Of the many Marvel superheroes, Spider-Man could very well be the most popular. His public persona in multimedia projects over the decades have captured the imaginations of comic book fans, filmgoers, and video game players alike. The character will be returning to the big screen in little over a month with thenext Marvel Cinematic Universe releaseSpider-Man: No Way Home, a multiversal adventure that is rumored to bring back Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s versions of the hero. This isn’t the first time the concept of a multiverse has been explored, asSpider-Man: Shattered Dimensionsfollowed a similar idea over a decade ago.
The video game was developed by Beenox and launched on PS3, Wii and Xbox 360 in 2010.Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensionsactually preceded the Spider-Verse comic book event, as well as the 2018 animated filmSpider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. While not a perfect experience, and definitely overshadowed by the recent offerings from Insomniac, this title is still worth a look for curious players who can’t wait forSpider-Man: No Way Hometo hit theaters.
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Dimensional Shenanigans
The concept of theSpider-Versehas been made widely recognizable thanks to efforts on the big screen in recent years. However, even without prior knowledge of how this sort of comic book insanity works,Shattered Dimensionsdoes a commendable job of setting up its narrative. In short, Mysterio tries to steal an ancient tablet with mysterious powers, and after Spider-Man arrives to stop the villain, the tablet is damaged in a scuffle. This results in a splinter between many alternate timelines.
Having a shattered dimension with magical tablet pieces scattered across different worlds leads to a lot of issues in every dimension. Therefore, Spider-Man teams up with variations of himself from different universes to collect these fragmented pieces of the tablet and set things back in order. For any comic reader or video game fan who enjoys massive crossover events, this has all the right ingredients for the kind of entertainment expected from modern-dayMarvel propertiesin particular.
Doing Whatever Spider-Men Can
Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensionsfollows the wall crawler across dimensions, and the player takes control of four different variations of the superhero with unique capabilities. The Amazing Spider-Man is the usual version of the web swinger. Ultimate Spider-Man has the symbiote suit, resulting in devasting offensive attacks. Spider-Man 2099 is from the future, and has insane sci-fi powers at his disposal. Finally, Spider-Man Noir uses the shadows to his advantage, similar to stealth sequences from theBatman: Arkhamseries.
While none of these Spider-Men have as much depth as other action game heroes, or are as polished as Insomniac’s version, combat proves to be just snappy enough to be engaging. It helps that the title is well-paced, with action jumping between each Spider-Man to keep things varied and avoid repetition. Furthermore, each webhead tackles a unique set of villains from theSpider-Man universe, once again keeping things fresh and bringing some fun surprises for fans.
Actually tracking down a copy of the game may prove to be difficult, however. Digital versions were removed from online stores in 2017 following the expiration of publisherActivision’s deal with Marvel. Physical copies are an option, but can be expensive from retailers. Still, if a player happens to be a big fan of Spider-Man and manages to find a copy at a reasonable price,Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensionsis worth a look.
Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensionsis available now for PS3, Wii, and Xbox 360.
