BENGALURU : Spider-man Miles Morales is the sequel to Marvel Spider-Man game, which released as a PlayStation exclusive. MM’s release coincided with the launch of the new-generation PlayStation console — the PS5. It is, however, a small game. In an era where games are demanding more of our time tomake them indispensable parts of our routine (Assassins’ Creed Valhalla which also released this week takes over60 hours for an average run), Spider-man was refreshing. In the sense that it left us wanting more.
The story features Miles Morales: a kid in school who finds himself with spider-powers, more potent than the “Original” Spider-man. His friends are scientific geniuses in high school, solving big-world problems in minutes, seemingly. The realism of the graphics in present-day New York city, relatable side missions, and dialogues that spoke to current situations made the story compellingly authentic.
I had to convince myself that it was just fiction, and that these genius kids would not make all our jobs redundant in the next decade. The game is enjoyable, even more so than the previous edition. Miles’ web shooter options include holograph fighters this time. MM also introduces the venom attacks. The spider-kid’s powers allow him to charge-up energy and release it in blasts of electricity.
The venom punches and jumps allow him to attack the new enemies from ‘the Underground’ who carry more advanced tech than the Sable mercenaries in the previous release. The combat feels more fluid. The venom attack options are enabled right at the beginning, compelling us to engage regularly in confrontation.
This puts us in a dilemma — because the stealth options are equally delightful. Miles has a ‘camouflage’ power which turns him invisible to enemies for limited time. This means that enemy territories can be conquered in stealth.
The rewards system in MM is also simpler than the previous edition, making upgrades less complex.The side mission completion unlocks the more powerful suits, and cheap web upgrades leave you with a token surplus.This simplicity comes at a price — time — the most critiqued aspect of the game. While the game has made no major updates to the general environment, the full version (for the price paid) is not accompanied by a commensurate amount of main mission gameplay.
However, this is a subjective contention. Old fans like me, are satisfied with infinite swinging broken by occasional combat, even if it means repeating missions. Instead of rating this game, I will promise to not destroy spider webs for a few months — out of respect.
Anusha Ganapathi
(This economics graduate spends her leisure time preparing for the zombie apocalypse)