Spider-Man Catch-All

I’ve only ever completed a few games in my life, and never 100% anything before. I started playing this game a month ago, and in 1-2 hour sessions, ended up 100% the main game and all 3 DLC. The hype was that this game was great, but even that left me a tad underprepared for what I got. Tremendously good time. Wow.

The Spider-Man DLC is on sale again, $15 for the bundle. It's still expensive enough that I'm a little reluctant to pull the trigger, but also I did love this game so much and haven't played it in quite a while now. I put a reminder on my calendar for near the end of the sale to think about it. Any rave reviews of the DLC, or meh reviews of it?

I would submit a rave review. It was more of all the things i loved about the base game.

If you're looking for something wildly new, you'll be disappointed, if you want more of the same swinging and fighting and story set pieces, it is definitely a win. Oh and some bad guys who are even bigger and tougher than the usual set.

thrawn82 wrote:

I would submit a rave review. It was more of all the things i loved about the base game.

If you're looking for something wildly new, you'll be disappointed, if you want more of the same swinging and fighting and story set pieces, it is definitely a win. Oh and some bad guys who are even bigger and tougher than the usual set.

I vote worth it, but not the greatest thing ever.
The story gets a little too lines must be blurred for to much of the story and there's a bit of resetting the status quo for the sequel.
The gameplay and missions still felt top notch.

It was more of the same, and the first one (Black Cat) was the best one. I don't regret paying full price.

OK, I need to fire this up now that I finished God of War.

I would reiterate the general consensus: The DLC is good, but more of the same. The first is the most interesting, and I liked the third more than the second. I paid full price, and did not regret the purchase, and I think it is a steal at $15 if you want more Spidey.

I played the first DLC pack several months after finishing the main game, while I was home for a day and felt like I needed about 3 more hours of Spider-Man. And it gave me exactly that! Like everyone else says, it's good, but more of the same. So if you want more Spider-Man, you'll definitely enjoy it. And if you've taken a break and just want a bite-sized chunk, now's a great time.

The problem is, how the heck do we get used to the controls again? I tried to play this about 6 months later and found it too confusing lol.

I think I'll have to start NG+ whenever I decide to go back for DLC. Just play the whole thing again.

I've actually been considering it since I got a new TV last month. Don't know if the HDR will make much difference but it's a lot bigger than my old TV and I think it will be a lot of fun.

I like everything about the game so far except it's got Ubi icons all over the map. I wish developers could include the cool features in the game without just throwing them on a map and telling the player to follow all the icons. I wish they would figure out a way for the player to find these things in a more natural manner and make finding these activities part of the fun. Other than that, well done so far!

I am totally the opposite way. I was so happy when I saw these icons all over the map, and loved using the icons to guide me to the next collectible.

Over time I've realized that I really don't like hidden collectathons. Inevitably, I can't find all the stuff on my own, and will default to some FAQ or guide. That takes me out of the game experience. And, inevitably, it is even more annoying if I can find 50% or more of the collectibles on my own, but want to find them all, because I haven't been keeping a list, don't remember where I found everything, and end up retreading old ground when trying to follow someone else's guide. When the game includes all of the information necessary to actually find the stuff, I don't have to interrupt my play, but can just go to the next location and focus on the actual part that I enjoy: actually finding the thing, and seeing myself slowly but surely clear the map.

The presence of the icons also simulates the fact that Peter would remember the place where he hid his backpacks, the landmarks he'd want to photograph, etc.

Yep I love it. Be fine if there was an option or doodad to collect to toggle it on, whatever. Give people a choice but I too prefer a good in game map vs having to look at some outside guide.

I agree, I don't want to use a guide either. I also typically don't worry about getting all the collectibles in a game, but these have a game play benefit (the tokens). I'm OK with some icons - if someone says to meet them at the Empire State Building Peter will obviously know where it is. So in cases like that I'm good with a map marker.

