The Amazing Spider-Man is an open world video game based on the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man and the 2012 film of the same name. It was developed by Beenox and published by Activision. It was released on June 26 in North America and on June 29, 2012 in Europe for the Nintendo DS, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, Android, iOS, and Microsoft Windows. A version for the Wii U was released in March 2013 in North America and Europe known as The Amazing Spider-Man: Ultimate Edition in both regions. A PlayStation Vita version was released in November 2013. A sequel, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, was released in April 2014, itself based on the film.
The game was directed by Gerard Lehiany and written by Seamus Kevin Fahey, Benjamin Schirtz and Gérard Lehiany. Its story serves as an alternate epilogue to The Amazing Spider-Man film, which is continued in the game's sequel. Months after the events of the film, a number of cross-species experiments created by Oscorp using Curt Connors' research escape into Manhattan and infect its population with a deadly virus, forcing Spider-Man to join forces with Gwen Stacy and Connors to find a cure. Meanwhile, the new Oscorp CEO, Alistair Smythe, attempts to develop his own cure so that he will be credited as the city's savior, and to eliminate Spider-Man and Connors for interfering with his plans.
The Nintendo 3DS and Wii versions of the game include the script and plot of the other versions of the game, but feature a much different, more linear gameplay that does not have an open world environment, and instead features the player selecting a level from the map in Spider-Man's apartment, before playing a mostly linear level. It was natively designed for the 3DS and later ported to the Wii. Upon its release, the game received mixed to positive reviews from critics, with praise to the gameplay, controls, combat, dark tone, intensity and soundtrack, although it received criticism for its mode of difficulty, story, visuals, repetitive side missions and lack of innovation.
Gameplay
PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows versions
The Amazing Spider-Man is a third-person video game, set in an open world based on Manhattan. Players take on the role of Spider-Man and complete missions—linear scenarios with set objectives—to progress through the story. The missions are structured in a linear manner, but the player is free to explore the game's map in between missions and engage in various side activities. Players have access to all of Spider-Man's superhuman abilities, including web swinging and wall crawling. The game introduces a bullet time mechanic called Web-Rush, where players slow down time by holding a button and can select between different locations that Spider-Man will automatically move towards once the player releases the button. This gameplay mechanic can be used to target enemies, whom Spider-Man will attack automatically, or objects that Spider-Man will throw at enemies, incapacitating them for a few seconds and allowing Spider-Man to web them in order to subdue them for good. The combat system is reminiscent of the Rocksteady Studios' Batman: Arkham series (at the time consisting of Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City), using a freeflow design and counterattacks. Beenox took a cue from the Batman games, with Dee Brown, the head of Beenox, stating "I played both Batman games and liked them. For me, the Spider-Man character is very different than Batman. You have to approach both in a different way. I think the Rocksteady guys did a good job at providing what was required to make a great Batman game, and we're doing everything we need to this time to make a great Spider-Man game".
The game's side missions include stopping petty crimes, car chases, and gun fights in the streets, recovering missing patients from a psychiatric hospital that escaped early on in the main storyline, and transporting civilians infected by the cross-species virus to quarantine camps. Spider-Man can use his phone to take photographs of evidence that links Oscorp to the cross-species conspiracy, or collect items such as audio files related to the conspiracy. Finding this evidence rewards the player with XP Points, or extra content in the main menu, such as concept art. Players can collect full, vintage comic books, such as Amazing Fantasy #15, as they collect comic covers throughout the game's map.