourselves, you’re probably not going to like or agree with where this is about to go…

Mega Man 9 goes in this empty spot

Downloadable content has caught on like wildfire and is only getting hotter.  Whether it is something small like unlockable online content, massive online multiplayer experiences, or something huge like an entire game obtained solely via download, this latest gaming fix is absolutely wonderful for gamers, but absolutely disastrous for collectors.  Take me for example.  As previously stated, I love the new Mega Man 9.  I have played it for hours and hours and hours.  It is great.  But guess what, it is also temporary.  Don’t get me wrong, I bought it, I downloaded it, I even saved it on an SD card (or at least that is what the wife tells me happened), but I have no real anything to prove that I have it.  I have nothing to put on a shelf, I have no documentation, instruction manual, warranty, or anything to prove that I own this game or that it exists.  Maybe I am old school, but there is something comforting about the shelves of NES, VCS, PS2, and so on, games that I have stacked up in my game room.  They ain’t goin’ nowhere.  But all of this new downloadable content?  I’m not so sure about it.
Sure I’m a gamer.  I love playing video games, so this new downloadable content is great, it comes right to my house and I don’t have to do much to obtain it.  The games are fun and appealing and they seem to know exactly what to release to get me in a buying mood.  But I’m also a collector.  I like having stockpiles of games on my shelves that I can pull out and play anytime I want.  I like inventorying them and basking in their nerdy glory.  I like the fact that I can go to my favorite second hand and pick up a SNES game I missed out on twenty years ago and experience like it was new.  I like that I can add it to my collection and sell it later or trade it or whatever.  So as I move into the 21st century, I wonder how Mega Man 9 fits into that aspect of my gaming life.  What would happen if I didn’t download Mega Man 9 right away?  What happens if it came out, I never managed to get it downloaded and then it is gone?  Am I going to miss out on a great game forever?  And what happens to my Mega Man 9 if something horrible happens to my Wii 15 years from now and I lose that data, or the SD thing gets corrupted (like all of those old 3.5 floppy disks that now sit in my filing cabinet mocking me) and the game is lost?  I know that bit rot and all of that can still happen to my Atari 2600 games (my Burgertime has been acting a bit scooters…), but if that should happen I can always find another copy at a flea market or something.  I’m not convinced that the same will be true for all of this new downloadable stuff.


And I know I have cause to worry.  If the FFIX strategy guide wasn’t historical proof enough, just last month Micro$oft announced that: “on April 15, 2010 Microsoft will discontinue Xbox LIVE service for original Xbox consoles and games, including Xbox games playable on Xbox 360. Our first step in this process will be to turn off auto-renewals for those members who only use Xbox LIVE on a v1 Xbox. While I can’t comment on the specifics, this change will allow us to continue evolving the LIVE service with new features and experiences that fully harness the power of Xbox 360 and the Xbox LIVE community. We did not make this decision lightly, but after careful consideration and review we realize that this decision will allow us unprecedented flexibility for future features.”  (source).  With so many games nowadays have HUGE online game play appeal an announcement like this is shocking and disturbing.   Particularly for those who cannot afford an XBOX360 and still enjoy their original XBOX.  What will be the quality and value of these largely online content based games once their support has run out?  Will HALO be as fun when there is no way to play it online?  HALO has been heralded as a modern classic and a triumph in gaming, but will those accolades hold true fifteen years from now when the support is gone and only the base game remains?

The lesson here is obvious:  the video game gods can giveth, and they can certainly taketh away.  Quickly.  This is what worries me as a gamer/collector heading into the future.  With so much downloadable content pouring forth from companies, how much of it can we really expect to hold on to as the years roll on?  The great thing about classic gaming is that it is a material commodity.  Not only do we get to play the games, we get to keep them and keep playing them for years.  Will this same thing be applicable to modern downloadable games 25 years into the future?  Will Mega Man 9 be lost forever to the annals of time and memory because someone failed to download it in 2009? How am I supposed to go to a video game convention in 10 years and pick up a copy of Mega Man 9 if I missed it?  These are my concerns.  Are we so enamored with the ready availability of downloadable content that we fail to see the pitfalls and longer reaching implications? Or am I just being overly dramatic and downloadable content is a fad that we should just embrace and damn the consequences?  Is downloadable content the future of gaming?  And if so does this mean the demise of the collector?

GameCon 2025: Not a Mega Man 9 to be found!