It's for other things I'd prefer some other method to determine where things are. The Witcher 3's solution used in some cases wasn't good either (using Witcher vision to create a trail). That just replaced one busywork with another.

I didn't like Red Dead Redemption 2, but one thing I liked about it was how you'd get maps to locate hidden treasures.

In the latest AC game, UBI had a bit of an improvement with some tasks giving an area to search or some type of clue.

In any case, I get some people like the icons and that's fine. Spider-Man is still a really fun game so I can tolerate the icons.

I'm around 45% done with the main story and I still haven't tired of the side activities, that is a good sign. I almost always get tired of the side content in big games like this. My favorite two are identifying the chemicals and doing the circuits. I even like catching the pigeons, but they do show off that I'm still inadequate with my swinging skills. I often take multiple tries trying to catch them.

In fights I tend to stick with the basics too much and am probably inefficient, but I have fun with them. I'm liking this even more than I expected with all the love thrown at it. I'm not a Spider-Man fan, or really any super hero stuff, but this just feels good to play.

I fired up the Black Cat DLC the other day, instead of starting NG+. Took me a few minutes to remember how to fight and get the rust off, but swinging felt just as amazing as I remember. Going to try to finish this weekend.

I have the day off work tomorrow. With the sale going on, I think I’m going to play through Turf Wars! Probably won’t get all the way to Silver Lining.

I felt like the larger story of The Heist (the first DLC) was okay, but the relationships between the characters was excellent. I loved two beats in particular:

Spoiler:

Peter trying to explain to MJ that he *might* have gotten Black Cat pregnant. Such great writing and voice acting. The game handled this in a mature way, but with a touch of humor, and without resorting to being graphic.

And the phone calls with Miles, about training, were just perfect.

The only minigame i really hated was Drone-Chase

I played through Turf Wars, the second DLC, yesterday, and am just wrapping up some of the content today.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I found this DLC, and parts of the Black Cat one, to be way harder than most of the base game. This one features multiple missions with swarms of enemies that seem more dense than the crowds that you fight in the base game. And almost every group has multiple rocket launcher guys, plus multiple brutes, plus a new shield-and-jetpack enemy. I died a whole bunch getting through this one.

I also was reminded of how much I love Peter's quips, especially when they lead to banter with the enemies. In this DLC, there are some tunneling machines that remind me of the ones from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Peter tries a bunch of nicknames for them until settling on "Dig Boys." And then tries to make the phrase stick, including by talking to the mooks about their Dig Boys during one of the last missions. This earns a "What is wrong with you?" line from one of the mooks.

I've not played further than The Heist, but my impression of that DLC was they'd assume you had recently been playing the base game and therefore escalated the difficulty right at the start. So, yes, they're making it more challenging than the base game, I have no doubt. This highlights both the positives and the negatives of the game's design, at least it did for me. It's why I haven't really gone back to finish the DLC off.

Simultaneously, The Heist certainly helped push to the forefront the strength of the writers: writing Peter Parker and those he is closest with. I didn't bother sharing Shamus Young's long-form analysis of Spider-man, seeing that his long-form criticisms of Mass Effect were not well-received by this community. However, they certainly helped me better understand some of the reasons I wasn't really enamored with the core plot or villains, regardless of the thematic elements I saw them playing with or how a lot of the production values at least made it entertaining.

Regardless of the core story, though, Peter Parker is written perfectly, they understand that being Spider-man is awesome but being Peter stinks, and they also highlight that he's great at punching mooks' lights out (until the cut-scene decides he does a stupid), but he is awful at dealing with personal and social relationships.

The Heist really clarified a lot of this stuff in a tiny package. I'm hoping the inevitable sequel can at least have a better villain or use of its villains.

Spoiler:

Note I'm not meaning Otto, though I still have some issues with his execution. He'd have worked a lot better if he weren't preceded by Martin Li, who is just... absolutely bland. Again, I understand the thematic purpose of such a villain, where he and Otto act as the antithesis to Peter Parker: great power corrupts absolutely, at least, should it be used in a selfish manner. The problem is Norman Osborne does not come off so absolutely corrupted, especially by the end. Even if hiring a fascist mercenary corporation is a "flub", to understate it, it's a lot better than a mass terrorist bombing of a crowd of civilians honoring a brave police man, all because you have a personal grudge.

