Spider-Man Unlimited (video game)

Spider-Man Unlimited

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Developer(s) Gameloft
Publisher(s) Gameloft
Director(s) Baptiste Marmey
Producer(s) Steve Melanson
Designer(s) Corentin Delprat
Programmer(s) Jerome Chen
Artist(s) Ben Berntsen
Composer(s) Pascal Dion
Platform(s) iOS, Android, Windows Phone
Release date(s) September 10, 2014
Genre(s) Endless runner
Mode(s) Single-player

Spider-Man Unlimited is an endless runner video game developed and published by Gameloft; it is based on the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man. The player controls the title character and his alternate versions during his fight against the members of the Sinister Six and their multiverse counterparts. The game's main mode features definitive goals in contrast to the traditional aim of running as far as possible. The game is also known for having regular, special, time-limited, community events.

First announced in June 2014, Spider-Man Unlimited was released for Apple iOS, Android and Windows Phone on September 10, 2014. Starting in October 2014, Gameloft released seven updates that added new chapters to the story mode, Spider-Men and Spider-Women, enemies, events and stages. Since its release, it has been downloaded 30 million times and has been well received by gaming critics. Reviewers praised the game's controls, sound, animation and the variety of characters, while criticizing its energy system, which they considered a limit to the playability.

Plot

After Spider-Man defeats a figure known as the Gold Goblin, Nick Fury tells him the Green Goblin has used a portal to assemble a multiverse Sinister Six and plans to take over Spider-Man's dimension. S.H.I.E.L.D. then used the portal to take alternative versions of Spider-Man to aid the battle. Spider-Man pursues the Goblin and his alternative versions Gold Goblin, Grey Goblin, Menace and House of M Goblin. After he defeated his arch-enemy's alternative versions, Spider-Man fights various Vultures; Classic Vulture, Ultimate Vulture, Red Vulture, Dark Vulture; Electro and his alternatives versions Classic Electro, Ultimate Electro, Modern Electro and Pure Energy Electro; Sandman and his alternate versions Classic Sandman, Noir Sandman, Dark Sandman and Pure Sand Sandman; Doctor Octopus, Classic Doctor Octopus, Chapter One Doctor Octopus, Noir Doctor Octopus and Ultimate Doctor Octopus; and Mysterio, Classic Mysterio, Superior Mysterion, Dark Mysterio and Mysterion, as well as the Sinister Soldiers—armored soldiers working for the Multiverse Sinister Six.

Gameplay

This screenshot from the Unlimited Mode shows the Ben Reilly Spider-Man running towards S.H.I.E.L.D. bombs that can be flung to hit the boss on the top of the screen, Red Vulture. HUD features clockwise from bottom left: combo count, the boss's health, the remaining time to defeat the boss, the player's score and score multiplier, another person's score, and the number of vials the player has.

Spider-Man Unlimited is an endless runner game in which Spider-Man runs across New York rooftops—and other locations such as the Oscorp building,[1] Sinister Six spaceships or a giant Doctor Octopus machine[2]—as he dodges obstacles, defeats enemies, and collect power-ups and vials.[3] Regular enemies are defeated by slide attacks and punches,[2][4] while bosses requires the player to fling projectiles at them.[5] Players earn combos by overthrowing enemies;[4] almost hitting an obstacle or going through a ring also increases one's combo count.[3][4][6] Sections in which Spider-Man swings through streets, climbs the sides of buildings and free-falls from buildings are interspersed with the running portions of the game.[3]

The game has a story mode that, in contrast to traditional endless runners, features definitive goals[7][8]—for example defeating a predetermined number of enemies, collecting random items, reaching a specific point, or defeating the boss.[2][8] It is divided into chapters—called "issues"[5]—each of which has five main missions that end with a boss fight,[9] and various side missions.[4] Some missions are restricted to characters of a certain level;[1] others can only be completed by a particular version of Spider-Man Spiders.[10] By completing missions, the player can win experience points to reach the next level and in-game currency—regular vials or rarer ISO-8.[1] Players can improve their power-ups and buy alternate versions of Spider-Man by spending vials.[3][4]

