Ultimate Spider-Man (video game): Difference between revisions
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Stylistically, it differs from its predecessor, [[Spider-Man 2 (video game)]], in that it employs what has been dubbed ''Comic Inking Animation technology'', a form of [[cel shading]] intended to make the game appear as if it were a living comic-book. |
Stylistically, it differs from its predecessor, [[Spider-Man 2 (video game)]], in that it employs what has been dubbed ''Comic Inking Animation technology'', a form of [[cel shading]] intended to make the game appear as if it were a living comic-book. |
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Original promotions claimed that the game would be canonical to the [[Ultimate Spider-Man]] comics, but recent events in the comics (particularly [[Silver Sable]] not recognizing Spider-Man outside of costume, despite learning in the game of his secret identity) call this into question. However, the majority of the game takes place three months after the supposed death of Eddie Brock Jr./Venom. It should also be noted that after the [[Electro]] fight Spider-Man asks Nick Fury why Electro isn't still locked up. No official statement has been made as of yet, and until Venom resurfaces in the comic, it is likely to be left up to interpretation. |
Original promotions claimed that the game would be canonical to the [[Ultimate Spider-Man]] comics, but recent events in the comics (particularly [[Silver Sable]] not recognizing Spider-Man outside of costume, despite learning in the game of his secret identity) call this into question. However, the majority of the game takes place three months after the supposed death of Eddie Brock Jr./Venom. It should also be noted that after the [[Electro (comics)|Electro |
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]] fight Spider-Man asks Nick Fury why Electro isn't still locked up. No official statement has been made as of yet, and until Venom resurfaces in the comic, it is likely to be left up to interpretation. |
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==Characters & Cast== |
==Characters & Cast== |
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Revision as of 01:45, 28 July 2006
| Ultimate Spider-Man | |
|---|---|
| File:USMbox.jpg | |
| Developer(s) | Treyarch Vicarious Visions |
| Publisher(s) | Activision |
| Platform(s) | GameCube, PS2, PC, Xbox, GBA, Nintendo DS, Mobile Phone |
| Release | September 22, 2005 October 14, 2005 (UK) |
| Genre(s) | Action |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
Ultimate Spider-Man is a video game based on the comic book of the same name by Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley. The game was released for all current-gen video game consoles, including PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, DS, GBA, and PC. Treyarch, who made the console games based on the Spider-Man movies, developed the console game, while Vicarious Visions developed the DS and GBA versions and Beenox Entertainment ported the PC version from consoles.
Stylistically, it differs from its predecessor, Spider-Man 2 (video game), in that it employs what has been dubbed Comic Inking Animation technology, a form of cel shading intended to make the game appear as if it were a living comic-book.
Original promotions claimed that the game would be canonical to the Ultimate Spider-Man comics, but recent events in the comics (particularly Silver Sable not recognizing Spider-Man outside of costume, despite learning in the game of his secret identity) call this into question. However, the majority of the game takes place three months after the supposed death of Eddie Brock Jr./Venom. It should also be noted that after the Electro fight Spider-Man asks Nick Fury why Electro isn't still locked up. No official statement has been made as of yet, and until Venom resurfaces in the comic, it is likely to be left up to interpretation.
Characters & Cast
Storyline
Template:Spoilers In the game, we learn that Peter still has some of the Venom suit in his cells from when he first tried it on in Vol. 6 of the Ultimate Spider-Man comic, an arc calledVenom. For this reason, Venom begins hunting Spider-Man in order to absorb the part of the suit that is in Peter. At the same time, Trask Industries (the corporation that stole the rights to the Venom suit from Richard Parker and Eddie Brock, Sr.) hires Silver Sable (in her first appearance in the Ultimate universe) to hunt down Venom. However, upon capturing him, only to have him escape, she decides to capture Spider-Man instead and brings him to Trask, where they experiment on him and introduce another sample of the Venom suit into him. This process inadvertently creates another copy of Carnage, who then escapes. Carnage encounters Venom, who defeats and absorbs him; as a result of this, Eddie Brock gains control over the suit and becomes more powerful, growing the classical white black widow insignia.
Other segments in the game include the first appearance of Ultimate Beetle, an armored mercenary with Latverian connections and unknown motives who steals a vial labeled "SANDMAN" from Trask Industries; Alex O'Hirn, a Trask scientist who wears the R.H.I.N.O.2 battlesuit; and Silver Sable's mercenary crew, the Wild Pack.
