Spider-Man 3 - Misunderstood or Mediocre?
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- čas přidán 10. 10. 2023
- Many say that this is the worst Spider-Man game, but many also say it's underrated. Which side is true?
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Spider-Man 3 is a very unlucky product. Its movie was panned upon release, and its game suffered an even worse fate. The movie and the game share a surprising amount of similarities, and not just in plot points; ironically that’s where they differ the most. It’s in their strengths, weaknesses, critical reception, and retrospective praise that the Spider-Man 3 game is almost identical to its counterpart. Both products are following a critically acclaimed movie and game, and both severely failed to meet expectations. We will return to this parallel later, but for now I want to frame the game and explain how the critical acclaim of Spider-Man 2 and Ultimate Spider-Man set expectations for Spidey games going forward.
Spider-Man 2 delivered the, at the time, best swinging we had ever, all while looking great for the time, telling a solid story, and being hailed as the best for years to come. While Ultimate Spider-Man didn’t revolutionise the character like Spider-Man 2 did, it was a great game, and one many, myself included, remember fondly. So when Spider-Man 3 released, fans were obviously disappointed, and no pun intended it was the black sheep of the series, being the but of jokes in many of my videos. But each time I made a joke regarding this game, there were people in the comments telling me that the game isn’t that bad; so here I am, ready to try the game for the first time in a while, and as is often the case with these games that are initially panned but retroactively deemed an underrated gem, the truth is that both sides have valid points. Yes, this game looks rough most of the time, yes the story isn’t very interesting, and yes, the gameplay is not as fluid as Spider-Man 2, but the game is also relatively competent in all those facets, and it has some fun boss fights. The biggest problem with Spider-Man 3 is that Spider-Man 2 does just about everything better. The same was true for Ultimate Spider-Man, but that got a pass because it wasn’t a sequel, and it had its own very respectable strengths. One of this games strengths, just like the movie, is how unbelievably cheesy it is, and there are enough “so bad it's good” moments here that justify at least trying the game. With Marvel's Spider-Man 2 just around the corner, I want to go back to yet another game where the symbiote is centre stage and see what went wrong, and where treyarch went right. So with all that said, let’s take a look back at this, brace yourselves, 16 year old game, and figure out if Spider-Man 3 is truly an underrated gem, or if its disregard is warranted.
The first thing many will notice about Spider-Man 3 is that it looks worse than a PS2 game, don’t believe me? Look at Spider-Man 2; and here's the kicker; this is a PS3 game. Yea, a poor start to say the least, and it doesn’t improve for the PS2 version of the game. We will be focusing on the PS3, XBOX 360, and PC version of the game because it’s the one most are familiar with and it’s the game with the most content, but I seriously wouldn’t blame someone for opting for the last generation version instead. The PS2 version, while having less content, trims the fat from the PS3 version, and while it may not look as nice, it is still a fine enough game, even including its own black suit mechanic that we will talk about later. But let’s stay focused on the PS3 version, because oh man does it start poorly.
Spider-Man has a lot of bad games, but it seems many consider Spider-Man 3 to be the worst Spiderman game. This is where Spiderman 3 the movie and the Spider-Man 3 game are very similar. The Spider-Man 3 PS3 game follows Spider-Man 2 not to be confused with Marvel's Spider-Man and Marvel's Spider-Man 2 that is to be released soon as of this Spider-Man 3 Review. This Spider-Man 3 Analysis will not talk much about the Spider-Man 3 PS2 version. Venom in the Spider-Man 3 Movie had his issues but his appearance in this, the worst Spider-Man game, warrants analysis, especially when Venom might appear in the best Spider-Man Game, and no I don't mean Ultimate Spider-Man. Tobey Maguire, or Bully Maguire does great here compared to Spider-Man 2. The Spider-Man 3 QTE segments are definitely a highlight of this game and if you haven't seen the Spider-Man 3 quick time events then I highly recommend you check them out. - Hry
So turns out Kirsten Dunst did not voice MJ in this game, that’s my bad! The voice actress that replaced her did such a good impression that I didn’t even notice the difference lol
I missed the part where that's my problem.