To get a new Spider-Man—which is a card[11]—players can use their vials or ISO-8 to open portals to an alternate dimension from which a randomly selected Spider-Man arrives.[1][3] Each card can be leveled up and has a star rating[12]—the level cap; players earn experience points during a run.[1] A card can also be sacrificed to level up another,[1][7] and by fusing two equal cards, players can increase a card's level cap.[1][12] By using vials, which usually gives players a 3- or 4-star character, players have a small chance of acquiring a rare version of Spider-Man[12]—, while ISO-8 ensures they get a rare one.[1] Each card has a special ability—for example, Spider-Armor increases the score earned by running by 30%[10]—and a score multiplier that is raised once a Spider is leveled up.[1][12] Each card occupies a character slot, of which six are available.[13] Players can unlock slots by completing an issue,[4] or can buy it using vials and—as the price increases—ISO-8s.[13]

In addition to the story mode, the game features an unlimited, de facto endless runner-style mode[2][12] and time-limited events,[11] both of which are score-based games.[12] The unlimited leaderboard awards prizes based on rank daily.[12] In events, players can compete against other players and win rewards;[1] players earn the Spider-Man featured in that event by ranking at certain positions on the leaderboard or reaching certain objectives.[2] Additionally, players can complete extra missions called "Spidey Ops" in which one or more characters—up to a maximum of six—become unavailable for a set period of time; when they return they gain experience and vials.[1][10]

The game's energy system gives players five energy points at the start.[7] Going into a run in any mode costs one point and it takes ten minutes for a point to recharge.[7] Players can pay to refill energy by expending ISO-8s.[3][12] Players can make friends at the leaderboard; once per day they can send and request five energy points, which are stored in their in-boxes.[4][12]

Development and release

Spider-Man Unlimited was developed and published by Paris-based company Gameloft;[14] its music was composed by Pascal Dion, and it was directed by Baptiste Marmey, produced by Steve Melanson, designed by Corentin Delprat and programmed by Jerome Chen.[15] At a press release on June 6, 2014, Gameloft announced it had formed a partnership with Marvel Entertainment and was developing a Spider-Man-based game for smartphones and tablets.[16] Later that month, during the Electronic Entertainment Expo, an announcement trailer was exhibited[17][18] and the game was made playable.[16] A second trailer was shown at the San Diego Comic-Con International in July.[19] The game was released for iOS, Android OS, and Windows Phone on September 10, 2014.[8][20]

The idea for the game was first conceived as the production team thought that endless runner games were popular but were always too similar. To create an endless runner that would differentiate itself from others in the genre, the staff focused on Spider-Man's main powers, which originally led to a swinger-only game. However, they found it "a bit boring", and it was complicated to have boss fights and to add new systems and gameplay styles. Then they reconceptualized the game as runner with elements of swinging, fighting, wall climbing, and free falling.[21] The storyline of the game was created to focus on the Sinister Six and the multiple version of Spider-Man. They are allowed to explore other stories such as the "Spider-Verse" but they have to talk with Marvel to decide which can be featured.[21] The main influence on adding a new content like an update or an event is to synchronize with Marvel Comics.[22] The product manager, Tatiana Nahai, is the responsible for choosing among the options and she discusses the ideas with the narrative designer. After the narrative designer creates the main plotline and dialogues, they consult Marvel writer Fred Van Lente for feedback. The same process of having Marvel feedback occurs for the addition of new characters and environments. Environments were created by the level design team that decides which obstacles or types of boss attacks fit better based on how distinct they are from other levels.[21]

The animation techniques for the characters were based on previous Spider-Man games, films and comics.[21] Characters are designed to be balanced and, considering this, the production team tried to implement similar abilities for the Spider-Men and Spider-Women, despite giving them different skills.[23] Originally, Marvel only provided the staff to use 30 characters, but the developers felt it was limited—only having a singular female character, for example—and requested more variety. Requests on their forums, Facebook, subreddit are also considered but they always focus on thematic similar characters to release not individual characters but trends, for example, Monster Spideys or Dimensional Spideys.[22] Since the inception of the game, the production team planned to add a character with a level cap higher than 100 as they suspected players would eventually master all the available characters. This resulted in the creation of the "Titan" characters to expand the game replay value and motivate players to continue playing the game. Not to unbalance it and not to reduce other characters value, however, they made Titans hard to acquire.[23]

Updates

Gameloft released the first update for Spider-Man Unlimited in October 2014; it added a fourth issue with Sandman as the boss to the story mode, a limited Halloween holiday event starring Jack O'Lantern, and Spider-Gwen and Spider-Girl as playable characters.[24] It also included a New York Highline environment[24] and bug fixes, and it was adapted to run on Windows Phone devices with 512 MB of RAM.[25]

