The Insomniac Spiderman [PS4]

[Aaron Elfassy]

Learning and perfecting every mechanic of spiderman takes time in itself. The side missions and side goals actually aid you in perfecting each skillset. For me, traversal and combat clicked early on. However the side missions, including the pigeons, felt like mini tutorials, in a good way. I felt they were masterfully curated and quite enjoyable; unlike Ubisoft games - which take tedious and repetitive tasks to the max, pushing the limits of a fun gameplay loop to a grind.

 

[London Geezer]

That particular definition in full reads:


And this is the point. If there is no need to grind then the complaint about grinding is unfounded. However if you want a particular item in a game that isn't necessary (or allows 'smooth progress') then this is the player's choice to invest in pursuing that item.

For me, these are very different things. By the definition of 'wanting' something definition surely the entirely of pretty much every game is a grind? It's having too versus wanting too.

Incidentally, with the exception of the backpacks and landmarks I did few of the other side activities in Spider-Man and the game threw enough XP out to level up a ton. I did a bunch of bases not because I wanted XP or base tokens but because the combat is just amazingly satisfying. I only engaged in crimes because, again, spider-combat! Research stations? Pass. Mini-games? Pass. Pigeons? Pass.

Agree 100%. Of course you need to grind to “take advantage of the full powers/weapons/whatever” like in every other game. It’s not required.

Like going for the platinum isn’t required, yet it is literally the same kind of ‘grinding for the platinum’ as every single other game. And ultimately the platinum is the only reason I ‘grind’ in games.

 

[Deleted member 11852]

Learning and perfecting every mechanic of spiderman takes time in itself. The side missions and side goals actually aid you in perfecting each skillset.

This was my exact take when the first introduced the cell towers then the backpacks. Oh, this is just some diversion for me to get used with traversal. Bases are included as increasingly hard challenges to experiment with, practice and hone your combat skills but instead of just making it mindlessly unrewarding, for each side activity they've introduced a reward (token) that let you unlock things that are unnecessary but may be fun to collect (suits) or use (gadgets).

It just feels so incredibly well balanced.

Like going for the platinum isn’t required, yet it is literally the same kind of ‘grinding for the platinum’ as every single other game. And ultimately the platinum is the only reason I ‘grind’ in games.

And I gather even the platinum is not one of those trophies punishing ones where you need to collect everything and fulfil every challenge to it's highest rating.

Again, well balanced.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

That particular definition in full reads:

I think you're parsing that differently to me (and I think Jupiter).

Grinding refers to the playing time spent doing repetitive tasks within a game (either)

to unlock a particular game item​

or

to build the experience needed to progress smoothly through the game.​

You seem to be parsing it as

Grinding refers to the playing time spent doing repetitive tasks within a game to

unlock a particular game item or build the experience​

needed to progress smoothly through the game.​

I've always known grind to be about accessing the content of a game you have paid for. Grind can be enjoyable - it's the raison d'etre of Diablo 3, and work/reward is the basis of grind. Hacing a rewards doesn't stop it being grind. You may go to work in a job you don't enjoy in order to get the reward of your pay-packet; the day-job is still grind even if pays for a holiday or Atmos sound setup. From the sounds of if, there is grind in SM. Some people don't mind it, while others find it a little bit of a chore, which is to be expected as games are subjective.

This isn't any criticism of SM. My contribution is only to answer your question put to Jupiter, "where is the grind?"

 

[Deleted member 11852]

I think you're parsing that differently to me (and I think Jupiter).

Quite possibly. The lack of commas do not help.

Grind can be enjoyable - it's the raison d'etre of Diablo 3, and work/reward is the basis of grind.

This is an interesting point. The term 'grind' is often used pejoratively so repetition, which almost all games have, without enjoyment is often called out whereas repetition which is fun like Spider-Man's combat, or what Bungie called the "30 seconds of fun, looped" probably doesn't feel like a grind but just really good basic game play.

This isn't any criticism of SM. My contribution is only to answer your question put to Jupiter, "where is the grind?"