Which is funny af cuz don’t they credit her as kirsten dunst in the beginning of the game like the opening of the movies did?
@@ghostphoenix666 She doesn't know what you are.
@@BullyMaguireMaguire 17 years later and your still a savage
@@ghostphoenix666they do
This game had such a unique charm to it, I love the quirky cutscenes and cheesy moments. And while the QuickTime events are annoying, they were at least cool set pieces to go through.
Love your videos man
@@Marlesden
MISTA HAMMAZZZZZZZZZ :D
Nice to see you get big bro (no pun intended)
IM GOING TO DIE!?
“This is the most fun bad game” is a perfect way to describe the experience of spider man 3 on ps3/360
exactly
tbh the movie too
@@thenyanrobot4565 yeah the 3rd movie is tthe worst of the trilogy
@@mr.o5421 Honestly despite the undue reputation the second is. 3 is actually the best.
My list best to worst:
3, 1, Amazing 2, 2, No Way Home, Amazing, Far from home, Homecoming.
That's my list. If we counted the 70s movies they would go above Homecoming and below Far From Home.
@@mr.o5421The 3rd movie is a meme goldmine though 😂😂😂
This game has such a banger soundtrack. From tracks like the main theme and Arsenic Candy, Tobias Enhus really captured the essence of a cinematic/theatrical experience through his compositions.
Not to mention when you get the black suit the theme when you swing changes
Oh for sure. This game occupies the same space in my head as VtM: Bloodlines, where the ambient soundtrack just randomly pops in for me.
The Apocalypse theme is definitely my favorite I love the industrial vibe it give off to the gang and spider man I wish more spider man games had songs like this
One of the things I liked about Spiderman 3 is the large scale of NY City. The city scale is actually larger than Spiderman PS4. The skyscrapers are massive and take a long time to run up. Swinging around the city feels slow because of how large the buildings are compared to how small Spiderman is. It seems like Insomniac made a smaller world to make it easier to swing through.
Not gonna lie, the concept of the quick time event of taking the Symbiote Suit off getting harder as it bonds to you more is cool as hell.
One thing I miss doing from this game is the dual web swinging. No other game has brought that back for some reason.
When you just realized you grew up playing the PS2 version of this game, but on the Wii. Looks like I missed out on the "True" Spiderman 3 experience. Same with Web of Shadows apparently
Thanks for the shout-out, but more importantly thanks for the amazing video! Always found charm from this messy game but you actually made sense of a lot of mechanics and despite my better judgement...I kinda want to play this again??
Honestly everyone remembers the PS3 version. But the PS2 version was actually really decent. I wouldn't call it great but i really enjoyed playing when i was younger.
I've always liked the game, despite all the jank and animations, I liked making up my own patrols and focusing on fighting the gangs. And really enjoyed the gameplay when using the Symbiote suit. Despite enjoying it for quite a bit of time, I usually hold this as one of my secret old favorites. I like when Peter uses the suit, except the Bully Maguire scenes when he hurts MJ or does the dance stuff (mostly my thoughts from the movie for that one). Also, I liked the inclusion of the Lizard who didn't get his time on the Raimi movies, also I think one of them had a vampire Boss fight that took me a bit to understand how to beat. 😁
0:35 I STILL think it has the best web swinging of all time. The insomniac Spider-Man games have too many crutches and automated behaviors to prevent players from messing up/dragging along the ground, etc.
I think Kirsten Dunst is the one movie actor that didn't appear in the game, that might explain the performance of Mary Jane🤷♂ Great video as usual, feel better soon Aqua!
Just went back and checked the cast and yep, you're right. She was voiced by a Kari Wahlgreen
the animation work in this game stands out as exceptional work by treyarch. the game is not always great but you cannot deny how nice everything moves
Honestly the one aspect of this game that I think it does extremely well is having a mini game just to remove the black suit. It felt awesome and is a mechanic that works perfectly for the black suit. Keep in mind I haven’t played the game in over a decade so this could be nostalgia tricking me but I remember that mechanic being sick.
Was such a cool mini game ngl, it’s confusing as hell as to y the main new gen versions of the game didn’t include it
That was only in the PS2 version sadly.