A second update was released in December 2014; its main addition was an event called "Great Hunt", which features events to battle against the characters Karn and Morlun from the "Spider-Verse".[26][27][28] Environments 2099 New York and snowy New York, and special Winter Holiday events against Hydro-Man were implemented.[26][27] The update added eight new Spider-Men from the "Spider-Verse", including Ultimate Jessica Drew, Miles Morales, Silk, and Spider-UK.[26][27] A new Spider-Woman's costume also debuted on the game before its debut in comics in March 2015.[29]

In February 2015, the third update featuring a "Spider-Verse" storyline added eight new characters, including Anya Corazon, Earth X Spider-Man, and Spider-Punk.[30] The story mode was modified to require a certain amount of "Spidey Power"—player's team multiplier—rather than a pre-determined level to progress on it.[30] It also included Daemos and Jennix to the "Great Hunt" event, a subway environment, and events with non-score-based leaderboards and unlimited lives.[30][31] Among the events is "Clash of the Spiders", in which players fight the Inheritors, Amazing Spider-Man and Superior Spider-Man create their own armies, starting starts a rivalry between them.[32]

At the Game Developers Conference 2015, Gameloft announced a new update to the game;[33] it was released in April 2015.[34] The inclusion of Solus, father of the Inheritors, marks the last update for the "Spider-Verse" saga.[34] The update also features the return of the Sinister Six and the addition of a fifth issue, featuring Doctor Octopus as the boss to the story mode.[35] New characters added includes Aaron Aikman, Clone Hunter Spider-Man, Superior Venom, and Spider-Ben.[34][35]

The fifth update, released in May 2015, added an event in which players have to pursuit the villain Silver Sable.[36] The update also added new characters, including Blood Spider, and the "Monster Spiders" Spider-X and Tarantula.[36][37] An event called "Cinco de Mayo" also featured an Exoskeleton version of Anya Corazon, Aracnido, Jr., and a Mexican Spider-Man.[36][37] It also introduced the concept of "Spidey Tier", which is based on the players highest "Spidey Power" and rewards players according to their tiers.[36][37]

Mysterio, the boss of the sixth issue, was the main addition of the update released in June 2015.[38][39] Demogoblin was added as an adversary, while Mangaverse Spider-Woman, Spider-Jameson, Spiders Man, Devil-Spider, Felicity Hardy and Hobgoblin (Peter Parker) were added as Spider-allies.[38][39] A new type of rarity called "Titan", which has a higher level cap, was also added.[38][39] The update also made the MFi Program compatible, fixed bugs and improved objective counters for events.[38]

In July 2015, Gameloft announced the addition of events and environments based on the "Spider-Island" storyline into the game.[40] It was released in September, adding an alliance mode for online players, short mission-style events, a chat and the possibility of choosing a nickname.[41] The alliance mode is a territorial competition to gain the possession of New York streets, in which players can join an alliance or create its own to confront other's alliance.[42] New characters added include Mary Jane Watson, Black Cat, Silver Sable and Peter Parker.[41] In October 2015, along with "All New" costumes for Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2099, Agent Venom, Madame Web, Spider JJJ, Spider-Ma'am (May Parker), Annie Parker and Peter Porker were added.[43]

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic79/100[20]
Review scores
PublicationScore
148 Apps[5]
Pocket Gamer7/10[11]
TouchArcade[1]

Spider-Man Unlimited has been well received by customers; as of December 2014 it has been downloaded more than 30 million times.[29] The game has received "generally favorable reviews" from critics, according to Metacritic, which assigns a score of 79 out of 100 based on ten reviews.[20] Jim Squires, writing for GameZebo, stated the game "is both how you do a runner right AND how you do a superhero game right."[7] Shaun Musgrave of TouchArcade recommended it to both Spider-man fans and endless runner fans "simply because it does so much right".[1] Polygon's Justin McElroy said "Spider-Man Unlimited is a top-notch game all on its own".[3] Download.com appreciated its combination of "great graphics, super-spidey skills, and the old-school feel of a classic runner game into one entertaining package".[44] For 148Apps.com, Jennifer Allen wrote, "Despite [some problems], Spider-Man Unlimited is a surprisingly well-made endless runner".[5] Peter Willington of Pocket Gamer wrote that those waiting for a Spider-Man game would "be disappointed" but that it is "a high quality auto-runner".[11]

