Spider-Man: Edge of Time

The latest Beenox game, Spider-Man: Edge of Time, starts off in spectacular fashion, as Eddie Brock (Anti-venom) kills Spiderman. If that doesn't make you sit up and pay attention, nothing will, and what could have been the shortest Spider-Man game ever, quickly shifts its focus towards the future. In particular, towards the year 2099, where Miguel O'Hara (Spider-Man 2099) finds himself caught in a temporal conundrum. O'Hara fails to stop Walker Sloan, an Alchemax scientist from travelling to the 1970s, and in turn reality and the future are drastically altered. Alchemax (and presumably its corrupt board-members) appears decades before it should have, and the destinies of many in the present day are changed as well. For instance, Peter Parker isn't employed by the Daily Bugle, but rather finds himself slaving away in a cubicle at Alchemax.

O'Hara on the other hand finds himself trapped in a dystopian future New York, where he quickly learns that he is somehow telepathically linked with the Peter Parker from the newly-created alternate time line. Spidey 2099 sets out to not only save Peter Parker from his imminent demise at the hands of Anti-venom, but also to team up with his predecessor in a desperate bid to restore the timeline. As geeky as it may sound, a part of me was wondering where is Max Borne, the Spiderman of the year 2211? Surely, since Spiderman 2211 is a timespinner, he would have spotted the change in the timeline, and pounced... like an agile, time-travelling spider! But alas, it was not the case.

What follows is a crazy ride that runs contrary to Novikovian principles on temporal paradoxes, and although O'Hara is eager to warn Parker of the dangers of “quantum causality” at seemingly the most inopportune times, all temporal events are scripted, which sadly means that your actions are superfluous and never impact the present nor the future. In that sense, regardless of the promise of “temporal cause and effect”, Edge of Time remains dismally linear. It's a pity because the foundation for time-shifting shenanigans is there, and even more so the potential for mucking about the time stream.

Audio-visually, Spider-man: Edge of Time is a force to be reckoned with. The snappy comebacks and overall dialogue between Miguel O'Hara and Peter Parker are expertly written and performed. The dialogue even features the silly puns that Peter Parker is known for in the comics, not to mention, Val Kilmer is perfect as the main villain, and his voice truly elevates the character to greater heights. In addition, the amount of detail on the two Spider-man suits are breathtaking, and Edge of Time could easily have some of the best Spider-man character models ever created in a video game.

However, a major sore spot is the lack of variety. Unlike previous Spider-man games - that have made excellent use of the New York skyline – Edge of Time takes place in one, albeit unbelievably huge building, with massive bland corridors, sparsely furnished foyer-sized rooms and absurdly wide air vents. You can't escape the feeling of deja vu when you enter a new area and you face the same enemies all over again. There are practically only a handful of different enemy characters, and towards the end of the game the overuse of game assets becomes ridiculous. Not to mention, they all seem to have a direct line to the Starship Enterprise, as reinforcements teleport in (without giving sore and bruised fingers a much needed rest).

Speaking of button-bruised fingers, Edge of Time follows a simple mantra of upgradeable attacks, that can be split between quick and heavy attacks. These can be easily strung together with grabs, throws and Spidey web blasts to deliver a staggering combo count. Attacks follow each other seamlessly and even captures the iconic and distinctive style of Spidey-fu (Spiderman's over the top, and potentially bad for your back and joints fighting-style from the comics). For the most part, the two spider-men play exactly the same, bar a few special moves. However, Spider-man 2099's ability to seemingly vanish while deploying a decoy gets a (bleeding) thumbs up from me. Not to be outdone by his successor, Peter Parker can move at blistering speeds while taunting his enemies' inability to hit him, while both characters have access to a temporal distortion field that temporarily stops enemies in their tracks. The distortion field is perfect for building your combo count, however, once used, it takes a while to recharge.

Fortunately for tired fingers, the button mashing action is complimented by some limited exploration, orb (and golden spider) collecting and even occasional challenges that can be accessed in game - at specific segments - or through the “Web of Challenges” mode in the start menu. The challenges are not essential to the storyline, but add additional replayability and challenge to the game. Once successfully completed (at a silver level or above) connected challenges reward you with unlock keys which can be used to unlock and buy alternate Spider-man costumes for both Miguel O'Hara and Peter Parker. There are also a few very curious free-falling levels that increase in complexity, where Spidey 2099 has to navigate an obstacle course while falling (or should I say diving) through a massive air vent.

At its core, Spider-man: Edge of Time is a standard platformer merged with the frantic nature of a fervent button-masher. In case your eyebrows raised ever so slightly, rest assured that this gaming Frankenstein actually works, but it does fall prey to excessive repetition and a near criminal overuse of game assets. If you're a rabid Spidey fan and a huge platform gamer, it will leave you caught in its web. However, if you don't fall into this demographic, its faults may drive you to supervillainy. Ultimately, the game stumbles and fails to elevate both Spider-man characters, but it's still a relatively entertaining brawler with a solid storyline.

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