Spider-man: Edge of Time – Review – Xbox 360

Ever since I can remember I have considered myself a Spider-man fan. The comics and the animated series along with action figures and any form of video game with the old web head in it I would go out and buy, but all that has changed recently. The Spider-man license has been plagued with sub par games since the release of Spider-man 2 on the PS2 and Xbox. Will Edge of Time be the game to reverse this trend, sadly no.

Story: Crazy scientist Walter Sloan has an idea in the year 2099, he will go back in time an establish the corporation Alchemax which he works for now way before it’s time in the 1970′s. Upon traveling back in time he creates and alternate universe in which Spider-man is killed by Anti-Venom in present day. Viewing all this in the year 2099 is Miguel O’Hara (Spider-man 2099) so he sets out to change all of this and save not only Spider-man, but to stop Alchemax from becoming a corporate overlord. Still with me?

Gameplay: Right away I was pulled in by the story and wanted to know more, sadly this only lasts for the first third of the game. After that your left with the feeling you know where this is headed and well your probably right. The combat in Edge of Time is one of the many reused elements of the game, as it is ripped right out of the last Spider-man game (Shattered Dimensions). Along with the combat engine shortcut Beenox also had the great idea to have the game take place in the same building in both time lines. This allows for the same rooms being used and just reskinned while you try and change the out come of each Spider-man’s future or past. The timeline element is a great idea and used very well destroying a robot prototype in the past will make a army of robots attacking Miguel in the future disappear and vice versa. One of the many problems I had with the game was the pacing, it starts off fast and furious and then is hunkered down by bad free falling levels or sections where you have to climb through vents for far too long.

Graphics/Audio: Spider-man: Edge of Time is nothing special visually, but it doesn’t have to be. The character models are rendered nicely along with the boss characters, but the generic run of the mill enemies felt like just that, generic. The level design also felt extremely rushed and almost like an attempt to pull the wool over gamers eyes by just using the same environments in both time lines and just skinning them differently. One of the few bright spots in the game is the voice acting, Val Kilmer as Walter Sloan was great even if a tad under used, and both Spider-man voice actors are spot on and really leave you feeling they got into the character and loved what they were doing.

Overall: Edge of Time is not a terrible game, but it isn’t a good game either. I am still one of the optimistic gamers that thinks this license can be turned around. Sadly Edge of Time failed to deliver, but here is to hoping the newly announced Amazing Spider-man game will deliver us back to the free swinging Spidey we all love.

Pros:
-the story starts off interesting
-voice acting

Cons:
-level design and reuse
-combat system is old
-feels rushed (especially the ending)

6 out of 10

A copy of this game was provided by the developer for reviewing purposes.

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