I think all of these things are definite concerns that the gaming community faces as we rush headlong into the latest, greatest offerings in the world of video gaming.  The gamer part of me is loving it, right now, in the moment, but the collector part of me is nervous.  Therefore, I cannot full condemn downloadable content as I would like to, but I can be wary of it. Downloadable content is a lot like the girl you love to date but can never marry.  As we move forward and consume more and more downloadable content and spend countless dollars, maybe it is also time to ponder some of these implications.  You can be sure I’ll be thinking about and lamenting that empty space on my NES shelf…


Join me next month when I’ll come to the defense of yet another LJN game and show you how I took a game that I deemed unplayable and turned it into one of my favorites!

A Closer Look at Spider-man for the PSX

As most of you probably know, I am a HUGE Spider-Man fan.  HUGE.  I have an entire upstairs filled with Spider-man comics, toys, posters, plastic banks, toothpaste, cereal, even pillows.  Spider-man was my hero when I was a kid.  To this day I have a slavish, idealistic vision of Stan Lee’s greatest creation.  Even though the comics aren’t as good as they used to be, I still buy Amazing Spider-Man every month; I feel I owe it to the wall-crawler after all he has given me.  I have mental problems.  That notwithstanding I am a HUGE Spider-Man fan.

When I was a kid playing the Atari 2600, I made an incredible discovery: Parker Bros. had granted me the opportunity of a lifetime, I could be Spider-Man.  Around 1982, Parker Bros. released a Spider-Man game for the VCS and I had to have it.  Sure, the game wasn’t much, climbing a building, snagging some bad guys and avoiding the Green Goblin, but it was Spider-Man, alive and under my control!  Thus began my love, and hate, affair with Spider-Man video games.
Later offerings would fail to wow me the way this initial foray into the pixilated Marvelverse did.  LJN released an entirely unspectacular Spider-Man game for the NES.  The premise was perfect: Spider-Man vs. the Sinister Six, six of his greatest foes, but thanks to the half-hearted efforts of the programmers at LJN the game turned out to be virtually unplayable.  Don’t think I didn’t try.  The Gameboy proved to be a bit more successful in bringing the web-head to life, but the original game was a little tricky to control and rather short.  On the Super Nintendo and Genesis Spider-Man games showed more promise with better controls, bright, colorful graphics and increased depth.  However, the games quickly revealed themselves to be repetitive side-scrolling fighting games that weren’t different enough from the thousands of other similar games that flooded those systems.  The addition of new and playable characters like Venom and the close tie-ins to the contemporary comic book storylines were a big plus, but they turned out to be really nice set dressing on what could have been a Double Dragon or Batman game.

Then it came. The promise of Spider-Man action like it had never been before.  Controlling Spider-Man in a completely wide-open three dimensional world, the ability to web-swing between skyscrapers,  fighting Spidey’s rogue’s gallery and saving the city, it was all going to be a reality and it was going to happen on the Playstation.  I owned a Playstation!  The math is really rather simple.  Anticipation was high and rumors flew regarding who was going to be in the game and what it was really going to be like.  Then, the game arrived…and it was amazing!  It was everything it promised.  Oh sure, there were little things to nitpick: the “mysterious” grey fog that enveloped the lower half of the city (very convenient Neversoft, very), the tunnel-vision story line that allowed for some exploration, but ultimately never strayed too far from the track, the camera angles were at times abysmal, but overall this game delivered everything it promised.  Packed with tons of bag guys, dynamic fighting controls, a dedication to the creative use of Spidey’s web shooters, a variety of level designs and goals, and boatloads of unlockables and hidden areas, Spider-Man for the PSX delivered in a big, big way.  I should know, I played the game through about a dozen times, at least once with every unlockable costume, and I explored every, and I mean every, inch of the playable areas.

And clearly, I was not alone in my estimation of just how good this game was.  Subsequent Spider-Man games for advancing modern systems all seem to take their cue from the ground that was broken by this game.  From its sequel, Spider-Man 2 Enter: Electro to even the most recent Spider-Man movie games, Spider-Man game play has evolved from the primordial ooze that is Spider-Man on the PSX.  So the question remains, when a game sets the stage for the future development of its franchise, can the original possibly stand the test of time?  (Last month I wrote an entire article analyzing this phenomenon, good reading) There is only one way to find out: fire up the Playstation!

And I did.  It was very difficult to resist the urge to just re-up one of my old save files and play as the Amazing Bag-man, or Spider-Man 2099. (The invincible allure of playing as Captain Universe Spidey still gnaws at me…)  But resist I did.  If I was going to give the game an honest shot, it needed to come from playing it through again as if it were new. 
It takes a few seconds to readjust to the controls, what I imagine it would be like were someone from today to revert to driving a car without power steering, but once I got used to the moderately jerky nature of Spidey’s turns, I was off and swinging.  The first level is really just a tutorial, as is to be expected, but there is plenty of webslinging to do and lots of bad guys to web up and punch out.  It’s nice that this sort of thing is here, because while not as tricky as learning the controls the first time around, it is helpful to have a low pressure area to regain your bearings (no matter how many times Spidey reminds me that I have to use his Spidey-compass to find the bank.  You’d think he might already know where the bank is, being the spider-about-town that he is. And furthermore, “Spidey-compass???”  But I digress…).

