Spider-Man is chock full of collectibles. You’re meant to grab tokens from fighting crime and clearing out bases to upgrade and build new suits for Peter Parker. My favourite collectible, though, is the mementos you find in Peter Parker’s backpacks around the city.
These backpacks aren’t hard to find; they’re not especially cleverly placed or hidden. The pay-off for picking them up is that they contain little pieces of Peter Parker’s past within them.
Spider-Man has taken on his share of street thugs and supervillains, sometimes teaming up with the police to face down foes and rescue the people of New York. While Spider-Man on PS4 undoubtedly shows Spidey’s allegiance to his community, it also casts him as a big fan of police and their tactics that sometimes conflict with that civic mindset. From cheesy detective impressions to Rikers prisoner beatdowns, Spider-Man’s uncomplicated approach to crime clashes with the reality of day to day life.
When you live in a giant city like New York, you stop noticing certain things. Spider-Man for the PS4 lets you swing 80 stories above the city, but it still takes time to indulge in little details that remind me of the life that happens all around that I usually tune out. One of my favourite details is the ability to actually see through windows. It sounds minor, but I found it mind blowing.
In the PS4’s very good new Spider-Man game, Peter Parker spends a lot of time web-swinging through Manhattan in pursuit of truth, justice, and collectables. As he flings himself about, he frequently gets calls from friends on his radio, and he responds differently depending on whether or not he’s exerting himself.