Squires, Willington, and McElroy praised the responsiveness of the game's controls,[3][7][11] and Download.com staff enjoyed its intuitiveness.[44] Musgrave and Willington praised the voice acting; Musgrave also commended the music and Willington praised the sound effects.[1][11] Musgrave, Willington, and McElroy also commended the animation; Musgrave and Willington commented on the comic-book-like style[1][11] and Musgrave and McElroy on the varied environments.[1][3] Squires said it has "a perfect mix of speed, humor, missions, and collectibles",[7] while McElroy and Download.com staff highlighted the possibility of having collectible Spider-Men.[3][44] Squires and Musgrave praised the variability between running, swinging, climbing and freefalling; the former stated, "The result is a game that continues to feel fresh long after the hundredth play".[7]

Squires found a problem with the game; when the player is using only a character, the level cap limit may annoy.[7] Musgrave commented, "the art style does sometimes hinder the gameplay".[1] Willington was critical of the story mode, which he said had a "weak plot" and lacked character development.[11] Download.com staff also noted some lags and bugs;[44] Musgrave and Allen stated the controls sometimes had problems recognizing swipes.[1][5] According to Musgrave, the game's energy system was "the biggest point of controversy";[1] he and Willington, Allen, and Mike Fahey of Kotaku criticized it.[5][8][11] McElroy said the energy system is a "microtransaction hook" that is easily surmountable without spending any real money.[3] Squires also affirmed that because of the duration of a run it "ends up feeling a lot fairer in practice than it sounds on paper".[7]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Musgrave, Shaun (September 12, 2014). "'Spider-Man Unlimited' Review - The Amazing Ironically-Titled Spider-Game". TouchArcade. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Douglas (November 9, 2014). "Spider-Man Unlimited: How To Do Free-to-Play Right". Siliconera. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 McElroy, Justin (October 22, 2014). "Play This Now: Spider-Man Unlimited is an endless runner/crawler/swinger". Polygon. Vox Media. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Musgrave, Shaun (September 24, 2014). "'Spider-Man Unlimited' Guide - How To Win Without Spending Real Money". TouchArcade. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Allen, Jennifer (September 11, 2014). "Spider-Man Unlimited Review". 148Apps. Steel Media Ventures. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
  6. ↑ Acevedo, Paul (September 16, 2014). "Top Spider-Man Unlimited tips and tricks". Windows Central. Mobile Nations. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Squires, Jim (September 12, 2014). "Spider-Man Unlimited Review: Does Whatever a Spider Can". GameZebo. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Fahey, Mike (September 14, 2014). "Can Unlimited Spider-Men Triumph Over Free-To-Play Evil?". Kotaku. Gawker Media. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
  9. ↑ "Spider-Man Unlimited". iTunes. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
  10. 1 2 3 Squires, Jim (September 11, 2014). "Spider-Man Unlimited Tips, Cheats and Strategies". GameZebo. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Willington, Peter (September 16, 2014). "Spider-Man Unlimited review - Android reviews". Pocket Gamer. Steel Media. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Acevedo, Paul (September 20, 2014). "Spider-Man Unlimited review – a spectacular endless runner with a few cobwebs left to clear". Windows Central. Mobile Nations. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
  13. 1 2 Acevedo, Paul (September 16, 2014). "Top Spider-Man Unlimited tips and tricks". Windows Central. Mobile Nations. p. 5. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
  14. ↑ Villasor, Tim G. (October 9, 2014). "Spider-Man Unlimited swings into mobile devices with style". GMA News. GMA Network. Retrieved April 19, 2014.
  15. ↑ Gameloft (September 10, 2014). Spider-Man Unlimited. Scene: Credits.
  16. 1 2 "Gameloft and Marvel Announce Spider-Man Unlimited, the First 3D Web-Runner for Smartphones & Tablets". Gameloft. June 6, 2014. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
  17. ↑ Watts, Steve (June 6, 2014). "Spider-Man Unlimited Announced for Mobile". IGN. Ziff Davis Media. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
  18. ↑ Farokhmanesh, Megan (June 20, 2014). "Spider-Man Unlimited trailer, E3 2014". Polygon. Vox Media. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