But that's off topic. Point is, Otto could have worked better if he wasn't preceded by Martin Li, who was an awful villain, and I'm hoping Spider-man 2 has a far better antagonist.

Well, based on the stinger at the end of the main story:

Spoiler:

The sequel’s almost certain to feature Venom and Green Goblin. That should work pretty well. And I think it will help the storytelling if they focus on a couple antagonists rather than a rotating cast of villains (as in the base game).

Restarted NG. Its nice how you have the option to skip puzzles!

LastSurprise wrote:

Well, based on the stinger at the end of the main story:

Spoiler:

The sequel’s almost certain to feature Venom and Green Goblin. That should work pretty well. And I think it will help the storytelling if they focus on a couple antagonists rather than a rotating cast of villains (as in the base game).

Spoiler:

do you figure Daddy as GG and son as Venom?

Yup. That's exactly what I think.

Spoiler:

I didn't immediately recognize the stuff in the tank as the Venom symbiote, but someone here pointed it out to me after I watched the scene. And I definitely think Daddy is GG.

LastSurprise wrote:

Yup. That's exactly what I think.

Spoiler:

I didn't immediately recognize the stuff in the tank as the Venom symbiote, but someone here pointed it out to me after I watched the scene. And I definitely think Daddy is GG.

Spoiler:

The Goblin glider was on display at the tech expo and obviously MJ found what will become the Goblin mask.

LastSurprise wrote:

I don't know about the rest of you, but I found this DLC, and parts of the Black Cat one, to be way harder than most of the base game.

Yeah, I actually turned the difficulty down, mostly because of those jerks with mini-guns.

Rat Boy wrote:
LastSurprise wrote:

Yup. That's exactly what I think.

Spoiler:

I didn't immediately recognize the stuff in the tank as the Venom symbiote, but someone here pointed it out to me after I watched the scene. And I definitely think Daddy is GG.

Spoiler:

The Goblin glider was on display at the tech expo and obviously MJ found what will become the Goblin mask.

Yeah those were big clues for sure.

Spoiler:

If I remember correctly, there were also those little pumpkin bombs—sans orange paint—in Norman’s lab.

I finished up the game today at around 80%. Somewhere around 65-70% I started getting tired of the side activities and focused on the story. I really enjoyed playing Peter. It seems rare to play a guy who is an all around good guy. The story kept me interested the whole way through with a good cast of characters.

For not being a Spider-Man fan, it was a lot of fun swinging around the city. Combat was more fun than in the Batman games, but I did get my fill of it. It got very samey. Probably my favorite super hero game.

I finished Silver Lining this weekend! The last battle was a really nice capstone. After that, I had a few crimes to wrap up, and one of the bases too. I definitely found the bases were getting too lengthy and frustrating, so after dying on my first attempt I cranked down the difficulty to Friendly Neighborhood so I could just clear it easily. No regrets!

Hey this game is pretty good, anyone else feel the same?

Still in the first act, and the early going was a little frustrating as I didn't feel like the game explained certain things very well, but now I'm in the thick of it and having a good time. I'm not wild about the boss fights, but at least so far they have good checkpointing so you don't have to repeat too much when I'm trying to figure what I'm even supposed to be doing against a boss.

I love how well it presents the fantasy of being the do-gooder superhero here. Rescuing folks, foiling faceless goons' crimes, having folks get excited to see you around the city. The Arkham games are great at making you feel like Batman, but this game is great at making you feel like you're actually helping people. I admit I was a little skeptical about this game as none of the screenshots or videos really captured my attention. Playing another game with Batman-like combat seemed a little pointless. But the subtle shift in focus in the way the superhero fantasy is portrayed really makes all the difference.