The examples Jupiter gave were all activities the player does not have to do to progress. Hence my question and my search for 'the grind' - whichever definition you favour - in Spider-Man Spider-Man is one the least grindy open world games I've ever played and I'm a fan of open world games.

 

[Recop]

Spiderman without HUD due to a bug.

Honestly, i think Spiderman is the Uncharted 2 of this generation in terms of visuals. It is a step futher compared to any other game. Sure there're other very good looking games, but they lack the complexity of Spiderman.

And there're also very complex games such as Origins, but they lack Spiderman's visuals.

 

[Deleted member 11852]

Sure there're other very good looking games, but they lack the complexity of Spiderman.

Spider-Man does some really neat stuff, like the faux building interiors. It's not by any stretch complex but it looks great.

 

[Clukos]

Spider-Man does some really neat stuff, like the faux building interiors. It's not by any stretch complex but it looks great.

That gives so much depth to the city it's insane. Especially during night time. So good

 

[DieH@rd]

And done, Platinum is mine. Now the wait begins for DLC.

edit - pro tip, don't skip on crime side-missions during regular campaign play. That will make the endgame grind much easier and faster.

 

[bgroovy]

I have the itch to make this my first Platinum, but DQXI, Strange Brigade, Destiny 2: Forsaken, Valkyria Chronicles 4 and Pathfinder: Kingmaker all calling out to me.

 

[London Geezer]

I have the itch to make this my first Platinum, but DQXI, Strange Brigade, Destiny 2: Forsaken, Valkyria Chronicles 4 and Pathfinder: Kingmaker all calling out to me.

Honesty it must be the easiest platinum out of all the ‘big AAA’ titles I’ve ever played. And I’ve played them all.

 

[Deleted member 11852]

Honesty it must be the easiest platinum out of all the ‘big AAA’ titles I’ve ever played. And I’ve played them all.

Infamous Second Son was pretty easy too. I think that was my first platinum this generation.

 

[London Geezer]

Infamous Second Son was pretty easy too. I think that was my first platinum this generation.

Same!

 

[DieH@rd]

Same.

 

[Shortbread]

Glad to see the Japanese enjoying Spidey.

According to the latest Japanese sales chart for September 17-23, 2018, Marvel’s Spider-Man is still very much top dog in the region. It appears that Sony’s game has now sold over 244,000 copies in Japan alone. During this most recent time period, over 38,000 copies of Marvel’s Spider-Man were sold, which includes bundled versions of the game. For a PS4 exclusive, staying atop the chart for three weeks in a row is quite an achievement.

Link

 

[chris1515]

Glad to see the Japanese enjoying Spidey.


Link

And without digital sales, Digital sales were higher first week because physical version was out of stock in many places.

 

[Clukos]

Just finished the game finally. Great game, def top 3 this year for me. Some of the stuff towards the end just looks insane

 

[Recop]

Just finished the game finally. Great game, def top 3 this year for me. Some of the stuff towards the end just looks insane

Clukos, since you have a good PC and seem to have played much more games than me, what's your opinion on the best looking open world game ? Do you still prefer HZD ?

 

[Clukos]

Clukos, since you have a good PC and seem to have played much more games than me, what's your opinion on the best looking open world game ? Do you still prefer HZD ?

They are way different but I like Spiderman better, if only for the character rendering and animation. I think Spiderman is way more consistent (to an impressive degree) but it also doesn't try to do all the stuff HZD is doing (seamless world without loading, huge enemies, semi-dynamic time of day etc.).

 

[Recop]

Apparently, it's locked 1080p on PS4. The developers stated themselves it's locked 1080p on PS4. I think DF made an error saying it's dynamic resolution on PS4 or it is extremely rare.

And i agree that the night time is the weakest element of the game (too bright and not dark enough). It still looks very good though, especially on street level :

https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1853/43842388054_573b185a2e_o.jpg

But if you look the city from a very high point at a certain angle, it looks less convencing than daytime :

But overall the night is superior than in Batman in my opinion due to the amount of details and light sources even if Batman is artistically superior (proper darker night) :

https://i.imgur.com/NF44WeN.png