Hot take: The best "Spider-Man" game is still Persona 3.
Here's why that is and what I'd change. #spidermanps4 (1/14)
Here's why that is and what I'd change. #spidermanps4 (1/14)
One thing that always sets spider man apart from other heroes is his dual life. Other heroes fight and joke and emote, but Spider-Man also has to juggle school, work, and family. Ordinary stuff. (2/14)
I love this about Static Shock and other superheroes in the same boat as well. In addition to making them more human and realistic, it also makes them way more heroic! They're not mega-rich or totally above mortal concerns, they gotta pay the rent! (3/14)
So the new Spider-Man game looks great and is a lot of fun, but let's be real- It's Batman Arkham City with web-slinging. (4/14)
And that's totally cool! That's an awesome game! But it doesn't make me "feel like Spider-Man" (5/14)
Persona 3 does capture that feeling though. You're a normal guy by day, and a superhero by night: So AS a normal high schooler, you're expected to get good grades, join a club or a sports team, and build relationships when you're not KILLING DEMONS AND SAVING THE WORLD. (6/14)
Do you go out to look for evil, or do you stay home to be well-rested enough for school? Can you afford to spend money on a movie, or do you have to save everything you can to upgrade for an upcoming villain? THESE are the moments that being spider-man is about. (7/14)
Spider-Man PS4 establishes Peter Parker as being perpetually late and flakey, but it's not part of the gameplay. I don't want to be TOLD I'm late; I want to get to try for myself, to succeed or fail at being on time and suffer the consequences! I wanna BE Spider-Man! (8/14)
This would also allow for some delicious gameplay-story integration where you just PHYSICALLY CAN'T be on time to everything due to crises that need to be taken care of there and now. (9/14)
My solution: Steal the timed event mechanic from the Dead Rising series. If you're unfamiliar, in that game missions are set to a specific time and if you're too late you've missed your opportunity. The plot moves onward as long as you continue the main story. (10/14)
Applying this to Spider-Man: crime and villainy occur in real time, but you have these optional objectives (Dinner with Aunt May, study date with Mary-Jane, whatever.) (11/14)
You have no idea how important they'll be, maybe they won't amount to anything, or maybe you'll be in the right place at the right time to find out Aunt May is having tea with Dr. Octopus or whatever. (12/14)
Maybe it's impossible to get to them all! You can still force the 'Peter Parker is a flake' characterization, but in a way that would feel earned and be fantastic gameplay-story integration, which I am 100% always hungry for! (13/14)
Maybe they could affect the ending! Maybe nothing at all! But what's definitely for certain is that juggling that double life, feeling accomplished if I manage my schedule perfectly or having to choose who I let down and when, THAT would make me "Feel Like Spider-Man." (14/14)
