Top Three time! Statistically, the only part of the list that most people care about. Where do I source my statistics? Why would I pose this leading question? I’ll leave you to draw your own conclusions. I’m not used to speaking this positively for such an extended amount of time. It’s exhausting, I don’t know how people do it. But I’ve got plenty of nice things still to say these next few days, so let’s hope I don’t hit a happy wall as I get to the games I should be praising the most.
From a game in which I had mixed feelings about, despite it’s obviously staggering accomplishment, I move onto a game I just adore from top to bottom. A combination of being from a franchise I love, from a developer I have a long history with and simply being an incredibly fun game. There’s not much to do but praise this one.
And I’ll get to that in a moment, but first I need to post my traditional list of links:
#7: Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age
#3: Spider-Man
Played on PlayStation 4 | Released September 7th | Developed by Insomniac Games
I grew up on Spider-Man. The cartoons, the games, the comics. I also grew up on Insomniac’s games, Spyro the Dragon (which I’ve already spoken about at length), Ratchet and Clank and (more recently) Sunset Overdrive. There was little chance of me rushing to pick this one up at the earliest opportunity. Something, as I made clear back at the start of last week, I don’t do much anymore.
Everything about this game looked like it was going to be amazing/spectacular leading up to its release. Even petty dramas about puddles and crying over a crappy Raimi suit couldn’t douse my enthusiasm for this game. If anything, Insomniac’s response to this childishness made me love them all the more.
This Spider-Man game is the Spider-Man game that everyone has been banging on about someone making since Spider-Man 2 came out back in 2004. An open world game that simulates the exhilaration and freedom of being Spider-Man, and it does it perfectly.
Talking about Red Dead yesterday, part of my exasperation with game came from the time it took to get anywhere, especially when I was focusing on the story. After I finished Spider-Man, I was desperate to continue playing it, despite having ran out of things to do.
The simple act of traversing around the city is so much fun. The combination of swinging, zip lining, wall running and vaulting all chain together in a way that’s pretty simple to execute, but never fails to make you feel like a bad ass the whole time. The game does a perfect job of making you feel like Spider-Man, this human rocket that launches themselves across the city and slides around bad guys who are fool enough to fight him.
And between all of the swinging around, there is a ton to do, whether it be stealthing through a enemy infested building, beating up waves of things with great flair and skill, fixing the city’s air quality, saving pigeons or stopping a mugging. And all of that it outside of the game’s main story, which is also executed fantastically. Introducing characters from Spider-Man lore new and old, as well as mixing up expectations for characters you feel like you already know.
There’s really no part of this game I didn’t love. And at a time where Spider-Man hype is very real and at the highest point is has ever been, this takes me back to why I loved the character so much as a child.
There was scarcely a moment I didn’t have a huge smile on my face playing this game. It nails the feel and the tone of the characters, it is the best playing Spider-Man game ever and it left me wanting more right up until the end. It’s exhilarating, it’s visually spectacular and it’s all around amazing. It’s also superior… to… erm, the games previously listed on this list… nailed it.
A Richard Wood Text Adventure 