Who lives here, I wonder?

The levels progress from there in good order, some require you to liberate hostages all stealthily-like lest the terrorist shoot them point blank (and oh hell yes they will, too!);  some have you making a mad dash across the city either to save J. Jonah Jameson from the Scorpion or follow Venom to his hide-out to save Mary Jane.  Intermixed are plenty of good old fashioned 3-D explore-and-fight levels where you have to find this or that, destroy a certain something, or make your way to the end of a given area.  There is one particularly maddening level where you must ride atop a subway train whilst fending off scores (and I mean scores) of lizardmen without falling to your doom.  That level is a menace, even for experienced gamers.  Another very cool level has you deep in the sewers, where, if you poke around a bit, you might just stumble into the hidden lair of the Lizard! Interspersed amongst the various levels are some engaging boss battles against classic Spider-man villains like the Rhino and Mysterio.  The boss battles require a nice blend of brute strength and brains (ala luring Rhino into electrical conduits to stun him so you can bash him with oil drums) and are tough without being tedious.

The story is remarkably deep with several plot twists and comic book style character plotting.  There are cameos galore from nearly all of Marvel’s heavy hitters of the era (curiously absent is Wolverine, unless you count that billboard…).   The game feels like playing a Spider-man comic from the 1990’s which is pretty much exactly what you want from a game like this.

Goodies Galore!

I was truly surprised at how well the game has stood the test of time.  The gameplay graphics are solid, not great, but solid.   The level design is dynamic and holds mostly true to its promise of being a free-roaming, if a bit limited, three dimensional adventure.  The combat is dynamic as well: bad guys can be defeated a number of ways, fisticuffs, webbing, a combination of the two, tossing them off the side of a building, you get the idea.  The web swinging is a lot of fun and you can swing just about any way you want, even zip from surface to surface on webline!  Spidey is also able to crawl on virtually any surface, wall or ceiling, something I honestly wouldn’t have expected from an early attempt at a game like this. There are plenty of power-ups, secret areas to explore, and hidden unlockables to seek out that give the game enormous replay value.  (I really cannot describe fully just how much stuff there is to find and unlock and how many times you are going to want to replay this game) This game also harkens from a nearly bygone era where once the game is beaten you can give it another go on HARD mode.
Of course, it isn’t all sunshine and roses.  The game is dated in a number of ways.  The cut-scene graphics are just plain terrible.  As I recall, even for the time they were pretty bad, and time has not been their friend.  The characters are very blocky and their movements are reminiscent of those puppets on strings that are so damn creepy I will find them and kill them…DIE YOU HORRIBLE PUPPETS!  DIE! (Sorry, got stuck on a thing there…)  The game also suffers from miserable voice acting, but I’ve long since given up on getting good voice acting from a video game.  Beyond that there are some of the long aforementioned minor quibbles.  Occasionally the camera will get stuck behind something and make a jump nearly impossible.  You don’t get to go street level and explore the entire city (we’ll have to wait until the Ultimate Spider-Man game to go there), but considering what you do get, this is a minor point.  And perhaps the biggest drawback:  the game is quite short.  I realize I am playing this again after having worn it out ten years ago, but it only took me about 8 hours to get back through the game.  I had forgotten a great number of the levels, but still managed to work it out in fairly short order.  This is where the replay value saves the day. You see, beating the game on normal level unlocks the Black Costume Spider-Man, and I defy you not to play the game again with that costume on.  It cannot be done.  But that said, the game can be completed pretty quickly even if you are figuring things out for the first time.
 
Final Look
Quibbles notwithstanding, I would have to say that overall, Spider-Man for the Playstation has successfully stood the test of time and while a bit dated, is just as much fun today as it was when I first spun the disc way back when.  As a matter of fact, after I finish typing this, I’m going to have to get some screenshots and chances are good that is going to result in me playing through the game again, at least one more time!  Maybe it’s just the Spidey fan in me, but I still love this game!  If you are looking for a nice trip down memory lane or just want to see how your favorite modern Spider-Man game got where it is, I still highly recommend Spider-Man for the PSX.

Spidey may be gone, but stick around for Tips & Tricks!

