newVideoPlayer("/webofshad.flv", 463, 367,""); In order, these are the thoughts that went through my mind upon viewing the Comic-Con trailer for Activision’s Spider-Man: Web of Shadows. “Hmmm. Neat. Huh. Interesting. Oooooo. Cool! Woot, Wolverine! That’s not good.” Fighting alongside Logan is a good thing. Fighting against him, not so much. Fighting against a berserk, alien-infected Wolverine? In the comics world that would be at least a two-part story, perhaps even three if they decided to stretch it out a bit. Between this trailer and McWhertor’s impressions of the game so far, colour me intrigued. Perhaps Web of Shadows will turn out to be the game we initially thought Friend or Foe was going to be before they went all kiddie on us.
Activision treated us to an early look at Spider-Man: Web Of Shadows at Comic-Con this week, giving us a taste of the game’s suit-switching mechanic and highlighting boss battles with classic villains Venom and Vulture. In Web of Shadows, Venom has infected the people of New York with a symbiote plague, creating hundreds of mini-Venoms that our friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man must dispatch.
Peter Parker has been infected by the alien symbiote, too, but has total control over its abilities, allowing him to switch from the more nimble red and blue suit to a more destructive black and white suit on the fly. Both suits have their advantages and disadvantages, as the black suit lets Spidey whip foes with symbiotic tentacles and carries a heftier punch, but can result in more collateral damage to the city.
Following the whole “Seize Control” theme they kicked off by allowing fans to vote on the preorder bonus for Spider-Man: Web Of Shadows, Activision is now giving players a chance to decide which box art the game ships with this fall. The choices are limited to the left image, which is almost mildly appealing, and the right one, which for some reason makes Spidey’s arms and hands into display monitors for concept art.
While you struggle between mildly pleasing and completely stupid covers, keep in mind the special message below the voting section on the website. “Activision shall not be bond by the outcome of the community vote and Activisions decision(s) and selection(s) shall be final and binding”. So yeah, vote, but don’t expect it to actually matter. Awesome. Packaging Artwork Vote [Web of Shadows Official Site]
And taking us out this evening is 90-second behind-the-scenes video from Gametrailers showing the combat overhaul Shaba Games has in mind for the latest Spider-Man title. They’re keen on unifying the web-swinging with the fighting, and ground, wall and air attack moves. It also promises switching between different costumes (and their abilities) at will. Not sure how that fits into the storyline. In the video you see Spidey taking on Hobgoblin (or Green Goblin, couldn’t get a clear look), and the Vulture.
Spider-Man: Web of Shadows Behind the Scenes — Combat Redefined [GameTrailers, thanks Tyson B.]
Well no wonder we’ve not seen a press release for Spider-Man: Web of Shadows! Yahoo! has the exclusive details on the new game, including the announcement trailer and a few choice pieces of concept art. Web of Shadows, developed by Shaba and Treyarch, the game features the same free-roaming gameplay we’ve come to be cautiously optimistic about, with a dark twist. New York City has been invaded by something horrible, the city leaders have declared martial law, and Spidey’s friends and foes alike are struggling to handle the situation.
It is a sad day when I have to find out about a new Spider-Man game from a blurry photo of a GameStop sales circular. Kotokuite ReidP snapped this shot of the in-store ad for the “just announced” game, complete with Bioshock-ish link to a not-yet-active website where you can vote for which gift you receive for preordering the game. I’d expect official word from Activision any moment now on how they are going to maintain the Spider-Man license’s downward spiral. In the meantime, I’d go for T-shirt. Figurines get lost, posters tear, but t-shirts are forever, or at least until the pits rot out.