  19. ↑ Sahdev, Ishaan (July 30, 2014). "Marvel's New Spider-Man Game For Smartphones Looks Pretty Cool". Siliconera. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
  20. 1 2 3 "Spider-Man Unlimited for iPhone/iPad Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
  21. 1 2 3 4 Smith, C.T. (July 13, 2015). "Interview With Gameloft's Spider-Man Unlimited Team". Whatever a Spider Can. Fansided. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
  22. 1 2 Smith, C.T. (July 13, 2015). "Interview With Gameloft's Spider-Man Unlimited Team, Part 2". Whatever a Spider Can. Fansided. Retrieved December 8, 2015.
  23. 1 2 Smith, C.T. (July 13, 2015). "Interview With Gameloft's Spider-Man Unlimited Team, Part 2". Whatever a Spider Can. Fansided. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
  24. 1 2 "Spider-Man Unlimited Receives Update With Issue #4 Sandman". Gamasutra. UBM. October 30, 2014. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
  25. ↑ Acevedo, Paul (October 31, 2014). "Spider-Man Unlimited update weaves in new levels, gains 512 MB support on Windows Phone". Windows Central. Mobile Nations. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
  26. 1 2 3 Callaham, John (December 11, 2014). "Spider-Man Unlimited update draws it into Marvel's Spider-Verse comics event". Windows Central. Mobile Nations. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
  27. 1 2 3 Musgrave, Shaun (December 15, 2014). "Update Mondays: 'Boson X', 'Candy Crush Saga', 'Oceanhorn', 'Boom Beach', And More". TouchArcade. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
  28. ↑ Fisher, Jessica (December 12, 2014). "The Spider-Verse Comes to Spider-Man Unlimited in a New Update". 148Apps. Steel Media Ventures. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
  29. 1 2 Truitt, Brian (December 18, 2014). "Marvel gives Spider-Woman a modern makeover". USA Today. Gannett Company. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
  30. 1 2 3 Morse, Ben (February 5, 2015). "NeNew Heroes, New Villains & More in Spider-Man Unlimited". Marvel.com. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
  31. ↑ Dotson, Carter (February 4, 2015). "'Spider-Man Unlimited' Gets Even More Spider-Men and New Events in Latest Update". TouchArcade. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
  32. ↑ Morse, Ben (April 14, 2015). "Spiders Clash in 'Spider-Man Unlimited'". Marvel.com. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
  33. ↑ Dotson, Carter (March 6, 2015). "GDC 2015: 'Spider-Man Unlimited' Gets Dr. Octopus and Superior Venom in Future Update". TouchArcade. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
  34. 1 2 3 "Solus Crashes Down in Spider-Man Unlimited". Marvel.com. April 6, 2015. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
  35. 1 2 Morse, Ben (March 25, 2015). "Doc Ock & More Come to 'Spider-Man Unlimited'". Marvel.com. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
  36. 1 2 3 4 Parungo, Nicolo Josef V. (June 12, 2015). "'Spider-Man: Unlimited' Update Reveals Mysterio As Final Member Of Sinister Six". International Business Times. IBT Media. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
  37. 1 2 3 Morse, Ben (May 6, 2015). "Silver Sable & More Join 'Spider-Man Unlimited'". Marvel.com. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
  38. 1 2 3 4 Musgrave, Shaun (June 11, 2015). "'Spider-Man Unlimited' Issue 6 Update Arrives, Adds Controller Support And Ineffective Fishbowl-Head". TouchArcade. Retrieved June 20, 2015.
  39. 1 2 3 Parungo, Nicolo Josef V. (June 12, 2015). "'Spider-Man: Unlimited' Update Reveals Mysterio As Final Member Of Sinister Six". International Business Times. IBT Media. Retrieved June 20, 2015.
  40. ↑ Parungo, Nicolo Josef V. (July 15, 2015). "'Spider-Man Unlimited' Update Introduces Spidey's New Costume and Spider-Island". International Business Times. IBT Media. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
  41. 1 2 Parungo, Nicolo Josef V. (September 3, 2015). "New 'Spider-Man Unlimited' Update Introduces Alliances, Secret Wars And Spider-Island". International Business Times. IBT Media. Retrieved November 29, 2015.
  42. ↑ "Spider-Island and Alliances Come to 'Spider-Man Unlimited". Marvel.com. Retrieved November 29, 2015.
  43. ↑ Parungo, Nicolo Josef V. (October 13, 2015). "New Characters Coming To 'Spider-Man Unlimited' During October Update". International Business Times. IBT Media. Retrieved November 29, 2015.
  44. 1 2 3 4 Download.com staff (January 12, 2015). "Spider-Man Unlimited review". Yahoo.com. Retrieved April 18, 2015.

External links

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