Last week we put out a call to you, our valued readers, to send us any questions you wanted to be answered about the upcoming superhero epic, Marvel’s Spider-Man, from Insomniac Games..
They came in thick and fast and we thank you for that. I’ve done my best to answer some of the questions all the while being respectful of spoilers because I hope that you do go out and pick this game up, it’s a truly magnificent action-adventure game by a developer that just gets this character.
Whilst you’re here, you should also read our Spider-Man review.
Jordan Garcia asks: Does the (seemingly) open-world design compromise the legitimacy of the story’s urgency or does it just break it like most other open-world games?
Like a lot of open-world games, the story’s urgency is sort of broken by the freedom given to you. It doesn’t make it or its revelations any less impactful and I dare say it’s the best comic book story brought to our fair medium.
J-dan Pzzbn asks: Do the webs connect to the buildings when swinging or the sky?
Definitely to buildings and trees. Swinging over Central Park is a low-to-the-ground thrill-ride as you’re only able to attach and swing from the treetops and if you venture out into the bay, there’s nothing to attach to at all.
J-dan Pzzbn asks: And is it hold and release to release web or double click to release web?
You swing by holding RT and releasing it at the apex of your swing.
Ben Stobie asks: Exactly how open is the open world, and how many different types of enemies are there? Also, what’s the number of costumes in the game?
Provided you’re not in a mission space, the city of New York is entirely open for your exploration. There are four enemy factions and each has a probably a half dozen variants.
When I reviewed the game there was 27, but they’ve since added the ESU shirt-clad Spider-Man suit so it brings it up to 28 at launch.
Jean-Paul Bartolomei asks: Fantastic Four outfit with a paper bag, is it in the game? Also how quickly can I get the Spider-Man Noir costume?
The paper bag suit isn’t in the game at launch. Spider-Man’s Noir outfit can be unlocked just as soon as you amass the resources required to unlock it, there’s no particular gating for which outfits can be unlocked when except for those tied directly to missions.
Ben Orchard asks: The gameplay that Insomniac has shown so far has involved a bit of QTE. Does this feel intrusive when playing?
I was concerned about this myself but aside from the already shown footage of Spider-Man webbing up a crane threatening to fall to the unsuspecting streets below, quick time events were seldom used. They only pop up in feats of strength such as stopping getaway cars, lifting cars from trapped pedestrians and wrenching open doors.
Sharon Wiebler asks: Is there more than one save file and what is the most overpowered suit? Also how much will The City That Never Sleeps cost?
There is more than one save file, there’s six in fact.
No particular suit can be considered overpowered, they’re purely aesthetic. The suit powers, on the other hand, which can be mixed and match with any given suit provide a little aid to Spidey. They’re all useful, though I wouldn’t call one overpowered.
At present, The City That Never Sleeps isn’t available standalone on the PlayStation Store and is only available by purchasing the digital deluxe edition of Spider-Man. It is available on the American store for $24.99 so if it makes it here, expect it to be around $35AUD.
Josh Joseph wants to know the importance of Miles Morales and Mary Jane as characters throughout the story; without giving too much away.
Without giving much away, let’s say they’re both important but one is arguably much more involved and important than the other.
Malachy Hamilton asks: Does J Jonah Jameson laugh or say you’re fired?
He does both.
Wade Khyron Garland asks: Will there be more than one playable Spider-Man in the game?
No.
@newmonkeyboy asks: Is there fall damage?
Nope, I literally dive-bombed from the top of the Empire State Building and all I did was crack the pavement with my superhero landing.
@slyalmond asks: Can you web two surfaces parallel to each other and slingshot yourself forward?
Depending on your position in the air, Spider-Man might web himself forward this way automatically though it’s entirely context sensitive. There’s no way to deliberately slingshot yourself between two buildings. Point-launching from a ledge is your best bet for slingshot-like momentum.
@MadMikeey asks: Has everything been covered off with all the trailers that have been coming out of late?
There’s still plenty of cool stuff that the trailers haven’t given away, don’t worry about that.
@JackWillMac asks: How similar or dissimilar is it to the Arkham series?
In terms of its combat, it’s quite similar. Rocksteady did birth the free-flow combat concept, after all, it was inevitable it’d be emulated in some fashion for a hero as quick and versatile as Spider-Man.
@JeffEarnshaw asks: How do I get it to work on my Xbox?
Beyond streaming your PlayStation 4 through your Xbox One’s television functions, I’m afraid you’re out of luck, pal.
@OmgMoreJames asks: Is the writing any good? A solid 50% of Spidey’s appeal is that he’s funny/human so the game should really nail that.
This is the most human superhero story I’ve come across on a console, it focuses a lot on Peter’s relationships and has the emotional range to contend with the likes of Uncharted in terms of narrative. And fear not, there are plenty of quips when the mask is on.
@JoshDeveson wants to know the average length of the main story, 100% completion and how difficult the Platinum trophy is.
At a guess, because the game has no internal tracker of how long I played, I’d say the story took 12-15 hours. I’d then estimate that to 100% everything took me probably around 35-40 hours (that is including the story). Getting your hands on the Platinum, as long as you’ve got the time, isn’t terribly difficult at all.
There you have it, all of your questions answered. Thank you again for submitting your questions, I hope we can do more of this for big releases.
Now get out there, New York City needs you.
