In "Spider-Man: Edge of Time," Spider-Man faces one of his greatest challenges ever - saving Spider-Man. Developed by Activision-owned studio Beenox, Spider-Man: Edge of Time challenges the player to take on the roles of both classic Amazing Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2099 to correct a time stream gone awry and prevent a catastrophic future brought on by the early and untimely death of Peter Parker. "Spider-Man: Edge of Time" is a focused, action-packed adventure set in two connected and evolving timelines, from the contemporary times of the Amazing Spider-Man to the corrupted future world of Spider-Man 2099, against the backdrop of a rich, tightly crafted narrative by acclaimed Marvel veteran Peter David (co-creator of the comic book series Spider-Man 2099). The game features all-new "cause-and-effect" gameplay, where players will see how the immediate and sometimes unexpected effects of their actions as one Spider-Man changes the timeline of the other Spider-Man.
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33 of 35 found the following review helpful:
Better as an actual animated filmOct 09, 2011
By truster38 I think alot of us loved last year's SHATTERED DIMENSIONS. Yes, it wasn't an open-world game and the story was pretty silly, but the presentation was top-notch and the variety of the levels made it truly fun. I'm certain that Activison and Beenox identified the two main themes in terms of criticism for SHATTERED DIMENSIONS: the story was weak and most gamers loved Spider-Man 2099 the most. As a character, because of his cool look and futuristic world, he almost works better as a video game character than he ever did as a comic book character. So now we have EDGE OF TIME, which gives us a really great story and 2099 as basically the lead character.
Man, they really overreacted.
The entire game takes place in an office building. Yes, this is a Spider-Man video game in which you never, EVER even see the skyscrapers of New York City. The entire game is really short, about eight hours, and because there are no changes in environment and enemies, you go from the four distinct gameplay styles of SHATTERED DIMENSIONS to what is basically one style here. Amazing and 2099 pretty much play exactly the same in this game because their surroundings are the same, and that's really a shame. The game chooses to not have menus between levels, as you go right from one level to the next seamlessly, which does add a cinematic feel but also highlights the sameness in the levels even more. Each chapter is indistinguishable. The entire game really feels like one huge eight hour level. In fact, I was on Chapter 5 before I realized that I wasn't on the first level anymore! I just figured the environment was going to eventually change. The upgrades seem to have been lessened from the last game as well, and combat just doesn't feel as fun as it did in SHATTERED DIMENSIONS. You don't need to dumb-down what was already a button-masher. What an odd development choice.
You could argue that the difficulty levels and challenges lengthen the replay value, but I, for one, had my fill of the same labs and atriums the first playthrough and have minimal desire to return to them anytime soon.
There are three boss battles in the entire game, and they are very boring. Again, another curious decision by the developers because what made SHATTERED DIMENSIONS so great was that each level was basically a HUGE boss battle, where you fought the boss several different times in different ways. You even got to punch them in first-person.
So, what happened? Well, they got Spider-Man 2099 creator Peter David to write the story, and it's a great one, with a honest-to-goodness twist you actually won't see coming. The game is completely built around the story, and presented in a cinematic style. The production value is through the roof in this game, and the entire opening sequence is one of the BEST I have EVER seen in video games.
But, again, it's VIDEO GAME, not a movie. By sacrificing so much to tell the story, the developers forgot what makes a game great, and it's not the cutscenes, even ones as great-looking and fantastically-acted as the ones in this game.
I'm not a video game troll and find it juvenile and simplistic to just say things like "Activision is evil" or what have you, but I will say that we don't need a new Spider-Man game every single year. This franchise is not, and shouldn't be, Call of Duty. They won alot of goodwill for SHATTERED DIMENSIONS and, I fear, lost alot of it with EDGE OF TIME.
