martinist Posted October 23, 2023 Posted October 23, 2023 Haven't touched this game yet. It's been sitting there along with Mario Wonder since i'm still working through Yakuza 7. I'll get to it eventaully but all i see on twitter is people whining about the Cuban flag.
drahkon Posted October 23, 2023 Posted October 23, 2023 Devs make a revolutionary fast-travel system and I don't use it because traversing the world they created is too much fun
Julius Posted October 24, 2023 Author Posted October 24, 2023 (edited) Finished the game myself yesterday afternoon after 25 hours to get the Plat: Incredible technical accomplishment of a game wrapped up in an engaging story with super fun gameplay, and representing a big step up once again from Insomniac. The sky seems to be the limit on what they can do, and now I'm really curious to see how they choose to follow this game up - DLC? A sequel? Another half-sequel akin to Miles Morales? - but whatever they choose to do, I'll be onboard, and I also can't wait to see what route they go with Wolverine to help differentiate it. It hit every single one of those 90s animated series itches for me, especially with... Spoiler ...the 90s cartoon blue/red on the Black Suit that you can unlock. Loved it. There was less to say than I thought there would be about the ending other than to play the game and see it for yourself, because it's one hell of a finale, so I'll cap my thoughts off by saying that I found it really funny how... Spoiler ...the way they went about "fixing" the MJ stealth sections from the first game was to basically make it TLOU-superlite it wasn't bad at all, just a very funny solution to choose instead of cutting it out altogether! One of my favourite games of the year, for sure, and yet another dart in the board that is "2023 might be the greatest year for gaming of all-time." There's genuinely an argument to be made for 5-10 GOTYs this year and it's kind of silly. Anyways, the game sold over 2.5 million copies in 24 hours, making it the fastest-selling PlayStation Studios game ever! Well deserved 9 hours ago, Happenstance said: One thing I will say as well as this seems like the most inclusive game I've ever played. I won't start listing everything I mean by that as some are a nice surprise but it was really nice to see. Yeah, absolutely. I think the game really benefits from slowing down and showing other experiences in a way only games really can – it doesn't happen enough, but when it does, it definitely puts a smile on my face! 7 hours ago, martinist said: I'll get to it eventaully but all i see on twitter is people whining about the Cuban flag. To be fair, for as woke as Insomniac position themselves as being (which isn't at all a problem, despite the seemingly negative connotation that being "woke" seems to have over there in certain places), mixing up the Puerto Rican and Cuban flags in one of the year's biggest releases when one of your deuteragonists is a mixed race, half Puerto Rican character, and to have that mix up happen in and around his own home? It's a pretty huge gaffe. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt simply because I can't see the how or why of this being intentional, but as someone who clocked immediately that something was off, I'm absolutely shocked that none of their devs or testers picked up on it at all. They'll roll out a patch in the next day or two, if not somehow sooner, but yeah, it's a gaffe which, while surely an innocent mistake, has you doing one of these: Edited October 24, 2023 by Julius
Happenstance Posted October 24, 2023 Posted October 24, 2023 8 hours ago, Julius said: Yeah, absolutely. I think the game really benefits from slowing down and showing other experiences in a way only games really can – it doesn't happen enough, but when it does, it definitely puts a smile on my face! Spoiler It was the realisation that everyone was signing for Hailey that initially impressed me and then the slow realisation in her side mission that not only were you playing as her but the world had become muffled. Stuff like that they just didn't need to include at all but showing her way of living in the world was actually quite something. Not anything I'd expect to see in a AAA superhero game.
drahkon Posted October 24, 2023 Posted October 24, 2023 17 minutes ago, Happenstance said: Spider-Man 2 Spoilers (Reveal hidden contents) It was the realisation that everyone was signing for Hailey that initially impressed me and then the slow realisation in her side mission that not only were you playing as her but the world had become muffled. Stuff like that they just didn't need to include at all but showing her way of living in the world was actually quite something. Not anything I'd expect to see in a AAA superhero game. That was such a cool side mission. The "emojis", the DualSense features, the sound...I loved it! 1
Happenstance Posted October 24, 2023 Posted October 24, 2023 One last Spiderbot to find. This is gonna drive me nuts!
Happenstance Posted October 24, 2023 Posted October 24, 2023 59 minutes ago, Happenstance said: One last Spiderbot to find. This is gonna drive me nuts! Managed to find it. Hadn't realised you could see on the map legend which areas still had stuff left to find in so it narrowed it down nicely.
drahkon Posted October 25, 2023 Posted October 25, 2023 I've just... Spoiler ...done the Lizard mission. Fucking incredible. How far into the story am I? I feel like I'm really taking my time with it compared to others as I'm now at 16 hours played
Julius Posted October 25, 2023 Author Posted October 25, 2023 1 hour ago, drahkon said: How far into the story am I? Your playtime sounds about right - that pretty much leads into the end of the second act, so around ⅔ of the way through. 13 hours ago, Happenstance said: Managed to find it. Hadn't realised you could see on the map legend which areas still had stuff left to find in so it narrowed it down nicely. In addition to this, collectibles not shown with a location on the map can be seen via the mini-map – so it's definitely worth keeping an eye on that bottom corner while you swing around. It also shows parts containers, including containers with rare parts.
drahkon Posted October 25, 2023 Posted October 25, 2023 10 minutes ago, Julius said: Your playtime sounds about right - that pretty much leads into the end of the second act, so around ⅔ of the way through. I see. Thanks I still have a lot of side activities to do...maybe more than half of the stuff I have unlocked. Swinging around town is just too much fun 11 minutes ago, Julius said: It also shows parts containers, including containers with rare parts. Only if you unlock and equip that particular suit mod.
Julius Posted October 25, 2023 Author Posted October 25, 2023 12 minutes ago, drahkon said: Only if you unlock and equip that particular suit mod. Correct - you do need to unlock it. @Happenstance has completed the game so I just assumed he'd got around to unlocking it. You don't need to equip suit mods in this game like in the first two, though. Suit tech stacks (other than for % modifiers and such, where the highest version you've unlocked and upgraded to is applied), so once you've upgraded to a certain point, everything you've unlocked will be applied from that point on.
drahkon Posted October 25, 2023 Posted October 25, 2023 Just now, Julius said: You don't need to equip suit mods in this game like in the first two, though. Suit tech stacks (other than for % modifiers and such, where the highest version you've unlocked and upgraded to is applied), so once you've upgraded to a certain point, everything you've unlocked will be applied from that point on. There are certain suit "slots" which offer two techs and you can only equip one. And the container mod is part of those. So if you have the other one equipped, you won't see the crates on the mini-map But yeah, this information is most likely of no use to Happenstance
Happenstance Posted October 25, 2023 Posted October 25, 2023 Yeah I had that mod equipped and knew they appeared on the minimap anyway but never hurts to mention it. I did a load more side stuff last night so am pretty close to 100%ing the game. Just got a few more Mysterio missions and a couple of hunter bases left.
drahkon Posted October 26, 2023 Posted October 26, 2023 Played some more. Completed all of one type of side content: Spoiler Mysteriums! There was one particular mission that took me a few tries to get and I only had one second to spare. The time limit in the other missions was way more generous Also done a few more main missions and shit got real. Very interested to see what's going to happen next. I still think it's funny that this game has the best fast travel system ever made and I have yet to use it regularly.
Happenstance Posted October 26, 2023 Posted October 26, 2023 I think I've used the fast travel twice in the entire time I've played, it's great but I just don't need it. I hit 100% last night in the game. I might try for the platinum (which would be my first ever) as I'm pretty close but I would like to get back to some other games I was playing so we'll see.
Julius Posted October 26, 2023 Author Posted October 26, 2023 On 10/25/2023 at 9:13 AM, drahkon said: There are certain suit "slots" which offer two techs and you can only equip one. And the container mod is part of those. So if you have the other one equipped, you won't see the crates on the mini-map You're right – I think I just went with whatever the top option was by default and didn't even check the other option 3 hours ago, drahkon said: There was one particular mission that took me a few tries to get and I only had one second to spare. The time limit in the other missions was way more generous Yeah, I had the same thing happen! I tried one super early on with no upgraded suit tech/etc., went "yiiiiiiiiikes, that's a bit tight", and so just left the rest until I'd upgraded a bit more, and they were all a breeze and I had waaaaaaaay more time left! 3 hours ago, drahkon said: I still think it's funny that this game has the best fast travel system ever made and I have yet to use it regularly. Yeah, I think I used it twice maybe in my playthrough? Which was when I first unlocked it for a district, just to see what it looked like, and then I wanted to test what it was like immediately after switching Spider-Men, to see if it played up at all 3 hours ago, Happenstance said: I hit 100% last night in the game. I might try for the platinum (which would be my first ever) as I'm pretty close but I would like to get back to some other games I was playing so we'll see. Nice! Yeah I'd say go for it, it's a fun Plat, just really depends on what you've got left - if it's only combat trophies (which I'm guessing it is partially after getting 100%?) and potentially a location or two to visit, I guess it would just depend on if you feel like it becomes a grind. This was my 30th Plat, 5 of which are from Spidey games (Spider-Man PS4, Miles Morales PS5, Remastered PS5, and then Miles Morales PS4), so it's a bit funny to think ⅙ of my Plats are from these games but they're just exactly what I like in a Plat: story, some side exploration, and mastering the systems a bit for stuff like no-hit in a base or a 100x combo. With this game not having a no-hit or 100x combo trophy I think it's definitely the most doable/least grindy, and I'm really happy having played through these games to see Insomniac realise what might have been a bit silly/grindy (ahem, required completion of RNG crimes in the first game) and then refining the trophy criteria and resulting gameplay loop further as the games have gone on. It just feels really cohesive and like a natural evolution, whereas I look at a studio like Naughty Dog and watch how they've gone from some of the hardest trophy lists which are more than a bit of a challenge, to...whatever has been going on their last few games, where it seems a breeze and doesn't call for a challenge. Probably something to do with player retention, I imagine?
Happenstance Posted October 26, 2023 Posted October 26, 2023 25 minutes ago, Julius said: Nice! Yeah I'd say go for it, it's a fun Plat, just really depends on what you've got left - if it's only combat trophies (which I'm guessing it is partially after getting 100%?) and potentially a location or two to visit, I guess it would just depend on if you feel like it becomes a grind. Spoiler I think the last 2 trophies I need to get are use symbiot powers 25 times while in L3+R3 beast mode (whatever it's called) and defeat 100 enemies using the spider arms so it won't take too long to get.
Hero-of-Time Posted November 6, 2023 Posted November 6, 2023 I wasn't going to pick the game up as I wasn't paying top dollar for it but I found a copy that was well within my price range. Spoiler Yeah, this is actually a game a bought just the other week. As for the new game, there are very few games I would drop £65 (prices are ridiculous now!) on and sadly this isn't one of them. Luckily for me my friend finished the game pretty quickly and so I borrowed his copy. I beat the game yesterday afternoon and spent the rest of the evening mopping up the remaining trophies. I honestly thought I wasn't going to like the game. The first few hours are very slow, what with doing little missions that involved things like planting flowers, riding roller coasters and being a DJ. It wasn't until where the symbiote started playing a role in the plot where I started to really enjoy it. Like Happenstance said, it was a nice twist to a narrative that has been done before. Reading the comics, watching the cartoons and seeing the movies meant that I was very familiar with this storyline already and so it was nice how they mixed things up a bit. Sure, it was obvious how most things were going to play out but it was fun to watch. The spectacle and set pieces that the game throws at you are something very special. Right from the start you are thrown into some God of War type battle with the Sandman and then the game just keeps on giving with this type of action....at least once it gets going. There were plenty of times where it was hard to get your breath because there is so much going on. One thing I did find hilarious was just how well standard humans are able to withstand blows from Spider-Man. Standard enemies shouldn't take so long to put down. It was an issue in the first game as well and I'm not sure how they get around this. This was made even more laughable with the Mary Jane sections. Peter and Miles should just hang up their webshooters and run around with the taser that she uses as that seems to drop all kinds of enemies in a single shot! I was actually worried when I got to control her as I hated the stealth sections in the original game. Thankfully, they were much more tolerable in this sequel. Side quests in games are usually something I do but they never really leave an impression with me. I'm usually there just to grab whatever reward you get from doing them. With this game through some of them hit pretty hard and other are done ridiculously well. Spoiler The Hailey side mission is my favourite. Playing as her is one thing but experiencing the whole through her ears was totally unexpected and done so, so well. It's a mission that takes around 5-10 minutes but has a very lasting impact. For me, it's honestly one of the best moments in the game and one that will stick with me for a long time. One thing I was really surprised with was being able to ... Spoiler Play as Venom. You really felt the destructive power when you get to control him. It's absolute carnage...no pun intended. Spoiler I had to look up who the character was at the end of the game. It's been a long time since I read any of the Spider-Man comics and so I was unfamiliar with her. I guess her and Miles will be the two main characters in the next game then? Gotta imagine Peter will be there in some capacity though, given that Doc Ock and the Green Goblin look to be the antagonists. With Carnage also being teased in the side mission, I wonder if he will show up as DLC or in the sequel? Maybe not at all? I've long been a fan of Insomniac and even during the PS2 days I felt they were always in the shadow of other studios. This is another feather in their cap and another game that proves why I prefer them over Naughty Dog. Insomniac are certainly doing some of the heavy lifting for Sony at the moment and I wonder just how Sony would have looked had they not finally added them to the team back in 2019. Honestly, given how the market is now, $229 million seems like an absolute steal for the talent that was secured. I look forward top seeing what is next from them. I know Wolverine is on the cards but I wouldn't mind another Ratchet and Clank. 2
Happenstance Posted November 6, 2023 Posted November 6, 2023 1 hour ago, Hero-of-Time said: Ending/Sequel Thoughts (Reveal hidden contents) I had to look up who the character was at the end of the game. It's been a long time since I read any of the Spider-Man comics and so I was unfamiliar with her. I guess her and Miles will be the two main characters in the next game then? Gotta imagine Peter will be there in some capacity though, given that Doc Ock and the Green Goblin look to be the antagonists. With Carnage also being teased in the side mission, I wonder if he will show up as DLC or in the sequel? Maybe not at all? Spoiler I'm expecting more of a Miles Morales style middle game or just a good amount of DLC stories between 2 and 3 that deal with Miles being the main Spider-Man and potentially Silk, then we'll see Peter forced out of retirement by Green Goblin or Doc Ock in Spider-Man 3.
Hero-of-Time Posted November 6, 2023 Posted November 6, 2023 59 minutes ago, Happenstance said: Ending/Next Game (Hide contents) I'm expecting more of a Miles Morales style middle game or just a good amount of DLC stories between 2 and 3 that deal with Miles being the main Spider-Man and potentially Silk, then we'll see Peter forced out of retirement by Green Goblin or Doc Ock in Spider-Man 3. I'm still not big on the Miles character. He's not my Spider-Man. Saying that, I did like him a little more towards the end of this game but... Spoiler I'll be gutted if Peter is side lined for the majority of the 3rd outing and your left with playing as Miles for the duration.
Happenstance Posted November 6, 2023 Posted November 6, 2023 I've always found Miles a bit dull in the comics but thought they gave him much more of a character in these games and in the Spider-verse movies
Hero-of-Time Posted November 6, 2023 Posted November 6, 2023 2 minutes ago, Happenstance said: I've always found Miles a bit dull in the comics but thought they gave him much more of a character in these games and in the Spider-verse movies Yeah, I didn't mind him in the first Spider-Verse movie but have yet to see the second.
drahkon Posted November 17, 2023 Posted November 17, 2023 Just experienced... Spoiler ...the fight between Miles and Venom-Man. HOLY COW, that was amazing
drahkon Posted November 17, 2023 Posted November 17, 2023 Boy, I was not prepared for this. And I did not expect to... Spoiler ...actually play as Venom and go on a rampage Amazing! 1
Hero-of-Time Posted November 17, 2023 Posted November 17, 2023 Yeah, that was quite the surprise for me as well.
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