So with The Amazing Spider-Man 2 on store shelves (unless you have an Xbox One, then you’ll just have to download it), and the movie out, there’s a lot of Spider-Man to digest. That doesn’t stop us from looking back and thinking about the best games the wall crawler has ever swung into.
5) Spider-Man
The video game accompaniment of the first Sam Raimi Spider-Man movie was pretty fun. Published by Activision, it was the first time gamers got to truly feel like they were swinging through New York City. It featured a pretty sweet boss battle featuring Shocker, and a cheat where you could play as the Green Goblin (badass right?). Unfortunately, some pretty rough voice acting by Tobey Maguire, and a wonky camera holds it back from being any higher. But it’s still a fun ride.
4) Spider-Man: Web of Shadows
Web of Shadows features one of the coolest plots in gaming. The Symbiote is taking over New York and a lot of the Marvel Universe gets infected. What is really cool about this title is how much every character is entwined in the story. Characters like Wolverine, Moon Knight, Kingpin and Luke Cage all find themselves into the plot at some point. There’s also a really cool duality as Peter Parker and the Symbiote merge together once again. And it was developed by Treyarch. Like the number 5 spot, some horrible voice acting, weird camera controls, and an unsatisfying Venom boss battle hold this back from being any higher.
3) Spider-Man: The Animated Series The Videogame
This title is brought to us by Acclaim. Venom, Dr. Octopus, the Green Goblin, Alyster Smythe and Alien Spider Slayer break out of prison and it’s up to Spider-Man to stop him. There isn’t much plot aside from the opening picture, but this side scrolling beat ‘em up is fun. There’s power ups, outside help from the Fantastic Four and a variety of Spider-Man villains all drawn from the 90’s animated series. If you haven’t played this one, you should.
2) Spider-Man 2
This Activision title is considered the definitive Spider-Man game, Spider-Man 2 is the follow-up to the number five on this list and is the video game compliment to the best Spider-Man movie ever made. What makes this title really unique is how players had to pay attention when web swinging. It made for a more realistic experience that hasn’t been duplicated since. It’s a really strong title… But it doesn’t match number one.
1) Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage
Serial killer Cletus Cassidy winds up with some of Venom’s Symbiote and becomes Carnage. This leads to Spider-Man and Venom teaming up to stop him. It’s a side scrolling beat ‘em up with cameos from Cloak, Firestar, Black Cat, Morbius, Deathlok, Iron Fist and freaking Captain America! When it came out, it got bad reviews. In reality, it’s one of the better games LJN published. It’s awesome gameplay, huge challenge and wicked soundtrack make it one of those games that you look back on and say “goddamn that was good.” Those are the Spider-Man games we’ve had the most fun playing here at CGM. What’s your favourite Spider Man game?
