Quantum Break

Remedy is one of the most consistent developers in the industry, having endured this legacy for over two decades at this point. The developer’s portfolio of games is largely great and remains well-recognized to this day. Its debut hit, Max Payne is still remembered as one of the genre’s very best, Control was an exceptional game and Alan Wake just got remastered while rumours of a sequel run rampant. However, its Xbox One exclusive title Quantum Break sticks out like a sore thumb in the fact that not a lot gets talked about it.

Quantum Break was released in 2016 for Xbox One and PC, to great critical acclaim. The game’s narrative employed a mix of in-game cutscenes along with a live-action TV show for storytelling, which while innovative did ultimately became a point of contention among fans. Much like Remedy’s previous projects, Quantum Break features great attention to detail, both in storytelling and visuals. Players could manipulate time using a wide variety of powers, all of which created a dynamic combat loop that remains enjoyable through and through.

Quantum Break was a mix bag in terms of sales, although no word of a sequel has been known as of yet. Of course, there’s also the fact that the game’s story does round up fairly well by the end, leaving little room for any continuation, so, yes, a sequel seems unlikely at this point. Coupling the lack of sequel with some underdeveloped mechanics such as sloppy gunplay and weapons that weren’t as accurate as one would want from a shooter, it becomes clear as to why Quantum Break hasn’t garnered a legacy as many of its contemporaries from the developer. But when one looks at the overall package, Quantum Break was a largely underrated game.

Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions

The masked spider has had no shortage of iconic appearances in video games, and while some games such as Spider-Man 2 for the PS2 and Spider-Man for the PS4 have regularly been defined as two of the best incarnations of the superhero in video game form – others such as Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions have largely been forgotten.

This Beenox-developed title was released in 2010 for all major platforms. Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions sees players taking control of 4 different versions of Spidey as he races against archnemesis Mysterio to collect pieces of a sacred tablet. Each Spider-Man controls differently and has different methods of dispatching his enemies. The Amazing Spider-Man might pummel his enemies through the use of fists and web-shooters while Noir Spider-Man of the past will resort to a stealthier approach.

The levels are linear, sure and the story isn’t exactly great, but Shattered Dimensions does feature a great variety in its gameplay that hasn’t been replicated since. Following the expiration of Activision’s Marvel license in 2014, the game was delisted from all storefronts, significantly shortening the game’s lifespan and by extension, its ability to carve out a long-standing legacy.

Sleeping Dogs

United Front Games’ Sleeping Dogs is arguably a poster child for games that have been largely ignored, despite being incredible in what they sought to achieve. Sleeping Dogs is an open-world game following the adventures of undercover officer Wei Shen as he climbs up the criminal ladder to ultimately bring down the infamous Triad. Many slapped the game with a “GTA in Hong Kong” label, but Sleeping Dogs is a lot more than that.

The game has an excellent hand-to-hand combat system, featuring a number of moves and environmental takedown opportunities. It also featured a parkour system, alongside the usual shooting that one would expect from a game about taking down a criminal family. Some aspects of the game such as driving felt underdeveloped when compared to Rockstar’s offerings, but the game was largely received very well.

However, the game did not meet Square Enix’s sales expectations as per a 2013 financial report of the company. The reasoning behind the game being a sales disappointment remains a tough mystery to crack, although one could put some blame on the low market credibility of the game on account of it being a new IP. A sequel was conceived shortly after, but would ultimately get cancelled before United Front Games closed doors in 2016.

Alien Isolation

The Aliens franchise has produced many video game adaptations over the years to varying degrees of quality, with games like Aliens: Colonial Marines being extremely underwhelming and the recent Aliens: Fireteam lying somewhat in the mediocre place. Alien: Isolation is widely regarded as the best iteration of Ridley Scott’s 1979 original in video game form.

Alien: Isolation follows the story of Amanda Ripley as she investigates the strange disappearance of her mother. The gameplay largely revolves around you hiding from the hideous and extremely dangerous Xenomorph. The game’s enemy AI is very intricate and complex and actually learns from previous encounters making sure players always remain on their toes.