@@tortoiseoflegends4466 Actually it’s was also on the Wii version which was the one I had.
@@RandomPersonProbablyPSP had it too, PSP, PS2, and Wii are all the same versions.
One detail about this game I did like is that if you wear the black suit for too long, removing it as way harder as you had to basically do a button-mashing minigame to remove it. It’s certainly not the best Spider-Man game out there, but far from the worst either, and it’s a funny coincidence that it had a black suit fight against The Lizard many years before Insomniac’s Spider-Man 2 did.
I really loved this game as a kid. It was the first game I played on the 360. I distinctly remember playing the main story to the part of getting the black suit and just not bothering to progress from there. Shoutout to the ROFL copter. Good times.
I recall vaguely playing this game years ago after the PS2 version and I don't really remember it that well. I recall beating it but I don't recall that much for some reason.
The PS2 version I remember having some nostalgia for since I bought at a nearby EB Games around the same time as watching the movie on opening day. Back when I liked going to theaters. I still can't really recall if that game is any good either. Like Spider-Man himself, there is so much shit with him in it, I am not even sure if half of them are even that great and since there is so much, it seems to require effort just to view and play everything.
I still use my PS3 but Spidey games are expensive as all hell.
18:35 When I first played the game this didn't happened to me but god I wish it did. This made me laugh so hard.
The soundtrack is by far the best part of the game. It just slaps so hard.
It's important to note that the Xbox 360 version is vastly superior to the PS3 version. The 360 version has a significantly higher frame rate and way more physics objects in the open world.
I played this for the first time like a year ago, it was guenuinly one of the funniest games I've ever played. Actually insane how much effort went into the qte's and how funny they are. I also believe someone did the math and it takes like 1500 hits to beat Kraven which was a pain
The change over from Spider-Man 2 to Ultimate might be due to the fact that the lead designer of 2 left Ultimate very early on in development.
The Wii version was my jam until Web of Shadows. I liked the way the black suit worked in 3ii a lot.
I'm baffled that no one ever mentions this but when you complete the game, you unlock a new game plus where you can replay the whole game with the black suit. Granted, that makes the story moments not make sense but it's still fun as hell
9:55 - I always used the R1 + X move on everything, it's so OP and square x 5 then triangle is the same thing, so for that section I would build up the rage meter with the combo then use the super move. Got further into the vid, you gotta use R1 + X move man. Against the apocalypse guy, it's the fastest way to defeat him. Same with the black suit, it's the best move. Also, if you counter mid combo or pre to the final hit on the combo, you'll counter with that move, taking down their health more. so triangle triangle dodge triangle smashes the ground and all enemies around you.
I recently played this to complete the achievement list and holy hell the races and bomb disposals were hard. I can see why I never finished this game as a kid.
Happy to see the recent changes haven’t altered your great video formats aqua , that said , I really enjoyed your opinion on the game and your willingness to see it for what it is , while others on this platform might just brush it of as a bad game as a whole
To be perfectly fair i had some fun with the ps3 version back in 2008 the city looked good and the web swinging was solid imo
Seeing Aqua slap the pavement during the skydive section reminded me of the fall damage discussion going on recently and I gotta say, it is funny seeing Pete crater the concrete with his body lol. It just annoys me a little bit when people say, "he just fell from 500 ft up and he's okay?" Like yes, he has super human durability. I totally get why some people would want it for the challenge, but I don't think the topic should've been NEARLY as big as it was.
I never played the ps3 version, only wii. But hearing Peter say; "I'm so sick of you mouth breathing knuckle draggers!" Made me burst out laughing.
the sandman boss fight and kingpin fight were great tbh
I saw the graphics and was very confused about how it looked, before realizing I had the wii version as a kid so of course it looked different. And then you showed the ps2 version and I didn't actually know the Wii version was just a port of the ps2 version
It's true you get the black suit very late, that might have been intentional cause there's like a new game plus mode once you beat the story. You can play the whole game with all the upgrades and the awesome black suit.
