It’s early-mid September, school is back in session, and it’s finally feeling somewhat autumnal in the NYC area; yes, today is cold and rainy, but after 4 straight months of 90+ and humidity, I’ll take it. I miss wearing jackets and comfy pajamas.
Friday’s release of Marvel’s Spider-Man would also appear to be the official kick-off of the AAA blockbuster release schedule; Shadow of the Tomb Raider comes out later this week, and then we’ve got a few weeks to finish those before my personal big three hit the scene in October: Forza Horizon 4, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, and last but not least Red Dead Redemption 2. I’m not really feeling all that excited about Fallout 76; I’m hopeful but not necessarily optimistic about Darksiders 3; I’m almost certainly going to buy Civilization VI for the Switch even though I know I won’t play more than 15 minutes of it on the easiest difficulty setting; and then Just Cause 4 is something I’d like to see a bit more of.
And meanwhile I’ve still got a considerable backlog to get through; I’ve put in over 10 hours into Nier:Automata, though I’m kinda stuck at the moment and I’m not sure if I’m even enjoying it. Then again, I’m not sure that anything is going to pull me away from Spider-Man right now.
Let me back up a quick second.
When it comes to superheroes, I’m a passive but agreeable fan. I never got into comic books as a kid, so the whole of my exposure to them was from movies and t-shirts. I don’t think I ever had a “favorite” superhero. My wife is a hard-core Marvel girl, and so we live in a Marvel house. I think the Marvel movies are fun enough and competently made – and the DC movies are hot garbage except for the Christopher Nolan Batman movies, but that’s mostly because I’m a Christopher Nolan fan first and foremost.
I’ve never really cared all that much about Spider-Man, if I’m honest. Never particularly liked the Sam Raimi movies; can’t even remember if I watched the Andrew Garfield one(s); the most recent iteration is fine, if only because I adore Michael Keaton and I’ll see him in pretty much anything, and he’s been good enough in the Avengers. The character himself is… well, I don’t know. The endless quips come off as annoying to me, and while I could certainly relate to being an adolescent teenager who is lovesick and having strange issues with puberty, that’s about as much as we’d ever have in common.
My son, on the other hand, is a fanatic. When I told him there was a new Spider-Man game coming out, he couldn’t wait to check it out. And this is how he looked while he watched me play.
Who am I to discourage him?
Anyway, holy shit, this game. My god. It’s as if all the best parts (traversal, combat) of the Arkham Batman games met all the best parts (narrative) of the better Naughty Dog games, while throwing in tons of collectibles like this was an Assassin’s Creed game, all while being visually sumptuous and exhilarating. Zipping around the city is as much fun as I’ve had in a game all goddamned year. Hell, I even found my office:
I’m maybe 5-6 hours in – honestly, I lost track of time yesterday while playing it. I’ve been staying away from the main story and am mostly focusing on exploration and collectibles and opening up the map, and it’s been absolutely glorious. It’s pretty much all I’ve been thinking about today, and until Tomb Raider drops on Wednesday (yes, I pre-ordered, don’t judge me) it’s all I’m going to be playing.
Who knows if the rest of the game is as fun, but whatever – as far as first impressions go, this is knocking it out of the park.
Shouts From The Couch 