The game also does a great job at capturing the aesthetics of the Aliens world, with excellent art direction and post-processing effects. However, the game was released just a year after Colonial Marines, which might have impacted the game’s sales as most would be exercising caution with an Aliens game. Publisher Sega also admitted that the game’s sales were weak, which of course ties in directly with why the game isn’t talked about all that often in today’s landscape.

Prey 2017

Arkane Studios is one of the best names in the industry when it comes to developing immersive sims, having proven its mettle in games like Dishonored. Hot off the heels of Dishonored 2, Arkane shipped Prey in 2017. Prey follows the adventures of Morgan Yu as he or she explores an alien-infested space station. Prey 2017 was emblematic of the studio’s biggest strengths, featuring a vividly detailed world filled to the brim with environmental storytelling and additional notes in logs and voice notes.

The game also features a great assortment of abilities, and all of them feed into the central idea of systemic and emergent gameplay that fans of the genre love so deeply. However, Prey was released in a buggy state, which of course held huge ramifications for reviews. Many critics noted the technical inefficiencies within the game, and fans were advised to wait it out until patches resolve the game’s litany of issues. Keeping all the bugs and glitches aside, Prey remains a solid game today although its sloppy launch state did undermine the game’s better qualities by a significant margin which ultimately makes it rare to see it being held on the same pedestal as other games from the developer’s portfolio.

Suddenly the thought occurs to you that maybe Spider-Man games are only going to get worse. Maybe they’re only going further downhill. Is this true? Is the once mighty and highly entertaining franchise in gaming finally throwing in the towel with quality, like Sonic The Hedgehog has? Then, Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions is announced, to the skepticism of many fans. As things progress further and further, it’s unveiled that the game doesn’t bring back the free roaming environment and realistic web swinging mechanics that made Spider-Man 2 so great – it’s back to linear levels and swinging through thin air for you, buddy. You think, “What the hell?!? They removed the only good parts of the last games!!!” But does this ruin things, or not?

Like any good game should, Shattered Dimensions (developed by Beenox/Griptonite Games & published by Activision) makes sure that it’s fun to play. Truth be told this is probably the strongest part of the game, but that’s not a bad thing. Some people may view it as mindlessly simple or too straightforward, but Shattered Dimensions makes it work. You’re basically progressing through levels fighting waves of enemies the same way you would playing X-Men Origins: Wolverine or Ghost Rider. There’s occasionally a puzzle, an obstacle course, or civilians needing rescuing, but aside from that there’s little else. The exception to this, is the Noir Dimension – which is primarily based on stealth.

Basically this game puts you in the shoes of four different versions of Spider-Man. They all feel unique while sharing the same basic Spider-Man abilities. Each has their own special perks that the others can’t duplicate and their own strengths and weaknesses. The default Amazing Spider-Man that we’re all so used to would be the bare bones template for the others, but to keep him from feeling like “Spider-Man Beta” in comparison Beenox have used his many years of superhero experience (compared to the others) to give him the use of his webbing in combat. Along with highly acrobatic maneuvers, Amazing Spider-Man will use his webbing to tear apart the environment and smack foes silly with it, and even create weapons out of his webbing.

Noir Spider-Man, as previously mentioned, is more focused on stealth. His incarnation isn’t nearly as durable as the others, so he is vulnerable to being mowed down by gunfire much more easily. He haunts his levels like a phantom, picking off foes one by one in the dark with brutal takedowns. Beenox have said, “[they] tried to make this portion of the game feel a little bit like Frank Miller’s Sin City”. I found the use of a newer, well-received incarnation of Spider-Man refreshing, and the effort Beenox have put into the game really shows. This was my favorite part of the game.

Spider-Man 2099 is focused on speed: he has quick, savage attacks using close combat claws; his accelerated vision (a technological spider-sense that appears to slow down time around him), and the free-fall gameplay mechanism where he controls his own speed in order to manoeuvre around obstacles and chase down the bad guy. Unfortunately 2099’s segments seem to be the least entertaining parts of the game, but that doesn’t mean they’re not worth playing.