Comparison with the comic
Marvel promoted issues 86-88 of the Ultimate Spider-Man comic book as the story that would deal with the fallout of the video game. However, these comics suggest that many of the game's events never actually occurred -- for example, Silver Sable seemingly has no idea who Spider-Man really is, even though she learned his secret identity from Eddie Brock in the game. Many fans wondered if these issues were actually an adaption of the game's storyline, including Spider-man and Silver Sable's first encounter, rather than a continuation of it. But as the story progressed, this did not appear to be the case either. As in the game, Silver Sable was hired by a large corporation to capture Spider-man, but this time the corporation was Roxxon and their reasons for wanting Spider-man had nothing to do with the Venom suit. Also, in the game, Peter and Mary Jane are still a couple, while in the comics, they have broken up.
In a recent interview, Bendis has confirmed that these issues were not an adaptation of the game, but were indeed a completely separate story arc that took place long after the events of the game. According to Bendis, the video game's storyline took place between issue's #36 and #46 of the comic book. While this does clarify that issues 86-88 were not meant to "replace" the events of the game, it does not explain why Silver Sable no longer knows Spider-Man is Peter Parker. This may be explained in a future issue, or alternately, it may simply be a continuity error.
Console & PC Version - Gameplay
In Ultimate Spider-Man you can experience a free-roaming city environment that covers Manhattan and Queens. You start in story-mode where the game automatically switches between Spider-Man and Venom.
As the game progresses, Parker/Spider-Man and the player will have certain City Goals to accomplish in order to continue the storyline.
There are additional activities throughout the game such as finding secret tokens, landmark tokens, comic book covers and competing in trick races.
City Goals
Basically a menu for the player to check out how many tokens they have collected and how many combat tours and city events they have completed.
Message Log
Every message that appears onscreen during game play appears here and is accessible through the pause menu.
Unlockables
This menu shows how many things you have unlocked through interacting with other non-playable characters, tokens you have collected, landmarks you have visited, etc. All unlockables are viewed as a coloured question mark and once unlocked is replaced by a picture. Categories include:
- Characters - unlocked each time you meet a new character (30).
- Landmarks - 15 which are gained through collecting Landmark tokens.
- Comic Book Covers*
- unlocked by collecting the Comic Book Covers Token. Each token represents one of the first 75 issues of Ultimate Spider-Man which are viewable in the gallery.
- Costumes*
- Spidey Wrestling (30 City Events, 30 Secret Tokens)
- Peter Parker (50 City Events, 50 Secret Tokens and 5th Johnny Storm Race)
- Peter Parker Hoodie (75 City Events, 75 Secret Tokens)
- Arachnoman (90 City Events, 90 Tokens 20 Combat Tours)
- Symbiote Spiderman (100/100 City Events, 190/190 Tokens, 36/36 Combat Tours)
n.b. There are 190 tokens in all*Concept Art* - 1 Gained after every chapter in story missions (20).
Console & PC Version - Levels
- Father's Pride: Peter clashes with Venom for the first time
- Workout: Peter exercises his powers and has a brief confrontation with Shocker
- Feeding Time: Venom, still alive after his confrontation with Spider-Man, goes on a feeding frenzy through Manhattan
- Hell of a Mess: After trashing a bar, Venom finds himself locked in battle with Wolverine
- Like a Rhinoceros, but Bigger: Peter is forced to duck out of a test to deal with the latest rampage of the Rhino
- Inexpugnable: With the Rhino's armour damaged, Spider-Man must now stay out of the Rhino's way long enough to get a chance to stop him
- Throw Down: Silver Sable has been hired to track down Venom, but Venom is not all that interested in being caught...
- Class Trip: Peter's spider-sense goes wild while on a class trip to the museum, leading to a confrontation with Venom where he is constantly plagued by headaches when he comes too close to his foe...
- Pursuit: Having been captured by Bolivar Trask and Adrian Toomes, Eddie Brock is forced to pursue Electro as a test of what the Venom suit is capable of
- Mine: As Venom and Electro take the battle to Times Square, Spider-Man is knocked unconscious, pitting the two villains in a fight against each other for the right to kill Spider-Man themselves
- Cool Suit: Having released Norman Osborn from captivity, the Beetle is tearing through Queens and Manhattan, and Spider-Man must keep up with him
- Skyscraper Battle: The Beetle and the Spider clash atop a half-finished skyscraper
- The Great Escape: After a confrontation with Silver Sable, Venom attempts an escape, but her mercenaries are after him...