Join me next month because I’m going to stir the pot a bit and probably make a few people mad or at the very least scratch their heads.  You’ll never disagree with me more than you will after next month’s Closer Look!


TIPS AND TRICKS

SPOILER ALERT!!  This section may contain plot information or reveal aspects of the game better left to discovery.  Proceed with caution.

Explore, explore, explore.  Except for the levels where time is of the essence (i.e. chasing Venom or the Scorpion), take your time and crawl over every building and swing to every ledge.  Sure, your Spidey-Compass, and Spidey himself, will nag you incessantly about getting to wherever it is you are supposed to go, but you can ignore that all you want.  You’ll have to cover every corner of the playable area if you are to find all the unlockable comics and costumes, etc.  Also, there are some real treats for Spider-man fans like myself.  Some of the hidden areas are just too cool to miss.  I’ll not ruin them for you by listing them here, although there are plenty of good Walkthroughs out there that can point you to them if you like.
Some locations and objects will generate context specific dialogue from ol’ Spidey.  Swing over to the Baxter Building (Four Freedoms Plaza depending on the era, I forget) in level one, for example.


Remember, you are SPIDER-MAN, and one of your key abilities is being able to stick to any surface.  You can save yourself a lot of headaches if you spend as much time on ceilings and walls as you do walking around on foot.
Remember, you are SPIDER-MAN, and another of your key abilities is to web swing.  You can quickly span great distances or zip from a wall-to-wall or wall-to-ceiling using your web shooters.  This can help you avoid tedious enemies, dodge attacks, or find hidden passages.  Just be sure you watch your web fluid.

When fighting the Scorpion, keep your distance.  Scorpy’s tail is quick and almost always knocks you down.  Your best strategy is to attack from afar by tossing office equipment at him to get his attention, then when quarters get close, give him a few kicks to the carapace and then haul ass out of there.  Repeat.
Boss levels almost always contain a hidden comic book.  If there is no urgency to defeat the boss, take a second to look around, break some things and see what is what.

Impact webbing will be your best friend later in the game.  It is the only way to defeat Mysterio and it takes down Lizardmen from a safe distance.

When taking on the Rhino, you obviously have to ram him into the electrical generators, but if you are careful, while he is still recovering from the jolt you can use that opportunity to heave an oil drum at him and take him out in short order.  If you cannot get the timing right, then a few trips into the barrels matador-style after he has exhausted the generators should do the trick.  Just jump straight up when he charges at you (and, you know, be sure you are standing in front of some oil drums…)

On the subway ride, stick to the middle of the car (unless you really need a power-up) and use a combination of kicks, impact webbing and web shields to keep the lizardmen at bay.

When battling Venom, both times, use impact webbing and stay the hell away from him.  If you get close enough to punch, he can level you with one good smack, or worse he can snag you with the symbiote and initiate some truly dreadful voice acting that you’ll get sick of really fast.  Impact webbing does a ton of damage and will take him out in short order.
Be very careful when saving Mary Jane.  Venom can activate any of four different switches to fill the tank she in dangling in with water.  What is worse, so can you! And you probably will a million times if Venom jumps out of your way as you fire impact webbing at him.  Close quarters fighting is even worse as multiple punches can toggle the switch off and on repeatedly, causing MJ to freak completely out and whine like there is no tomorrow.  Keep your distance, use the impact webbing and keep an eye on the tank.  If you see water starting to fill, find out which switch is responsible and turn it off fast.  If you miss Venom and hit the switch yourself, be sure you turn it back off immediately before trying to find Venom again.

Fire webbing is essential against the symbiote spawn.  It is the only thing that can take them down with any speed.  Hand-to-hand is a sure way to get your Spidey-butt kicked, so keep your distance and shoot the Fire webbing at them.

In the fight with Carnage, you have to trap him in the Sonic Bubble and hold him there so the sound waves can take him out.  Once in the bubble, well timed impact webbing can keep him there until he expires.   If you have a moment, take a good look outside the windows as Carnage is getting his due…




Escaping from the final level is a trial and error learning experience.  Expect to die a few times before you get out.  Once you know the layout of the route, web-swing to dramatically increase the distance between you and Monster Ock.  You can also zip-line up and immediately web-swing over when you ascend to a new level.  There is some generous lead time, but Monster Ock will catch you if you dally too long.

All this time, Doc Ock just needed a good hug!  Who knew?!

RUN.  I'm not even kidding.

Once you think you’ve seen and done everything this game has to offer you, enter the following code: GBHSRSPM.  I promise you a very good time on this run through of the game.

As you encounter different characters you will unlock their profiles in the extras section. Like these lovely, if mightily polygonal, ladies.

Or this curious fellow...