I’m pretty sure I had this game for the PSP… and I don’t know if it was because I was very young at the time, but I remember that version being SO fun…
The game looked and played a lot better on PSP.😊
In general, this game has an interesting history. There is a perfectly told story of this game on Spideysant's channel. In a nutshell this game had a lot of bad luck, firstly there were ambitions, secondly the problems started when the veterans from Spider man 2 left the company and inexperienced new employees had no experience with the game engine yet. Thirdly, SM3 had a totally different lighting system making it look much nicer, but unfortunately at the expense of fluidity, the game had 6fps in the city and 12fps in the sewers. They had to redo all the lighting in the game making it not so pretty anymore. There was also a problem with the changes in the movie script because Sam Raimi couldn't make up his mind on certain things so they had to change a lot of things in the meantime.
I'm more and more under the impression that the Wii version of this game was the definitive version.
What it lacked in some areas it more than made up for with its significantly better swinging controls & combat handling.
THANK YOU for this review! My first console was a PS3 and this was the first game I played on it. I have such a big emotional attachment to it, so it's nice when it gets some love and attention now and then, flaws and all
This is a comedic masterpiece of a game 😂
There is a bigger story for the Spider-Man 3 game that not many people know about.
- The overall look for the game looked incredible for the next-gen consoles. Character models for Peter, Venom and Jameson were fully detailed. But with how big the open-world is and how the cutscenes were rendered, the game only ran as slow as 9fps. The ugly look of the game is why it runs smoothly.
- There were more Black Suit missions and would've seen Black Cat returning from the second game. Turk Barrett (from Daredevil comics) was going to be introduced and both were going to be tied in with the expanded Kingpin storyline. They were removed which is why there was a lack of Kingpin missions. The last Apocalypse mission was going to take place sometime after the Sandman fight, which fits with the voice deliveries from Tobey Maguire in the final game. The side missions with other people was going to be a selectable side mission called "Voluntary".
- There were more references to the Marvel Universe, mostly in the Daily Bugle. Jameson, Brant and Robbie would reference Punisher, Captain America, Mr Fantastic, etc.
- Scorpion and Kraven/Lizard missions were originally set for the second game.
- Some animation moves from Spider-Man 2 are left in the game files of Spider-Man 3.
There's more info from "spidey santa", to know what he's saying, activate captions: czcams.com/video/9DVcEnmhlZE/video.htmlsi=vZ9-wZmW3Y9HFX3V
I also think that at one point in the development of the game itself Jamie Fristrom came up with a concept of stealth takedowns, but Activision was (correct me if I'm wrong) against this ambition and responded that Spider-Man wouldn't work with those. They were later implemented and first used in Shattered Dimensions.
12:40 Steven caught a stray 😭
I had the privilege of playing both growing up. I can say the PS2 version was better. Not to say the PS3 version wasn’t fun. The different story arcs were a surprise. I hope Insomniacs
Spider-Man 2 has the quick time event for the symbiote suit. It was always so cool to have the symbiote fight more and more to not be taken off.
Nope
I think that this game looks better than Spider Man 2 and is pretty much better is every where except for the swinging, so I really don’t understand the criticism it gets so strongly
Exactly
Loved this game back in the day
I thought they did a better job motivating Sandman to team up with Venom to save his daughter for the climax when Venom threaten his daughter’s life.
10:00 Man, why didn't I think of that? It took me 7 frustrating atrempts to just fight them all and protect the dispenser lol
I remember playing this game at my uncles it was one of those games you just have a nostalgic memory w definitely one of my favorites was goofy at times but definitely was dope
I wanna see a channel or a series full of the playthroughs of the games you review.
Question: do you think you'll ever make a video on the telltale walking dead game? Or if you already have, and I just haven't seen it.
I think what I like most about all the Raimi trilogy games is that it gave Tobey Maguire opportunities to be the more traditional wisecracking Spider-Man when the movies themselves didn’t give us much of that. The quips are a good mix of the corny one liners and jokes that genuinely made me laugh. My favorite probably has to be "problems with your laser, Beck? I hear there are pills for that now".
