Could have used more Carnage

Have you ever owned a game that you had a love/hate relationship with? Of course, you have, all gamers do, and I had several. Spider-Man vs. The Kingpin on the Mega Drive (Sega Genesis) is one of the hardest games I’ve ever come across. I have no idea how I beat it as a kid, but as an adult, this game flat out kicked my ass. And after a few cigarettes to calm the nerd rage, I’ll fill you in on this forgotten gem of yesteryear.

Mechanics 3/5

The timing of controlling our favorite web slinger was a little off, we could chalk that up to how old this game is. There were several moments where I had issues attacking, jumping and sticking to walls. The fact that you have a time limit may not be for everyone, but it fit well with the plot of this story which we will get to later. You kind of have unlimited continues but every time you select yes you lose a couple hours which makes sense because you must escape prison then go back to the level. Items are scarce so you must be conservative with health and web fluid but there are ways to refill them without having to scour each level. In short, this game is a time-based brawler who while had technical issues, was ahead of its time.

Story 2/5

The plot of Spider-Man vs. The Kingpin is a cliché, however it’s not one often used. The Kingpin has hijacked the airwaves and announced that Spider-Man had planted a Time Bomb hidden in New York City. Spider-Man has 24 hours (which is the game’s time clock) to find the bomb, disarm it, and clear his name. While this is a solid story, I did have a few questions, such as why did Kingpin think no one would question his identity when he hijacked the airwaves? Or why did the city just assume Spider-Man planted said bomb instead of suspecting the person who rather than going to the police commits a crime warn the citizens. Now I know The Kingpin’s whole plot was to have a group of vigilantes chasing down the wall-crawler but come on? Seriously?

Sound/Music 2/5

If you are expecting a soundtrack the likes of Sonic or Mario, prepare to be disappointed. While it is not the worst thing that I’ve heard, most of the stage music was either bland or borderline cringe worthy. I admit there were a select few I enjoy, such as the power plant stage, but the overall soundtrack didn’t fit with the stages. The sound effects I won’t be as harsh on because they were dealing with limited technology, but the guns sounded like pop shooters, and Electro was making his own sound effects. I’m convinced that if I were playing this in HD, I could see his mouth move.

Graphics/Level Design 3/5

Again, this is an old title, so I wasn’t expecting Skyrim, I wasn’t even expecting Street Fighter 2 here. You could tell what’s what and that’s always a good thing. I do have some questions about the stage layout though, such as why I had to go on to the roof to access the other side of the warehouse or why the sewers have random pipes that seem to only go a few feet and can’t be reached by water. Also, levels 3 and 4 are rather short, almost as if they were the last stages to be made and the programmer just wanted to go home.

Other 5/5

I had way too fun dying in this game! Just how dramatic the web head is when he dies is a memory I’ll have for the rest of my life! The only thing better is the continue screen, where you just punch the guard and tear the cell open. They have your classic Spider-Man villains and kept surprising accurate with the comics. Running out and needing to buy more web fluid, having your spider sense go off when a credible threat arrives, even the random appearances of Venom are all things any true comic fan would love.

That’s the end of this review, with Spider-Man swinging in to the record books with a 15/25. Not the greatest launch title in history, but if you love the wall crawler and his band of goons, I would strongly suggest this game for any true believer.