Unlike Batman and Superman, Spider-Man has at least more than one good game under his Spidey belt but it also has a weird history of going back and forth between good games (Maximum Carnage, Spiderman 2, Ultimate Spider-Man) to the bad and/or mediocre (Separation Anxiety, Spiderman 3, Web of Shadows). But thanks to Batman and his exploits in Arkham Asylum, comic book games have now gotten a new standard: you can't just be "good enough" for a comic book game, you almost have to be an awesome game period, whether part of a franchise or not. Shattered Dimensions makes a good try for being a really great game and though there's some things that drag it down throughout, the game is actually quite enjoyable and having the 4 different universes helps diversify things without it feeling redundant.
While attempting to steal a mysterious tablet, Spider-Man inadvertently breaks it causing dimension instability with 4 distinct universes: Spider-Man Noir, 2099, Ultimate Spider-Man and the Amazing Spider-Man. With the help of Madame Web, the Spidey's in each universe have to track down familiar villains from Spidey's rogue gallery in order to help restore balance though since villain has a piece of the tablet: their powers grow which help them do the one thing they always wanted to do: defeat Spider-Man.
Sounds cool, huh? Despite the gameplay having some similarities between them, jumping back and forth between the different universes is incredibly awesome and this is no doubt helped by having 4 separate voice actors for each one. So while Neil Patrick Harris portrays the Amazing one, Josh Keaton of Spectacular Spider-Man does Ultimate, Dan Gilvezan from His Amazing Friends is 2099 but best of all, Christopher Daniel Barnes is the Noir version who still to me perfectly embodies the character. Other characters do their roles just as well, including Stan Lee as narrator and admittedly, some of the one liners actually made me laugh. The story may not be super deep but wondering not only who's the next villain but how the different universes will interpret the character.
Gameplay-wise it's still the same button masher beat-em-up where you can zip straight to guys and deliver a boot to their face but each universe tends to have a specific ability. For example, thanks to the Symbiote suit, Ultimate Spidey can go into Rage mode where damage is boosted while 2099 Spidey has a mode where he can slow down time and he even has these "Freefall" missions similar to Ratchet and Clank where he travels downwards, catching up to villains while dodging obstacles. The one that's noticeably different however is Noir, not only thanks to its almost "Sin City"-esque presentation but the fact that Spider-Man isn't exactly a tough dude this time so he acts more Sam Fisher-like complete with full color in lit areas or when spotted and desaturated colors when hidden. It adds a bit more tactical edge than the others but it's also the one that sticks out the most; the slower, methodical version which is different to the action, action, action of the other 3.
Now comes down to my biggest issues with the most offending one being the camera. It swings wildly, it zooms unnecessarily close to you during battle, it doesn't give you a good view on your surroundings if you're falling in a pit and need something to zip onto (thankfully you don't "die" as you can pull a Batman a la Arkham Asylum and escape unharmed without penalty) and being on walls or ceilings changes the controls that you end up spinning around because the game changes if you want to climb backwards or crawl down. The controls are for the most part handled pretty well but the zipline to objects isn't as immediate as I would like and one section involving mid-air platforms you can web to on the Sandman stage got super frustrating thanks to the web not coming out when I wanted it to. Another issue people might have is that it's slightly repetitive: join new universe, progress in a linear fashion towards the boss which you will most likely have to fight multiple times throughout and make it to the end. Each mission though can be replayed to get better rankings or missed collectibles.
Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions will probably at best take you 10-15 hours with potentially more if you want to get the challenges done (basically in-game "achievements" to do which will get you points you can spend to buy new upgrades, fighting moves, alternate costumes etc). These challenges call for things like "beat 15 guys using thrown objects" or "kill all enemies within 4:00 minutes" and they're strangely addicting because they never feel impossible. But even though this is a great Spider-Man game, it's hard to recommend a full purchase mainly because of the crowded season this Fall but also because it might not last you long. But the game is absolutely worth a playthrough for Spider-Man fans or people who never bother with the Webhead.