Ultimate Spider-Man brings back the fan-favorite black suit, and all the powers that come with it. The black suit acts as an extension of Ultimate’s own body, forming lashing tendrils and striking out at enemies from a distance, with some great crowd-control attacks (especially when used in Rage Mode) which will wipe the floor with waves of foes in seconds and make you feel tremendously powerful.

What I found interesting is that the game goes out of its way to take the player out of familiar areas that gamers have gotten so used to in the past 4 or 5 Spider-Man games. Noir and 2099 are strictly set in New York, but are vastly different from the version fans may be accustomed to. This is due to the time periods’ effect on the famous city. Amazing and Ultimate opt for more exotic locations, including a jungle, a desert, and a construction yard, to a power plant, a reality TV show gauntlet, and a parasite-infested S.H.I.E.L.D. base, respectively. The game possesses 13 levels (14 if you count the tutorial). This may sound short, but each level is extensive, and gives you room to explore to beat more challenges and help you  progress further. Each Spider-Man has 3 of their own levels, which are all set in their own reality. You are given a tutorial in the beginning to get you somewhat accustomed to each Spider-Man’s unique abilities, and then dropped into Amazing Spider-Man’s first level. Following that, you progress through three arcs. In each arc, you can complete one of every Spider-Man’s level in the order that you choose (with the exception of the first level, which isn’t even a big deal, really). This is a real refreshing change from being forced to jump between Spider-Man and Venom during parts of the game like Ultimate Spider-Man.

As much as I thought i’d miss free-roam and linear swinging, this game does okay. The swinging is a little bit different this time around, hearkening to a slightly more complicated version of the “swinging in thin air” last seen in Spider-Man (2002) for the GC/PS2/Xbox, but it doesn’t take long to get used to. Crawling is something else that takes some time getting used to, but isn’t too bad either. While the swinging and crawling may feel weird for some, it surprisingly doesn’t take away from the game too much. A feature completely new to Spider-Man games in this installment is a sequence during most of the boss battles that allows you to exchange fisticuffs with the villain in first person. I personally found this really enjoyable; it added a new thrilling element to the already well done boss fights and allowed you to better vent your loathing for the boss. The boss fights are probably the strongest part of the gameplay as a whole, and the lineup of villains is sure not to disappoint.

Sadly, the story fails to deliver in this game. Okay, I’ll be fair: superhero games in general are known for having plots as engaging as their comic book counterparts, but I really think they could have done a little better if they tried hard. It starts off with Amazing Spider-Man fighting Mysterio in a museum, where he accidentally shatters the Tablet of Order and Chaos: a mystical tablet that holds the threads of reality together. The fragments scatter across the dimensions, and the villains who find them gain more power just by holding it. Madame Web contacts each Spider-Man to explain the predicament, and they set off to get the fragments back and restore the tablet. That’s pretty much it. I was excited to see what the story for this game was going to do, since it’s the first time the whole alternate reality scenario so notoriously present in Marvel comics was toyed with in video game media, but it was pretty bland. I was hoping that they would at least show the four Spider-Men interacting with each other more often, but we barely see this at all. That would have made for some interesting conversations. Then again, this could have been difficult to execute, because many casual fans are unfamiliar with the alternate comics. To be fair to Beenox, they do make efforts to get you attached to the individual Spider-Men, with continuous character-driven story-lines for Noir and 2099; whereas Amazing and Ultimate’s stories are more sporadic and focusing solely on finding the tablet fragments.

One thing I did think was  cool is that the developers collaborated with Marvel to create new incarnations of Spidey ‘sopponents that have never previously appeared in certain continuities. Some of the earliest you see are Noir Hammerhead and 2099 Hobgoblin. While the game is mostly Spidey-centered, we do get some nice boss cameos from Juggernaut and Deadpool of Weapon-X fame. Seriously, who doesn’t love Deadpool?

