E3 2010: Hands on with Ultimate Spider-Man: Total Mayhem on iPhone
Say hello to your new most anticipated iPhone game
Expectations for comic book-licensed games have sunk so low that when a game like Ultimate Spider-Man: Total Mayhem comes along, you can't be blamed for pinching yourself.
Bucking the trend of generic brawlers and derivative action-adventure riffs, Gameloft has the inklings of a real hit in Ultimate Spider-Man. It's not just the graphics that impress: a well-conceived combat system, fun web-swinging stages, and generally fun gameplay are sure to make this the ultimate handheld Spider-Man game.
It probably helps that Ultimate Spider-Man isn't tied to a movie or television programme or any other product launch. Although inspired by the comic series, it's a title unrestrained by a theatrical release date and so without the pressure that normally accompanies such a game. The results are enormously promising. From the colourful graphics to the energetic action, Ultimate Spider-Man looks to deliver.
Awesome combatWhat impresses me the most is the combat system. Going well beyond the typical virtual button-mashing mechanics of other action-adventure games, combos are supremely satisfying and easy to execute. A virtual analogue stick enables you to move Spider-Man, whereas a row of three buttons in the opposite corner are tied to actions - one for webbing, another for jumping, and a third to throw punches.
Encounter a group of goons and you can string together jumps, punches, and webbing into more than a dozen different combo attacks. It's so simple that in mere minutes of picking up the game I felt comfortable and motivated into varying attacks and trying new moves.
Better yet, the evade and counte rattack system is so well implemented that you actually use it instead of ignoring it and mashing the attack buttons. Whenever Spider-Man senses an enemy attack, a lightning-embossed icon appears at the bottom of the screen that can be hit to evade. If you're lucky, Spidey will counterattack and put the goon out of commission.
But wait, there's moreIf all 12 levels were focused purely on combat, that would be enough to get me excited about Ultimate Spider-Man. But, they're not. The game ambitiously tackles web-swinging with huge levels set high on the New York City skyline. In one level I played approximately midway through the game, Spider-Man swung from rooftop to rooftop by latching onto grapple points with webbing.
As you move within range of a grapple point, tapping the webbing button flicks a strand of web so as to propel Spider-Man forward. Timing is occasionally a challenge, but you're afforded a chance to recover by tracing an icon on the screen if you accidentally fall.
I wasn't expecting much from Ultimate Spider-Man, but the well-crafted combat system and fun web-swinging levels give the game an authenticity and sheer playability that immediately puts it at the top of my most anticipated games of the summer.
