Spider-man: Friend or Foe
Friend or Foe reminded me of a Pixar movie. It is definitely geared toward kids, but also has the jokes to keep the adults entertained, too. It is also only slightly longer than the average feature length film.
The gameplay is very easy to play but has enough different moves to keep you entertained. Much like Lego Star Wars, you are unable to die. This makes the game lack any challenge and can turn off many players. If your health runs out or you fall off a cliff, your character respawns in the same location and you lose a few coins that you have collected. The coins can be used to unlock new moves and upgrade Spider-man’s statistics or the stats of his fourteen possible sidekicks. Most of the upgrades cost between a couple of hundred to about 1400, so the twenty coins you lose for dying doesn’t really hamper your progress toward the next purchase; especially since most levels can be completed with over a thousand coins. Each level also has hidden items scattered around to search for. They aren’t hidden too well; I only missed one on my first play through and I wasn’t looking too hard. There are really only four basic enemy types throughout the whole game. They change looks, but are definitely the same guys. The game consists of five countries split up into four levels each. This may sound like a lot at first, but each country can be completed in well under an hour. The setup of each level is also poorly handled. Each area has a door that blocks your path but magically opens when a set number of enemies are killed. At least the game tries to explain why the enemies are able to appear out of thin air. Something about holographic projections and meteor shards. Something that would only work in the comic book world, but it fits in the game.
Spider-man starts with a few basic moves. A few more can be be purchased, but most of your coins will be spent upgrading existing moves. Spider-man also has three different fighting styles, though begins the game with only one. The first contains grab moves, the second is ranged attacks, and the third consists of stun maneuvers. For the most part, each move set can be used in any situation. You can pick you favorite and stick with it or switch up as often as you like to keep things interesting. The sidekicks can also be upgraded, but they only have one special move and one fighting style. This means playing as them can get old fairly quickly, but there are enough different characters to choose from that the game stays fresh. For the most part, though, I stuck with playing Spider-man. A second player can jump in at any time and take over for the sidekick.
The cast of sidekicks is impressive. There are a few lesser known heroes, but the real drawn is the chance to team up with Spidey’s most well know enemies. I was a bit disappointed when I realized that after each sidekick’s initial cut scene, they didn’t have anything more to do with the story. The circumstances with which they join up with you are a bit lame, too. Each conversation basically followed the same basic reasoning. ‘You want me to join you? OK.’ Forget the fact that many of these people have been spider-man’s enemies for over fifty years. Only Green Goblin made a remark about how he was better off teaming up than going to jail. I was also disappointed with the final boss. The game makes you feel like it is a new threat, but the mastermind behind it is another long time Marvel veteran. Most Marvel fans will probably figure out who it is long before the game tells you. There is a return of another ‘friend’ in the second to last level. I won’t ruin it for you. I’ll just say that not only was this unexpected, but was also quite nice to see. I would have liked to see some better known heroes, but I would guess that they couldn’t be put in the game because the rights are owned by different companies. Also, the game never forgets to remind you that it is official movie merchandise every time you turn it on. Don’t get your hopes up. This game has absolutely nothing to do with the movies, other than a few pictures during the end credits. Many of the characters that die in the movies are in the game, so it can’t be considered a sequel or even the same continuity.
The graphics are borderline terrible. The developers were trying to go for a cartoon look, but I have yet to play a game that tries this and looks good doing it (no, it’s not cell-shaded; I really like that style). The environments are very bland and consist of only a few different colors. There is a horrendous amount of clipping problems. Even when just walking around, your character’s feet go into the ground and will completely disappear if going up stairs or hills. When fighting enemies near a cliff, it seems like blind luck if they fly off or not. There is also a ridiculous amount of invisible walls that impede your path. Most of these problems haven’t been in games for years (at least not all together) and it is incredibly disappointing to see them all here. The graphics during the cutscenes are equally disappointing, but the dialogue saves them. Most of these scenes are quite funny, even though they all consist of conversations between Spider-man, Nick Fury, and a computer. Much of the in game dialogue is equally entertaining, but can get repetitive. I recommend switching sidekicks regularly, even if only to hear different remarks during the levels. On a side note, sometime during a level, put the controller down and stop playing. The characters have some pretty funny things to say after a bit.
This is a very basic game that still remains fun throughout. Although the lack of a challenge may make it get boring, upgrading all your characters can be enough to drive the game forward. Kids that are Spider-man fans will love this game and there is enough that any adults that want to play with them will find some enjoyment. The short length and lack of different difficulty levels makes this easy to pass up for anyone who isn’t a Spidey fan.
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