Hands-On: ‘Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions’ For Xbox 360

One of the big problems with Comic Con is there is too much to be excited over. It actually ends up being hard to even keep track of all the things to look forward to. One thing we were able to keep focus on though was Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions. At the Pre-Comic Con Activision event when they announced the fourth and final dimension for the game, we were able to get some hands on time with it.

Myself and the Flickcast’s Matt Raub both got to play through two sections of Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions. Unlike recent Spider-Man games, Shattered Dimensions most notably is not an open world. It is a more linear process where players for a more set storyline than traveling across the island of Manhattan back and forth, something that while intriguing the first time because tiresome by the third game to use this approach.

The first section was the Noir universe which didn’t feel like a traditional Spider-Man title by any means. Instead of running in cracking jokes as he dodged bullets, the Noir Spider-Man was forced to take a more Sam Fischer approach (Splinter Cell reference for those of you who are just comic fans and not big gamers). Using his environment as a weapon, Noir Spider-Man must traverse around a level picking off foes one by one and avoid direct combat. Attempting a head on attack would more than likely result in a Spider-Man riddled with Tommy gun bullets.

Next, we were transported over to the Ultimate universe where we donned a black suited and younger Peter Parker who was being assaulted by Deadpool’s Marauders in a no longer secure S.H.I.E.L.D. facility. This Spider-Man version is more of a one man assault squad as he beats his way through waves of non-stop opponents until going head to head with Carnage. In the boss fight with Carnage, we see something new to the series, a first person face pounding. As seen in some of the trailers, you get the opportunity to pound the tar out of the your favorite villains big dumb mugs to let off some extra tension.

It’s important to note that while the strategy of the Noir Spider-Man has changed, the level of control hasn’t suffered. Players still feel completely in control of their favorite wall crawler as they silently swing back and forth around the grimy lot. In Ultimate, the combo and special moves system from previous titles has been revisited and refined, resulting in more varied attacks. There is still a lot of button mashing because of the game’s action nature but the variety of combos allows for more diversity in the attacks.

Visual, the game is more impressive than previous titles because of its different art styles. While there are some visual similarities between Amazing and Ultimate, the two look nothing like either 2099 or Noir. The all black, gray and white tons of Noir set it completely apart from the black outlined “comic book” cell shaded looks of Amazing and Ultimate. 2099 takes a completely opposite approach as its bright neon colors approach near Speed Racer levels.

Stick to the Flickcast for all things Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions.