Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled (PS4, XB1, NSW) Review

What a treat the start of summer has been so far! Last night SuperPhillip Central reviewed Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, and it was a greatly adored game. Now, we have Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled to sink out teeth in to, and the review is all revved up and ready to burn some rubber. Check it out.

Kart racing with Bandicoot Power

The original Crash Team Racing owed a good deal to mascot racers of the past for it to come in to fruition. There's of course the Mario Kart series for building a successful foundation, as well as Diddy Kong Racing for which CTR's Adventure Mode was clearly inspired by. That notwithstanding, the original Crash Team Racing added enough to the formula with its unique and high skill ceiling that the game rightfully earned its place among the best in the genre.

Now, Activision and Beenox have brought CTR back with a remarkable remake with Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled, taking all of the content from Crash Team Racing and throwing in all of the characters and tracks from Crash Nitro Kart as well to create what should be one of the best mascot racers around. While it certainly lives up to the original, there are some niggling issues that put the brakes on Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled being the best kart racer in town.

Bandicoot power is back, Crashamaniacs!

CTR is a highly technical racer, and one that requires some patience and perseverance to get a hold of. The main reason for this is the high bar of entry that comes from the drifting and boosting system. Rather than modern Mario Kart's boosting system where the longer you drift, the longer your boost when you exit your drift, Crash Team Racing uses a gauge as you drift. When the gauge gets full enough, you hit the opposite shoulder button to let loose a boost--this is all the while using proper timing to get as much boost energy as possible without failing. You can unleash up to three boosts in one drift, and at the start, it can be quite overwhelming to watch your boost gauge (or alternately the smoke from your exhaust) to determine when to hit the button to boost properly. However, with practice, one can use muscle memory to chain boosts together quite easily.

That said, it's because of this barrier of entry because of drifting and boosting that Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled isn't exactly the most beginner-friendly racer out there--nor is it the most accessible. It's not quite the game to bring out for parties or game nights with lesser experienced friends, as with my experiences with my own friends new to the game, frustration and boredom set in way before there was time for fun and excitement.

Another reason for this is that of the items in Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled. Once a player gains a significant lead, there's really no way to catch them. Items are a crap shoot, favoring more attacking opponents in the middle of the pack rather than first place. A sensationally skilled player will have no problem breaking out from the pack of racers and leaving them in the dust while everyone else beats each other senseless with items. There are no Mario Kart racing miracles here.

When first place can earn an Aku-Aku invincibility mask, you can guess that the item balance is a bit off.

Still, if you can manage to hop over the preliminary hurdle, you'll find a highly enjoyable racer here. One main part of this is the brilliant track design, spanning over 30 tracks between the original Crash Team Racing and its non-Naughty Dog-made sequel Crash Nitro Kart. The latter are just as quality of races as the former, though CNK has many more hazards on tracks to worry about--plus they're generally significantly longer races overall. All are littered with cool shortcuts that require skill to achieve. It's not as simple as using a boost to speed across a patch of grass--it's more pressing the button to have your kart hop so you catch enough air to land on an otherwise inaccessible part of track to shave precious seconds off your time and/or cut your opponents off at the pass. From tropical jungles and sandy coves, to polar mountain passes and neon cities, Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled really doesn't have a stinker in the whole slew of tracks the game contains. It's really a matter of quality AND quantity in the game without the need to settle for one or the other.

Don't worry--Coco Bandicoot and Pura both looked before they leaped.

The main single player draw of the original CTR was its Adventure mode, and this closely followed what Diddy Kong Racing created on the Nintendo 64. You explore simple hub worlds (though in CTR they are merely a means to get from one race to another rather than adventurous worlds to discover goodies in) and participate in races. There are four tracks per world, and upon finishing all four in a given world, a race against that world's boss opens up. These boss races aren't nearly as enjoyable as Diddy Kong Racing's as you're against characters that love using rubber-band AI and littering the track with items. No matter how big your lead is on these boss characters, they quickly gain on you in later difficulties and proceed to pass you, once again spamming items behind them.

This is a good time to speak about the difficulty of the Adventure mode in general. Easy mode is way too much of a breeze to beat, while Normal mode is a little too challenging, particularly with the aforementioned boss races. Meanwhile, Hard is just ridiculous. The balance of these modes seem off overall, but if you want a challenge, you'll certainly get on with Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled's Adventure mode.

Apart from standard races are optional CTR Challenges where you must collect the letters C, T, and R which are scattered about tracks--usually in hard-to-reach or time-costing locations--AND win the race. There is also something called the Relic Race which is like a time trial, save for the fact that you're tasked with breaking time crates that range from 1-3 seconds, each pausing the timer for that many seconds as you compete against the clock to get under a certain time. These modes are a great deal of fun, and they can all be played outside of the Adventure mode as well. This is great if you'd like to compete in these challenges in the Crash Nitro Kart tracks, which are not featured whatsoever in Adventure mode. It's purely CTR there--though in Nitro-Fueled you can choose which character you'd like to race as instead of being purely limited to Crash as your Adventure mode racer.

Old, familiar tracks have new life breathed into them.

All of the characters from both Crash Team Racing and Crash Nitro Kart are available to race as in Nitro-Fueled, though many require you to unlock them. This includes the brand-new playable boss characters that originally needed to be unlocked through cheat codes back in the day. Characters and karts can be customized with different skins and recolors, most earned by purchasing them with Wumpa Coins in the Pit Stop, a shop that regularly updates and switches out its selection of karts, characters, and stickers daily. Unfortunately, this also means that if you want a particular outfit for a character or a specific kart body you see online, you have to continually check the Pit Stop shop with each update in hopes that the item you're looking for appears there to purchase.

Dress for success--and to cross the finish line in first!

Speaking of online, this is where Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled falters a little. While some races run relatively well, many times I've raced where I'd be hit by something that came from seemingly nowhere or other racers would seemingly disappear and reappear on the track, making it where hitting opponents and avoiding their attacks seemed impossible.

Additionally, the Matchmaking option is a bit of a misnomer. It's merely the option you go to if you want to play against randoms online. It does not match you based on skill whatsoever, which can create situations where first place finishes the race far ahead of everyone else and the race ends before most--if any other--players can actually finish themselves. The track selection online is also limited by only having three track choices each time for players to vote on. I saw many repeats show up and a considerably limited pool of tracks available throughout my online experiences with the game.

Lastly, players across the Internet, including myself, still have no clue how Wumpa Coins are even awarded after online races. Sometimes I would get only 40 coins for coming in first, while others I'd get over 500 for coming in sixth. There's a confusing lack of a rhyme or reason for how Wumpa Coins are handed out, and some transparency from Beenox would be most appreciated.

Eyes on the road, Dingodile! That's one of the first things they teach you in driver's school, for cryin' out loud!

While online isn't up to par as of yet (though it's hardly an atrocious experience--dare I say it's a darn good bit of fun!), there's no question that there's an extraordinary amount of personality and polish put into the presentation of Nitro-Fueled. Even the most drab of tracks from Crash Team Racing have gotten a face lift, and some look absolutely unrecognizable from their old selves. The tracks are filled with new touches and sights to behold. I had fun just exploring racetracks, braking completely at different spots to witness every little intriguing point of interest I saw. The music is just as good, and while it certainly doesn't have as much memorable themes as the competition, it's more than serviceable enough.

This game has more personality than *I* do! Hey! I resent that remark even though I said it!

With Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled, a new generation can witness just why so many fans from the original PlayStation days revere Crash Team Racing so much. Meanwhile, longtime fans of the original game can return a revitalized remake of a remarkable racer with excellent added content, so-so online play, and more polish and personality than you can shake a Wumpa Fruit at. Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled has its issues of course, but overall, it's one of the best buys a kart racing fan can ask for.

[SPC Says: A-]

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (Multi) Review

June is all a part of the summer movie blockbuster season, and with that comes various movie tie-in video games such as The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Does this game fall in the typical tradition of bad games based off a movie, or does it buck that trend?

What A Tangled Web Beenox Weaves!

Movie tie-in games are seldom of high quality. However, I did enjoy the original Amazing Spider-Man movie game, so I had a very open mind when coming into the game's sequel, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, launching the same week as the movie of the same name. While the movie was a total disappointment, there's plenty to like (and dislike) about developer Beenox's attempt at producing a decent movie tie-in game.

Despite Beenox's best efforts to form a cohesive story with the original Amazing Spider-Man movie through creating a bit of an epilogue to the film with the first game, the events of the new film sequel destroy any hope of that. Thus, Beenox has essentially thrown its collective hands into the air and created a tale that isn't dependent on either source.

The initial story of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 game has Peter Parker/Spider-Man on the hunt for his Uncle Ben's murderer. It eventually unfolds into a search for a serial killer who preys upon criminals in New York City, simply leaving a signature in the form of a bloody "C.K." on a nearby wall of each crime scene. This has resulted in the city being gripped with a sense of terror, and Wilson Fisk being allowed to form a militaristic police squad known as the Task Force to assist in protecting the denizens of the city.

While the story does have some predictable elements to it, I did find myself intrigued and wanting to keep playing to see how the elements of the story would actually unfold. Curiously, Gwen Stacy, who was a prominent figure in both the two films and the original movie game is totally absent from this sequel. In addition to that, movie villains the Green Goblin and Electro feel thrown into this game, as they have relatively minor roles in the game's story. Instead, Spidey's rogue's gallery is better represented with foes like the Kingpin, Kraven the Hunter, The Shocker, and Black Cat who take a larger focus in the game's story.

Spidey certainly gets into the swing of things!

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 boasts an open sandbox setting of Manhattan much like the original movie game. Web-swinging around New York City has been tinkered with in comparison to the original Amazing Spider-Man and for the better. Instead of one button being used for web-swinging, the left and right shoulder buttons serve as Spidey's left and right web cartridges respectfully. Alternating between the two or using the correct hand to attach webbing to a nearby building is important because now you can't just attach webbing magically to the sky like you could in the first Amazing Spider-Man movie game. Spidey's webbing needs to attach to something, whether it be a building or a tree, in order to web-swing off of it. It's a nice change of pace, and it's good to see that Beenox took the criticism from the last game to heart with regards to web-swinging.

Where's a pair of Raybans when you need one?

However, web-swinging has somehow become worse than the previous game. It's true that simple swinging is easy enough, and the return of the Web Rush ability is most welcome, allowing you a first-person viewpoint where time slows to a crawl, granting you the capability of selecting a relatively nearby target to zip to. Outside of the Web Rush, though, any other type of precision webbing is an absolute mess. Trying to run up buildings, crawl on the side of a wall, or make careful jumps is futile due to the fact that movement is incredibly fidgety and the camera oftentimes spazzes out regularly.

Even a superhero needs to unwind sometime.

In the original Amazing Spider-Man, you had the option of taking on side missions, halting crime in its tracks, and helping civilians in between the game's story missions. In The Amazing Spider-Man 2, these side missions become mandatory thanks to the new and unnecessary Hero and Menace gauge. As Spidey rescues civilians and puts the breaks to various crimes, the Hero/Menace gauge rises into the hero side of the gauge. If Spidey fails in saving the day or if the mission isn't started on time (which is all too common as it's generally impossible to be in four places at one time, particularly near the end of the game), then Spidey's gauge tips more to the side of being a menace.

Spider-Man gives this goon the old heave-ho.

Apparently, the citizens of Manhattan have an extremely short-term memory, Spidey isn't allowed to mind his own darn business, and the only person in the city who can stop crime is your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Your Hero/Menace gauge falls into Menace territory all too easily, whether you're in a story mission or not. This means you're constantly forced to stop crimes around the city, or else feel the wrath of Wilson Fisk's Task Force, which makes getting around the city a pain in the spider butt, as you avoid attacking drones and Spider Slayer-like robots.

"Sir, I have probable cause that you
might be speeding with a hostage." 

Seeing as stopping the actual crimes gets monotonous quite quickly due to the fact that each is repetitive and the amount of crime types is low, this potentially novel idea simply becomes a hassle and a chore. You can only stop a breaking and entering crime, a standoff between goons and the police, and rescue a hostage from a speeding car so many times before it grows tedious. Perhaps if the gauge itself didn't quickly sink so fast into menace territory, this gameplay mechanic wouldn't be so troublesome.

This is Spidey's version of an ejector seat.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 game contains various alternate things to do within the Manhattan island limits. For instance, you can take a visit to the Comic Stand to see Stan Lee, gaze at various unlockables, and participate in numerous combat challenges. There's also a dozen or so timed races to engage in, photo opportunities to indulge Spidey's shutterbug tendencies, and 300 comic book pages to acquire, strewn about the city. The inclusion of unlockable extra costumes that boost certain aspects of Spidey upon wearing them adds to the longevity of the game.

Behind what goes on in the city, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 features various campaign missions that further advance the story of the game. Unlike the original movie game, there's a decreased focus on exploring separate areas in this game. Instead, story missions involve happenings around Manhattan much more.

This punch is for all heroes tired
of stereotypical henchman attire!

Combat is quite similar to what is seen in the Batman: Arkham games, albeit much more simplistic in execution. It's a matter of hitting the dodge button when your Spider Sense goes off to avoid the shots of a gun or counter a foe's offensive advances. In addition, Spidey can grab enemy weapons with a swipe of his webbing to disarm them or even drag an opponent towards him to let loose a flurry of attacks onto them.

The Shocker gets a shock to his system
with this shot from Spider-Man.

It's quite easy to drum up a high combo of punches and kicks to make short work of groups of thugs. Perhaps it's too easy to do so, as while there is a sense of achievement in taking down a slew of opponents, there's nowhere near the feeling of satisfaction as there is in the Arkham games.

Here's webbing in your eyes!

Unfortunately, while combat is adequate enough in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, the game's presentation leaves much to be desired. For one, the load times are unbearable and inexcusable, the level of polish is greatly off, little things like voice clips and music cutting off, stopping, and ending abruptly occur, and the actual models outside of Spider-Man don't impress much at all. Manhattan itself is a pleasant enough place to look at, but pop-in related issues detract from the overall setting. The voice acting, like the previous game, does not feature any voice work from the stars in the movie. Instead, what is present is capable enough, although some of Spidey's one-liners will get grating quite quickly. In particular, the fight with Kingpin, where Spidey uses a plethora of "you're so fat..." jokes, is excruciating.

Some of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 game
looks really good. Others? Not so much.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 game could easily be considered a typical movie tie-in game. It features a menagerie of issues, a severe lack of polish, and questionable design choices that no doubt made the cut due to the necessity of rushing the game out for the movie's release. While the actual game isn't as much of a train wreck as the movie it is based off of, Spider-Man definitely deserves a better game to his name. However, Beenox seems to be feeling the burden of being the sole studio responsible for Spider-Man games, and it very much shows with the quality of this game in comparison to its predecessors.

[SPC Says: 6.5/10]

BLTN Reviews: Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions (PS3, 360, Wii, PC) Review

It's a month of Spider-Man here at SuperPhillip Central. We previously reviewed Ultimate Spider-Man, and now we have a BLTN review of Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions. What are Better Late Than Never reviews? These are reviews for games that are too recent to be retro and too old to be regular reviews-- hence, Better Late Than Never.

Are Four Spider-Men Better Than One?

Back in fall of 2010, Beenox was approached to work on a brand-new Spider-Man game. Since then, they've been the main minds behind the web-slinger's video game dynasty. Their very first attempt was an incredibly admirable effort in Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, a game that takes four Spider-Men from alternate universes and puts them together in one all-new adventure. But are four Spider-Men really better than just one?

The villain Mysterio lusts after a special stone tablet. The Amazing Spider-Man interrupts his crime spree, but in the middle of their battle, Spider-Man accidentally smashes the tablet into multiple pieces. No longer does Mysterio need to hide behind weak parlor tricks, as he now has real power because of the tablet. Madame Web contacts four different Spider-Men from four different alternate universes to find and reassemble the tablet pieces before Mysterio's power grows out of control and time and space is forever ruined.

Each boss gets more powerful
through using their piece of the tablet.

Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions is made up of three acts, each containing four levels. Each act is made up of a level for each of the four Spider-Men. These four levels can be played in any order. The Amazing Spider-Man has the arsenal of moves that you'd expect from him, while Ultimate Spider-Man has the power of the Venom suit to incapacitate enemies via Rage Mode. Spider-Man from the year 2099 has sections of free fall, where he needs to avoid debris and other obstacles has he makes his way to the ground. He also possesses an ability called Altered Vision which slows down time considerably to make avoiding attacks all the more easier. Finally, and probably my least favorite of the four level types, is Noir Spider-Man. His levels consist of pure stealth, minus the boss battles. If Noir Spidey gets caught by an enemy's sights, he must retreat to a safe area before he gets filled with more holes than a slice of Swiss cheese. It's also bizarre for someone who is supposed to be stealthy to clobber the unsuspecting foes he comes across, as well as make loud quips. It's a total opposite of what one would expect a stealth section of a game to be like.

It's a bit weird when Noir Spidey is stealthy,
yet when he ties up and smacks
a foe he's louder than ever.

Rather than approach the game as an open world one like previous Spider-Man titles, Shattered Dimensions features linear levels with little in the way of exploration (save for the brilliant Ultimate Spider-Man Deadpool level). Sure, there are multiple spider tokens to collect, as well as golden spiders, but they are seldom that far off the beaten path. Levels generally have Spidey taking on a member of his rogues gallery at least twice throughout a given level. Such members include Hobgoblin, Kraven, Sandman, Vulture, Hammerhead and Scorpion, for starters. However, a lot of the villains are drastic departures design-wise from what many fans know. For instance, Spider-Man 2099's version of Doctor Octopus is actually a woman this time around.

The future is looking bright
(literally) for Spider-Man 2099.

Each of the game's twelve full-length levels features fifteen challenges each to complete. These are obviously optional and include things like taking down a certain number of a specific type of enemy, take out all enemies in a section within a set amount of time, or beat a boss using a specific tactic. Completing challenges nets the player with points that can be spent on combat upgrades, new moves, and increased health. One can even unlock a wide range of bonus costumes for the different Spider-Men, from the Amazing Bag Man to the Scarlet Spider costume.

"I could do this all day."

The main problem with the levels, however, is their length. Most levels will take an average player at least a half hour to finish. Of course, there are plenty of checkpoints for places to quit and start the game back up at, but when one tries to go for the highest achievable medal on each level, playing for a half-hour plus only to find out they failed at getting it, it is a huge annoyance. Perhaps if the levels were split up into sections and those were graded separately, it would be much more manageable.

Surprise!

What is also something that could be more manageable is the camera, which isn't smart or sophisticated enough to stick with the action. This is especially obvious when Spider-Man tries to crawl from a wall to a ceiling. Here, the camera clearly has no idea what it needs to do, causing frustration for the player-- particularly in the stealth Noir stages.

Shattered Dimensions features four Spider-Men, as stated, and each reality features its own art style. While Spider-Man 2099's version of Manhattan is bright, futuristic and flashy, Noir Spider-Man's is a dark, atmospheric and moody. The Amazing and Ultimate Spider-Man levels consist of jaw-dropping cel-shaded character models, which look absolutely incredible. Activision and Beenox got past Spider-Man voice actors from past webhead television series to voice each version of Spider-Man. Neil Patrick Harris of the recent (and awful) MTV series voices the Amazing Spider-Man, while from the 1990's series, there's Christopher Daniel Barnes voicing Noir Spidey. The voice work from all parties is really well done.

"I think I'm getting into the swing of things."

Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions is not the perfect Spider-Man game, as many issues from past games, such as the rotten camera, rear their ugly head into the fold. These are enemies that not even four Spider-Men can defeat. That said, Shattered Dimensions offers a spectacular attempt at creating a unique Spider-Man game with fun and rewarding combat, lots of unique levels to explore, and four varying level types to keep things from growing too repetitive. If you're looking for one of the better Spider-Man games to come out in a good while, look into Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions. 'Nuff said.

[SPC Says: 7.75/10]

The Amazing Spider-Man: Ultimate Edition (Wii U) Review

Our next review is for The Amazing Spider-Man: Ultimate Edition for the Wii U. The game is available currently at Toys 'R' Us for the low entry price of $29.99. Once you've let this review sink in, perhaps you'll be heading out to pick up the game for that price point. Otherwise, you can get the game for $39.99, a price that more late ports should be priced at, or perhaps not buy the game at all. Your choice.

With great power comes a Wii U port that's a bit late.

Nintendo fans have had a love/hate relationship with third-parties. Up until the Nintendo 64, Nintendo home consoles were bastions for great third-party support. Now, third-parties have a nasty habit of releasing test games, half-hearted efforts, and late ports to Nintendo systems, much to the chagrin of Nintendo console owners. The Amazing Spider-Man: Ultimate Edition is the latter of these types of titles, which are no stranger to the Wii U. Already we have seen many late ports in the form of Mass Effect 3, Madden, Darksiders II, and Batman: Arkham City - Armored Edition. That said, despite the original versions that came out late June in North America, The Amazing Spider-Man: Ultimate Edition is still a worthwhile game for those like me who have not played the game in any form yet. After this review I hope you'll see why, true believers.

The Amazing Spider-Man video game is an epilogue to the feature film that released last summer, so if you are like me and haven't seen the movie, then you will be spoiled on what happened in the video game. The only difference is that while I didn't mind, you might, so there is that cautionary warning to give out. The story of the game is one that will keep players playing to see how everything ends, and it does a great job developing the characters.

Just realize that our relationship, Felicia, is

a platonic superhero/criminal one.

The game is open world, and as Spider-Man you can freely swing around Manhattan, either following along with the story (i.e. entering indoor levels to progress the game's plot) or doing a series of side missions, which there are many in the game to do. While many are similar to one another (e.g. dropping off escaped mental institution patients at the police station compared to dropping off infected civilians to a local makeshift hospital), there is plenty to do in Manhattan. Whether you're saving a denizen from a group of thugs, stopping up to three speeding getaway cars, or participating in "Xtreme" challenges like races and photo shoots, if you're looking for superfluous content in your Spider-Man games, you have it in The Amazing Spider-Man.

The best part about being Spider-Man is doing everything a Spider-Man can. This includes my favorite ability, web-slinging. The web-slinging in The Amazing Spider-Man is fast, fluid, and feels excellent. It's much more beginner friendly than, say, what was available in Spider-Man 2 (PS2, GCN, XBX), but it still requires a bit of finesse to master. There are an abundance of buildings to swing from, and proficient web-slingers will trek across town effortlessly. I cannot help but agree when Spider-Man yells, "Whoo-hoo! I'm loving this!"

Web-slinging is as awesome as ever in

The Amazing Spider-Man.

In addition to traditional web-slinging, what makes The Amazing Spider-Man's version of the ability so great is how it works with a new mechanic, the web rush. When you hold down the R button, you enter web rush mode, a first-person mode that sees the world through the webhead's eyes, where everything slows down to a crawl-- enemies, the environment, etc. You can aim at glowing Spider-Man silhouettes and let go of the R button to automatically speed towards them. This is essential for reaching spots with perfect precision, particularly indoor areas.

The web rush is an invaluable ability for Spidey to have.

Web rush isn't just limited to getting around town or anywhere else for that matter. It has various indoor uses that can save a superhero spider's rear end. (Is there a scientific name for that?) Web rush allows you to hang from ceilings, perches, walls, and whatnot and sneak up on unaware foes. You can then perform what the game calls a stealth takedown to grab the enemy and wrap them up in Spidey's web. Oh, what tangled webs we weave when first we practice mad stealth skills. Web rush is also paramount to combat. You can target enemies to sling right into them to start assaults, as well as pick up objects to chuck at baddies, too.

These cross species hunters don't 

really care for Spider-Men.

Combat is heavily reminiscent and no doubt inspired by the Batman: Arkham games. Why not borrow from something that works well? In the case of The Amazing Spider-Man, it makes for combat that feels wonderful. Spider-Man can effortlessly flow into punches, kicks, and combos as he battles hordes of foes. When his Spider Sense goes all tingly and white lines dance above his head, you can press the evade button to have Spider-Man counter an enemy's attack. By racking up combos you get more experience.

Spider-man is one of the few superheroes that 

can breakdance while he fights.

Experience is given out for virtually everything-- completing missions in both story and side varieties, finding hidden objects in levels such as magazines and audio journals (getting 100% items found in every level is yet another optional task that aspiring completionists can try out as beaten levels can be returned to), beating up baddies, and a plethora of other ways. Earned experience and tech upgrades can be used to purchase new abilities and options. Spidey can take less damage from physical attacks, gunfire, and acid, for instance. He can learn new web tricks, offensive moves, and other helpful bonuses.

One might wonder what the purpose of an almost year-old port of The Amazing Spider-Man is. Not only is the Wii U version $39.99 MSRP, which is a price that all old ports, regardless of quality should be priced at maximum, but this version of the game features all of the downloadable content from the other versions already on the disc. This means you can play as Rhino in special challenges or Stan Lee to your heart's content. By far my favorite feature of this ultimate edition of the game is off-TV play, that is, playing the game solely on the Wii U GamePad. Otherwise, the GamePad is used as a map for getting around Manhattan and for getting phone calls.

Use the Wii U GamePad as a map, or use it

as the screen to play the entire game on.

Regardless of these bonuses for the ultimate edition, there are some technical issues that are plain to see. In fact, it's pretty easy to call this Wii U port non-optimized for the system or at most a quick and dirty one. For one, there is a fair amount of screen tearing. While this is obvious to see, you pretty much get used to it. Graphical aficiandos will most likely be unable to cope with this. Also, the frame-rate becomes unstable when there is an immense amount of action going on. This is most blatant during deadlock side missions where there is a lot of enemies around and gunfire going on. Additionally, twice I fell under Manhattan, and instead of seeing what I expected to find, sewers, I found a huge void. Luckily, I could web-sling out of my vacuous prison without needing to restart, or worse, reset the game. Lastly, the final technical issue that happens occurs in Miiverse. Occasionally, when trying to post screenshots, the poster's Wii U will hang up and freeze in the process of posting. Hopefully a lot of these problems will be addressed with via patches, or at least the Miiverse issue. Then again, knowing third-parties and Nintendo home consoles, when there is a limited amount of effort that can be done, that is usually what a third-party will do.

Play as Rhino as part of the bonus content.

Despite all of the technical issues with the Wii U version of The Amazing Spider-Man, I still found myself having a great deal of fun with the game. No, it is not a marvel of technology, and no, it does not run the smoothest. That said, web-slinging around Manhattan is absolutely entertaining, the side missions, though sometimes repetitive, offer a multitude of extra content, and the story will keep players invested. As stated through a multitude of means, The Amazing Spider-Man: Ultimate Edition is indeed an imperfect port, but I would be hard-pressed to say it isn't an enjoyable ride. Rather than be a-"meh"-zing, this Wii U port is worth looking into, especially if you missed out the first time around when the original game released.

[SPC Says: 7.5/10]