Beenox went out of their way to put together four different teams for each Spider-Man’s dimension, giving each a completely unique graphics style. No universe looks the same. Noir melts between monochrome and dull colors, establishing a gritty tone and mood; whereas 2099 pulses with life, illuminated by endless neon. Amazing hearkens back to the art style found in older Spidey comics; whereas Ultimate Spider-Man mixes the distinct detail in Alex Ross’s work with the bold lines of manga.

The voice acting in Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions really shines. Actors from recent adaptations going back to the 80’s have been brought in to reprise their roles as Spider-Man in his four incarnations, and other voices from the various tv shows have returned too. As for our hero(es), Neil Patrick Harris from MTV’s Spider-Man (~2000) returns to don the red and blues once again. In my opinion, he is good enough to be passable, but doesn’t give the best performance in the game. Christopher Daniel Barnes from the 90’s Spider-Man: The Animated Series returns to play Spider-Man Noir, letting his aging since the show add to the bitterness of his character, and it’s really awesome. He truly sounds menacing and jaded, but still like Spider-Man. Dan Gizelvan, from the 80’s Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends, plays Spider-Man 2099. Harsh as it sounds, he gave probably the weakest performance in the game, but I respect the man for giving Spider-Man another shot after 30 years. Josh Keaton, from the only recently canceled Spectacular Spider-Man (best Spider-Man show ever – go check it out!) returns to play the teenage Ultimate Spider-Man. I think he has the best voice in the game, and the funniest lines; I never get tired of hearing him.

There is plenty of other awesome voice acting too; Jim Cummings (VA veteran), John DiMaggio (returning as Hammerhead from “Spectacular Spider-Man”), and Nolan North (returning as Deadpool from Hulk VS) just to name a few. The music is orchestral and dramatic, and the sound effects are fitting for the game. All around pretty decent, and tremendous fanservice in this department among other things. This game is not very long. It took me around 6-8 hours to beat, and that’s only because I sped through all the levels as fast as I could without doing much of the extra stuff. The challenges offer extended gameplay, and there’s some cool stuff to unlock – most of all the alternate costumes. They are really sweet this time around. All the levels are good enough to want to experience multiple times but can sometimes be confusing.

If you’re a Spider-Man fan, buy. This is the best Spider-Man game to come out in a long time, and as I said it’s worth full price. Other people may want to try it first to see if it’s their cup of tea – this game is made for serious Spider-Man fans, not casual gamers, and might turn them off. But I still really enjoyed it and found it a lot of fun.

This game was reviewed on the Xbox 360.

Thomas Wilson, creative director for Spiderman: Shattered Dimensions revealed at this years New York ComicCon that later this month we will get some DLC for the game in the form of different costumes, most of which were pre-order bonuses for the game.  Some of the costumes include the “Cosmic” suit (Gamestop) which gives you a “signature charge attack” as well as the “Negative” suit (Best Buy) which can only be used in the Noir Dimensions where the Cosmic suit can be used in any.

A new video has popped for Spider Man: Shattered Dimensions which shows the first 15 minutes of the game. Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions blends together four universes from the Marvel Comics multiverse, allowing the player to play as four different “Spider-Men”. Voice actors Neil Patrick Harris, Christopher Daniel Barnes, Dan Gilvezan and Josh Keaton voice a Spider-Man from each of their respective alternate universes.

Spider Man: Shattered Dimensions is due on September 7th on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Windows, Wii and DS.

Madame Web calls on four versions of Spider-Man from four realities to assist her in bringing the realities back into balance from the artifact, the “Tablet of Order and Chaos” being shattered into pieces; this is causing problems with multiple realities and should not be in the wrong hands. The Amazing Spider-Man, Spider-Man Noir (a 1930s version of Spider-Man), Spider-Man 2099 (the Spider-Man of a possible future), and a symbiote-bonded Ultimate Spider-Man are all called upon and of course playable with a slew of alternate costumes as well as their unique abilities once in their own dimension.

The Negative Zone Costume’s former owner was a rebel leader named Dusk. Spider-Man assumed the identity of Dusk as an icon to help the rebels and then took it back with him where he would later wear it as one of four alternate identities that allowed him to keep fighting crime when framed by Norman Osborne.  Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions comes out for the Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS on September 7th.

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