- 18 and Over: On the 'goading' of Nick Fury, Spider-Man investigates rumours of genetic research at the Latverian Embassy, only to wake up the extremely angry Green Goblin
- A sample: Beetle is after a sample of the Venom suit, but Venom isn't exactly in a 'giving' mood
- Crazy: Seeking a means of controlling Venom, Silver Sable abducts Peter Parker, resulting in a battle on Queensborough Bridge
- Rescue: Silver Sable has been captured by Venom, forcing Spider-Man to pursue his 'evil twin' to save his would-be captor
- Brothers: Trapped in a laboratory, Spider-Man has been mutated into a 'Spider-Carnage' due to the residual Venom in his system, and now Venom is all that stands against him
- The Final Battle: With Carnage absorbed by Venom, the symbiote is now determined to kill Trask, forcing Spider-Man into a final clash with his former friend to save the industrialist
Limited Edition
There is a limited edition exclusive to the Playstation 2, which contains four character biographies (Ultimate Spider-Man, Ultimate Venom, Ultimate Carnage, and Ultimate Beetle), an interview with Stan Lee, a G4 special entitled "Making of Ultimate Spider-Man", Developer tips and tricks, and a special edition (also called "Activision Edition") Ultimate Spider-Man comic book containing scenes from issues 33-39. The limited edition version comes in a different case sporting plain purple and red holographic sides. (With a Venom symbol and Spider-Man symbol on each, respectively.) The case also comes with a cardboard sleeve with a picture of Venom on it. The DVD surface itself has a new picture on it purple instead of red once again with Venom, the instruction manual matches this trend with the cover being a fight scene between the two. The limited edition features are accessed from a new menu titled 'Limited Edition' via the unlockables screen.
Game Boy Advance Version - Gameplay
The Game Boy Advance version of Ultimate Spider-Man is a side-scroller, divided into seven "issues", each containing three chapters, the game allows players to control Spider-Man and Venom. This version features only three boss characters, each of which has a major impact on the storyline.
Unlike the Console, PC or Nintendo DS games, this version features a limited supply of Spider-Man's web fluid, it can be refilled only by picking up special markers scattered throughout levels, or dropped by enemies.
Additionally, players may choose to collect hidden power-ups to gain more web fluid capacity or gain new moves and abilities for both Spider-Man and Venom.
Game Boy Advance Version - Levels
- Issue 1: Small Time: Three Spider-Man levels. Spider-Man fights thugs, tries to find clues leading to their boss.
- Issue 2: Frenzy: Three Venom levels. Silver Sable's mercenaries try to hunt down Venom.
- Issue 3: Hidden Charges: Three Spider-Man levels. Silver Sable hires the Shocker and his thugs to lure Spider-Man into a trap.
- Issue 4: Starving Arist: Two Venom levels, one Spider-Man level. Eddie Brock's Venom suit leads him to Spider-Man, which causes trouble on Peter's class trip to the museum.
- Issue 5: Hunted: Three Venom levels. Silver Sable continues the hunt for Venom, this time trying to stop him with electricity.
- Issue 6: Silver and Cold: Two Spider-Man levels, one Venom level. Spider-Man searches for clues linking Silver Sable with Trask. Silver Sable battles Venom, which Spider-Man doesn't approve of.
- Issue 7: Lab Test: One boss fight for each character and a special level that switches between both roles. Peter Parker gets captured. During a test in Toomes's laboratory Spider-Man turns into a Carnage, due to the residual Venom in his system. More fighting ensues.
Unlockables
Beating the game once will allow players to start a new game in a harder Challenge Mode.
Nintendo DS Version - Gameplay
The Nintendo DS version of Ultimate Spider-Man is a side-scroller. The game allows players to control Spider-Man and Venom.
The gameplay greatly differes between both characters:
- In Spider-Man levels most of the game happens on the top screen and the touch screen is only used for selecting special attacks and operating certain objects (moving heavy objects, opening broken elevator door).
- In Venom levels the game switches to the touch screen, enabling players to use Venom's tentacles to throw objects or enemies, and even attack by tapping the screen.
The game features a slightly modified storyline, for example, players will face Shocker in a strangely challenging battle, considering the joke nature of the character.
The game also features a multiplayer mode, where players can unlock different chracters and arenas for a head-to-head fight.
Trivia
- Bolivar Trask is the man who created the mutant hunting Sentinels in the regular Marvel Universe.
- Adrian Toomes is the Vulture in the 616 universe, another one of Spider-Man's foes.
- The Arachnoman costume as depicted in the game was originally used for the Hollywood arc before the rights to use the movies' likenesses was permitted. It later appeared in a variant issue.