I'd like to take the rest of this review in a little, more personal direction, so apologies for the length. I loved SHATTERED DIMENSIONS alot, probably more than the average person because I love the webhead dearly, and so I actually pre-ordered this game and paid the full $60 for it. I got only more excited when I watched those behind-the-scenes interviews with the voice cast for this game, probably the most effective marketing they did. Those videos were ALMOST false advertising. For example, Josh Keaton and Christopher Daniel Barnes talked about how what you do in one timeline will affect the other timeline, but they made it sound like this was player-controlled. In reality, it is not, as the game's story pre-determines each instance the timeline (read: the level you're currently playing) changes. Laura Vandervort, whom I LOVE from INSTANT STAR and SMALLVILLE, voices Mary Jane, but she's only in the game for about five minutes total, and half the time she's just screaming. Those promotional videos sort of suggested we'd be experiencing this actress' performance as an iconic character for more than just a cameo. Ditto for Katee Sackhoff as Black Cat 2099, who is FANTASTIC, in a performance I would have loved to heard more of. Finally, this game has an embarrassment of voice acting riches, as VAL FREAKIN' KILMER is also not really in the game that much. This is a video game that has three legitimate film actors and didn't utilize their talents nearly enough.
One last thing about the voice acting. Josh Keaton and Christopher Daniel Barnes are great Spider-Men. Depending on who you ask, one of these two gentlemen ARE Spider-Man. They do a fantastic job and have GREAT chemistry here. In fact, the best part about the game is actually their dialogue, as through comic book/video game magic they can talk to each other even though they're in different time periods, so often one of them will pop up in the corner of the screen to advise/trash talk the other one.
However, as a long-time Spider-Man fan, I was absolutely offended by the characterization of these two heroes. First of all, they spend the entire game aggressively sniping at each other, like they actually hate each other, and show very little of the class and playful nature that a real Spider-Man would. Secondly, and most egregiously, Spider-Man 2099 is cast in the lead and Amazing Spider-Man, as in, the ACTUAL Peter Parker, is cast as the selfish, wisecracking fool who doesn't know anything. Miguel is constantly explaining time travel and other comic book science topics to Peter, who acts like an idiot and even sports an unmasked character design that makes him look like a jocky douchebag. Guys, Peter Parker is ALSO a scientist, a damn good one. Some of the best Spider-Man stories deal with Peter's humanity and vulnerability, and his weakness in the face of having to do the right thing, which this story also addresses not just in his possible death but also as revealed in the big plot twist, but in no way should Spider-Man 2099 have been presented as smarter and more capable than Peter. It's ridiculous.
Still with me? If you're a Spider-Man fan, buy it and treat it like an interactive should-have-been animated film. Otherwise, rent it, and pray they take a little longer to make the next game.
8 of 11 found the following review helpful:
Exactly as shattered dimensions but with another storyOct 04, 2011
By daggertoes83 Just like it's predecessor, Edge of Time it's a linear action game, you defeat enemies, fight bosses from the Spider-Man universe all while getting experience points to level up your unique spider-man.According to Activision, you'll be able to beat it in one very long sitting if you want to. A mini-challenge system is built into the game. Get so many orbs in x amount of seconds or get from point a to point b in x amount of seconds. You're prompted to engage in these challenges during game play and can go back to retry the the challengers at any time. Note that you can skip the challenges if you want to. They are fun challenges that add depth to the game that shattered dimensions was lacking. All in All a very fun game if you enjoyed the other game. Im a huge spiderman fan So I beat it in 2 sittings and the story is great with fun twist. Not being a big fan of the 2099 spiderman I still very much enjoyed the game. A small step down from shattered dimensions. Unless your a hardcore spiderman fan you might want to wait till a price drop comes along as the game can be beat in one sitting.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Fun but occasionally frustratingOct 29, 2011
By Spongebob Squarepants I really did enjoy this game. I wish it was longer, though. I cleared the main story, doing and redoing web of challenges to try and get more gold medals. Out of the 68 challenges, I have a gold medal on 48 of them. Doing this, going for some achievements (42 of 47 as of now), and beating the whole story, I am at 81% completion and I would say have put in 12-13 hours of gameplay. The core story shouldn't take more than 8 hours, though. It was a ton of fun but the web of challenges are sometimes unfair and frustrating. I would recommend this game as an instant purchase to big spiderman fans, but a rental or a purchase at 30 or less for anybody else just looking for a good game to pass the time.
