This Looks Promising: Critics Want Energy Hook (Even If They Don't Know It)

I haven't played the latest Spider-Man game, but I gather they've excised the swinging mechanic that made Spider-Man 2 what it was, replacing it with a more Arkham City-like just-point-the-crosshairs-and-press-the-button-and-you-go-there leaving the players to ask the question, "Just what are my webs attaching to?"

In other words, sounds like it's regressed back to the Spider-Man 1 days, where 'swinging' was basically flying.

I suppose I should be offended that they've rejected our genius, but I get it. Most people who pick up a Spider-Man movie game probably don't want a skill challenge - they don't want to have to learn how to be Spider-Man - they just want to press a button and be Spider-Man. It appeals to the mass market. 

But it doesn't appeal to the hardcore. Which means it doesn't appeal to most critics. Take Tom Chick for example:

...you’re just holding down a trigger button. At which point web swinging happens. This is a fine way to keep a game from having any meaningful Spider-Man flavor. Web swinging should never just happen. Web swinging should be something you do. It should bring with it some sense of accomplishment, exhilaration, and interactivity. It shouldn’t be something you watch. We have movies for that.

From Quarter To Three

And for my personal taste, yeah. Totally agree. Not to mention - in Arkham City (and, I presume, Amazing Spider-Man) the environment doesn't matter much. You have an objective - you point the camera in that direction - you press the button. Whether there's a big wall or a lot of nothing in your way doesn't really matter. You automatically go over the wall or zip to the next wall or whatever. I want the terrain to matter - different levels with different forms and shapes should be a different experiences that create different sorts of challenges.

But this is all very good news for me. It means for the people out there who want an up-to-date take on a 3d swinging game mechanic - Energy Hook is the place they're going to have to come to. There's no competition right now.

Comments

[John Harper]

Totally agree about swinging! "Real" swinging mechanics are the bomb.

Don't agree about Arkham City, though. Try to zip/glide across the whole city without touching the ground or losing too much speed. It is something you do, not just a button you press, and it requires constant assessment of the environment.

But, zip/glide is not swinging. True, skill-based swinging in Energy Hook is gonna rock!

[Jamie Fristrom]

Yeah, the terrain matters some, particularly when you're doing the swoop-glide thing, or giving yourself a challenge like you suggest, but most of the time when I was playing I was just numbly pressing forward towards the next objective marker.

But in general I liked Arkham City - particularly the stealth sections.