Does Whatever A Spider Can: Spider-Man Edge of Time Review

Here we are again with yet another storied comic book franchise (looking at you X-men: Destiny) getting the video game treatment. Peter Parker and his alter ego Spider-Man are no strangers to consoles nor the gamers who  play them. In fact, Spider-Man has actually been lucky enough to rise from movie tie-in mediocrity to become a great sandbox title on last-gen platforms. The recent titles to bear the webbed crusader’s name have been less than stellar at times,  but of late our friendly neighborhood web slinger has been making a bit of a comeback.  His latest foray into the virtual world proves that at the very least, Spidey has some life left in him yet.

Spider-Man Edge of Time is a promising blend of the Amazing Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2099 universes. The story is penned by well comic and television writer Peter David, who actually helped to create the Spider-Man 2099 series upon its launch.  When the brilliantly diabolical CEO of a technology firm (voiced by Val Kilmer of all people) in the year 2099 decides to go back in time and alter his company’s history, that era’s Spider-Man sets out to stop him. Unfortunately, though his efforts are valiant, Spider-Man 2099 fails and the Amazing Spider-Man’s reality is rewritten into a darker form. Still ever the hero, Peter Parker teams up with his future counterpart to right the timeline back into place, even if it means his death at the hands of a mutated Venom. It’s all very timey-wimey and quantum mechanical, but this is Spider-Man, so just roll with it.

Once again, Parker finds himself in a cinematically driven forward moving narrative a la the recent Shattered Universes design and structure. This isn’t a sandbox or side-scroller, but instead a third person beat-em-up with bits of platforming and puzzle solving thrown in for good measure. One of the game’s biggest selling points is the presentation, which is stellar. Surprisingly well-crafted cinematics blend in seamlessly with in-engine cutscenes, while an intelligently designed camera leads to some great framing and some really cool perspectives on the action (kind of like a much lighter version of the Uncharted franchise). The writing is spot on thanks to David’s involvement with all the humorous dialogue and zany science you’ve come to expect from a Spidey adventure. Environments and characters are solidly crafted and the developers throw in enough variety every few levels to keep things from getting stale.

The actual gameplay centers around your Spider-Men in both timelines taking on groups of varying enemies and environmental hazards with their own unique combat strategies. Spider-Man 2099 likes to utilize holograms and brute nano-enhanced strength while Amazing Spider-Man enjoys crazy web attacks (web fists, hammers, and javelins appear) and benefiting from his fast-moving Spidey sense which allows him to literally run circles around his foes. Both can also engage in Temporal Paradoxes which slow down time and allow you to build up your combo streak and earn even more points to then spend on upgrading attacks, defenses and health. One cool thing is that thanks to quantum mechanics, changes in either timeline can affect environments and scenarios in both eras. It’s a bit of a gimmick, but the fact that it doesn’t take you out of the action and in fact enhances it means the gimmick turns out to be kind of  entertaining.

The upgrades available are useful and fun, encouraging players to really dig into different ways of fighting. Only trouble is that for all the great combo streaks and powers you can unlock, most battles tend to devolve into button mashing scenarios. The controls don’t always translate to the combos you want and enemies tend to either bunch up or pick at you from afar which leads to a lot of confusion when deciding how to approach fights. Spider-Man can also crawl almost every wall and web sling around the room, but you often forget about these strategies when the enemies keep pummeling you on the ground. The whole control scheme/combat design feels a bit rushed and kind of falls apart when you try to get creative which is a real shame considering the slew of powerful attacks at your disposal.

While the enemies are switched up, there’s a certain point where the fights get repetitive and that’s when the developers throw in some web swinging portions, quick time events, puzzles and interactive cinematics. These moments come in at just the right time and serve to breathe some fresh air into the otherwise stale linear nature of the game. That being said, later on playing through seems a bit of a chore, but the developers again try to keep things vibrant with Challenge sections. Unlike X-Men: Destiny, which through you in a room and told you to pummel people to death, Edge of Time gives you the option to pursue specific goals within certain fights. Complete the fight without taking a certain amount of damage, do it in a specific number of seconds or even without touching the ground, these little creative nougats are both enjoyable and rewarding. Trouble is, they appear few and far between and in a flash they’re over.

In the end, Spider-Man: Edge of Time is a decent enough entry into the franchise, a nice middle of the road title that does most things right without bringing anything truly groundbreaking to the table. For all the sparkling presentation and clever dialogue, the redundant fights and repetitive enemies keep bringing things down. The story is clunky but fun, while the world is one worthy of spending some time in. It’s obvious the developers care about Spidey and his mythos, and for that I have to give them kudos. Pick this one up and give it a whirl, if only for a bit of flashy fun.