As for Spider-Man 3 in particular, much like the movie, I feel this game is better than it's given credit for. Definitely not a masterpiece and has plenty of flaws, but you can tell that there is a solid game at the foundation and you wonder what might have been had they had longer dev time or if the hardware they worked on was easier to work with. This game has always been a bit of a guilty pleasure for me and I enjoyed my several playthroughs over the years, although now with Insomniac's games Idk if I'll ever go back to it (or TASM 1) over Spider-Man PS1, the first 2 movie games, and Ultimate when I feel like playing different Spidey titles (not to mention I've never played Web of Shadows or Shattered Dimensions and Edge of Time yet either).
He didn’t mention it in the video, I had it on the Wii, which made me feel like I imagined it. I still have it in the same drawer too.
the web swinging in TSA1 was my favorite it was so fluid and immersive at the time
The first second of the video had the hammer girls which are enemies unlocked after a mission. they are reason why I never tried to finish the game
I like how powerful the black suit felt when you get it once you activate rage mode you become an near unstoppable war machine it’s a kill joy that it gets taken from you late game but you can play though the story a second time with it from beginning to end
Oh, finally good review where everything said to the point, not just shitting the game 'cause ugly graphics or something like that. Respect to you
Hold on, this game had Scorpion and Harry segments? I checked on wikipedia, and turns out this is a PS3 exclusive thing, and with dlc, you get an essentially NG+ gamemode where you can start with all upgrades available, including black suit, or play as Harry with no story missions. Damn, I missed out! I played the PC version again last year, in the lead up to the PC release of the 2018 game, and I was wondering why I didn't remember being able to play as Harry. At least I was able to get 60fps using a hex editor. I recommend trying it that way, it makes a huge difference in how the swinging feels.
The New Goblin DLC which allowed to play as Harry Osborn/New Goblin was also implemented on Xbox 360, but in the PC version the DLC is disabled. Although it is possible to play as New Goblin with the use of Spider-Man 3's debug menu
Doesn’t the game have a NG+ mode that let you use the black suit all the way through? Could’ve sworn it did.
Not gonna lie I have a lot of memories of this game but I did prefer web of shadows , 2 and ultimate at the game but the fun will never go away
I love this game so much I used to be obsessed with Spider-Man 3
That credits glitch is one of the funniest glitches I’ve ever seen in a video game
Spider man 3 was the first spider man game I ever played & I gotta say it was one of the best spider games I ever played 🔥🔥, ts was fun asf I was hyped up when I got to use the black suit
The game could've been so much better had Activision didn't rush the developers...have you seen the graphics of the first build? that looked beautiful.
The only problem with the graphics of the first build were the fps running for the game. The overall New York City ran as slow as 6fps, while the sewers at 12fps. It really sucks we didn't get to see the asthetic of what was planned in the development side of those things.
@@piotrjasinski2130 you're correct, this game could've been crysis (2007) both in terms of amazing graphics and abysmal framerate. still sad we never got to see the realistic face scans for the characters, but instead we got those uncanny clay like models
Where can i find footage of this?
@@PJDevaney spidey santa made a video on the development cycle of spider-man 3, a few pics of the first build are shown in the 2006 part of the video, while the video maybe in Russian there are English subtitles.
@@yourfatboy5359 thank you
This game has air tricks and you take damage if you fail to land properly. So if you’re high enough when you perform one (which is like a small building), if you keep holding it when you hit the ground, you will instantly die.
I had this game both on PS2 and PS3. Somehow the ragdoll physics made the combat kinda satisfying lol.
I used to love this game when i was younger, i remembered it in this light that it was such an amazing game. I replayed it a while ago and only now did i realize how bad it actually was but i still love it for its flaws. Great vid aqua, always keeping up with the high quality of vids man its incredible that you are this consistent. Hope you get well soon man, can’t wait for future vids especially your Spider-Man 2 vid(s).
Aqua with the consistency 😁
I love the scene where Jameson thanks Spider-Man
I enjoyed this game a lot back on the day. This game was full of Spidey mythos and the combat and traversal were a lot of fun. My main issues with it were some insane difficulty spikes and the timed missions. Overall very solid. Probably better than the movie.
This was the very first game I ever beat as a kid. This was my shit, son!!!
