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SPIDERMAN: FRIEND OR FOE XBOX 360 REVIEW |
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Activision
has recently released another intriguing
Marvel-based video game called Spider-Man:
Friend or Foe for the Xbox 360. This latest
iteration of Spider-Man is a straightforward
beat-them-up action title, a totally different
undertaking from the story-oriented Spider-Man 3
game we played a few months back. Much to our
surprise, Spider-Man: Friend or Foe is a solid
brawler with a decent tag team action, and
employs an interesting twist to the co-op
concept, where you join forces with the infamous
villains in attempt to unravel the exploitation
of meteorite shard, which is being used for mind
control through the symbiotic suit. As such,
some of Spider-Man’s greatest enemies are being
brain-washed to inflict other malicious
biddings, and it’s up to Spider-Man to defeat
and recruit these super villains (like the Green
Goblin and Doc Ock) to fight alongside in
exposing the mastermind to this mental disorder.
The first thing we noticed about Friend or Foe
is how easy it is to get into the pulp of the
action. Not only the gameplay is very accessible
but also surprisingly dynamic. Just tapping one
button gives you the command list of about a
dozen moves, and a dozen more when you tinker
with the character’s special abilities. The game
provides you with additional fighting skills
later on. With Spidey as your lead subjugator,
you can perform double-jumps while you shoot
web-slings with great distance and accuracy. You
can even pummel those would-be monsters (known
as phantoms) into an airplane spin after
infecting them with a barrage of web combos.
Besides having the ability to team-up with the
greatest villains, the game lets you work with
other superheroes such as Iron Fist, Silver
Sable, Black Cat, and Blade, along the way. As
interesting it is to pull off various combat
antics, there is a bit of exploration involved,
which comes in the form of searching DNA samples
and secret levels. Finding these secret areas or
hidden items requires little effort; as such, it
amounts to the most efficient way in securing
the full 1000 achievement points. |
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PRODUCT
OVERALL RATING: 7.7 OUT OF 10 |
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Your
adventure will take you through a number of
interesting landscapes, which include Egypt,
Romania, Nepal, and Tokyo just to name a few.
Your new-found enemies will change appearance
according to locations, and they get more
progressively resistant over time. The boss
fights are somewhat entertaining; they often use
the same basic line of attack, a pattern of
which you can easily exploit to your advantage.
Though the game allows you to play by yourself,
the single-player mode isn’t as fun as playing
with another friend. First, your
computer-controlled partner is not doing a good
job of protecting himself. Second, he does not
have as many moves as Spider-Man to handle a
group of suicidal phantoms. As a result, you are
constantly rescuing your teammate on every
level. So the best way to enjoy this game is
through two-player human interaction. From a
graphical standpoint, Friend or Foe offers some
rather interesting visual effects that are
mostly concentrated in the fighting aspect of
the game. You’ll see Spider-Man dish out these
high-flying, flashy combos, while he takes on a
group of blitzing phantoms like the ever-agile
kung fu hero Jackie Chan. Some of the fight
sequences do look impressive than others because
of the inflated physics.
The lightness of gravity allows you to string
together additional attacks before your enemies
hit the ground. And you can also hang in the air
to dodge simultaneous attacks that are coming in
different direction. The background doesn’t look
technically astounding but the overall textures
are exceptionally clean. Every famous landmark,
ranging from Cairo to Transylvania, has been
given a distinct appeal to them and most look
relatively accurate. Character designs are
nicely done, too, although they could use some
more individual layering to sharpen the brawny
image and animation. In the sound department,
you can really feel the weight of your punches
and kicks, not to mention the projectiles, which
they do seem to emit a destructive behavior. The
musical element is okay and the voice-overs are
amusing for the most part, where actors did a
fine job reprising their roles. Through funny
dialogues, the game has kept itself from sinking
into monotony. And it’s good that the game
didn’t try to repeat those funny phrases that
would have otherwise worn out its humor.
Needless to say, Spider-Man: Friend or Foe
turned out to be a decent action game. It
maintains the Marvel Comics tradition while
exploring the idea of partnering with the
infamous villains. The game didn’t offer much of
a challenge in terms of objectives, but the
continuous outbreak of attacks is enough to
satisfy our fighting frenzy. Nowadays, side-scroller
of this type don’t come out as often as they
used to, but this one will definitely give you a
run for your money. |
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