8/10
EDIT: Okay, so I have gotten every achievement and finished everything. Totaled up to about 20 hours. Was good fun, but hopefully Beenox can deliver more with their next game coming on July 3, 2012. Open world here we come!
4 of 6 found the following review helpful:
Spider-Man Edge Of Time and Beenox so far....Oct 05, 2011
By Oss14 After the succes of Shattered Dimensions, developers Beenox bring a new Spider-Man (Men) game, at first I wasnt a fan (as many) of the decision of only two Spider-Men, Amazing Spider-Man and 2099, but now I understand, limiting the number of protagonists gives more focus in both Story (written by Peter David Co-Creator of Spider-Man 2099), and gameplay.
New abilities like Hypersense for Amazing Spider-Man, wich makes him look like he is moving superfast (like in many comics)this way evading any kind of enemy attack, and Accelerated Decoy for 2099, Accelerated decoy works like an hologram left by Spider-Man 2099 while everything slows down, enemys will attack the Decoy and Spider-Man will have the chance to attack or avoid enemies. This two abilities work for many of the platforming sequences in the game, things like redirect incoming missiles or evade laser beams while trying to complete this sections. Another new ability for both Spider-Men is "Time-Paradox" using it will freeze all enemies in the area for a limited period of time. The engine for this game is an upgraded version of the engine used in Shattered Dimensions, making the graphics and animations look very well done, CGI Cinematics help the story progress better (This could have been an amazing CGI film).
The plot takes place both in the future and an alternate present where Alchemax was founded in the 1970's by Walker Sloane, and evil scientist from 2099 and main villain who travels to the past to recreate Alchemax and destroy Stark Industries. Alchemax has been responsible for many of the greatest inventions in the world (like the Internet). In this alternate present Peter Parker works for Alchemax. The only one who knows whats going on is Miguel O'Hara, Spider-Man from 2099 who tries to stop Walker Sloane from going to the past and witness the Death of Spider-Man at the hands of Anti-Venom (being brainwashed and controlled by Walker Sloane).
The voice acting in this game is as good and even better than Shattered Dimensions, Peter Parker voiced by Josh Keaton (From Spectacular Spider Man and Ultimate Spider-Man in Shattered Dimensions), and Miguel O'Hara voiced by Cristopher Daniel Barnes (Spider-Man Noir in Shattered Dimensions and Spider-Man from the 90's cartoon), this two give us some really amazing narration both Spider-Men talking to each other trought time, they make the Picture-In-Picture gameplay work really well, this Picture-In-Picture gameplay is mostly scripted but in short means something you do in the past would affect Spider-Man in the Future, destroy a Prototype Robot, break a door, disable a shield, etc. Walker Sloane voiced by Val Kilmer, Anti-Venom by Steven Blum, Mary Jane by Laura Vandervoort, and Black-Cat 2099 by Katee Sackhoff.
This Spider-Man game succeeds in many aspects over its predecesor, sometimes the game may feel repetitive and you may question some decisions by the developing team, but if Beenox make this game, in development for one year work, imagine what they would do if given more time. There is enough space to make even greater improvements in the Spider-Man formula, maybe going back to make a Free-Roam Spider-Man game keeping the elements that had made this past two games developed by Beenox so amazing, the fan-service they had made, incorporate it in a free-roam Spider-Man game. Collectibles, alternate costumes, challenges and easter eggs are some other things included in Edge Of Time. Include all of this things and we could have a Spider-Man game that will last for the ages the same way the PS1 Spider-Man games did.
Keep the good work Beenox.
Sequels don't always hold upMar 18, 2012
By Garrett Grier I really enjoyed the first game, Spider-Man: Shatter Dimensions, so I was pretty pumped for this game. Unfortunately they changed a lot of the gameplay in this sequel. Instead of switching between 4 different Spider-Mans (Spider-Men?), you only can play as Amazing Spider-Man and 2099 Spider-Man. The storyline is convoluted and it's hard to tell what it is you're supposed to be doing half the time. I was a quarter of the way through the game thinking that I was still playing the intro. Which kind of describes the entirety of the game; it sort of has this an unfinished feel to it. In summary, it is definitely a shadow of what the first game was.
based on 15 reviews
( 15 customer reviews )