The PSP version is awesome. Picture Spider-Man 2 for GC, PS2 and Xbox on the go. That's what they gave us. Much better than Spider-Man 2 for PSP(that version wasn't fully open world)
Could you review Spider Man 3 for the Wii? I remember it as one of my favourite games on the Wii, but that just might be my memory
I have always loved QTE's, personally I think it makes games a lot more fun as long as they're not terribly overdone but I like more than the average person
I would say it’s misunderstood yet still mediocre.
The game is very fun, and good in ways that are many times overlooked- Yet it’s important to acknowledge its flaws and understand that yeah, this thing’s kinda funny.
Thus was my first spiderman game and had it on ps2. Holds a special place in my heart.
I remember when I was a kid, I was on that boss fight against that apocalipse gang leader and I always got beated, than (I don't know if it was a glitch or not) with a web pull he was sent flying over that fence and fell on the water, it was a hit kill and the game count it as I defeated him and I laughed till my stomach hurts 😂. I couldn't never do that again on later playthroughs, but I never forgot that
I tried to brace myself but I wasn’t ready
I thought the quick time events were the coolest thing I had experienced in a game at that point. I remember it took my a looooong time to beat though because it was so cheesy
Spider-Man 3 is walked so Marvels Spider-Man could run, so many features people thought were unique are actually pulled straight from this game.
Yeah the slingshots, giant Lizard, Kraven vs Symbiote Peter, Dr Connors investigating the symbiote, etc were all from this game
There's hidden dead drop animation that's triggered by pressing kick as you do rolls in between swings 😁
You should do shattered dimensions and edge if time critiques
Are you going to make a video about Insomniac’s Spider Man 2?
My dad worked on this game. I don't remember him working on it much since I was a kid, but I got to play test it to make sure it was kid friendly
I had this gand and immediately it was a step backwards from Spider-Man 2.
Straught away the bugs were apparent. It was horrible.
I still listen to “City #4” from this soundtrack
I played the ps2 version. Kid me hated the Morbius and Shriek fight, and I was also too dumb to realize I had to purchase a specific move to be able to interrupt Venom and knock him out of his 3 hit kill combo
There's a bunch of themed gangs like in The Warriors? I'm in.
Spider-Man 3 the game really nailed the boss fights. They were actually challenging and had different phases. Hopefully Marvel's Spider-Man 2 learns from it.
I think the reason most people played it was the ´´I don´t want to die´´ cutscene
disarming bombs on pc seemed hard i stoped the game when u need to save daily bugle from bombs
It's funny. All the problems that were listed I didn't even notice as a kid. Just hard fun playing the game.
I was never able to actually gain the will to beat Spider-Man 2, just never enjoyed it.
But I have 100%d both versions of Spider-Man 3.
So yeah I would say misunderstood.
Will you cover the PS2 Version?
SM3 is one of those frustrating examples of ALMOST being pretty good.
And I somehow still decide to grew up with it when I was a wee little child. Im glad I chose that decision.
I played this back in the day on the Wii, for some reason the Arsenic candy gang was replaced with the bombers from the beginning. Also, there was a Morbius boss fight that utilized a light mechanic which was decent. From my memory, the Scorpion wasn't in the Wii version. The cutscenes were the same, except just compressed
I think the Wii version was just a port of the ps2 version.
There was also the waste tribe, controlled by shriek i believe
i remember i didn’t have a memory card for my xbox and i played the first missions of this game hella times like the sandman fight
i would leave the console on for days to keep progress
I grew up with the Wii version of this game. Even if it is shorter and stripped for content, playing the 360/PS3 version of the game as an adult felt so jarring. The black suit just felt so underwhelming compared to the Wii/Ps2 version where the suit had different combos and an actual incentive to use it.
YOU CAN SWING ON THOSE SKYDIVES? what the hell
The PS2 was the version I grew up with and I'll be honest I remember loving it and playing it for so long but after all this time I can't remember if it played well at all. What I can say is that the PS3 version does look like a downgrade both in visuals and art direction, and the black suit mechanic will forever be in my heart as the best black suit in spider-man games.
Also this game was my introduction to MICHAEL FRICKING MORBIUS! THE MAN, THE MEME, THE LEGEND! THIS GAME WAS MORBING SINCE 2007!
Defender of this game enters the chat.
.
There's a lot of care put into developing it, but some stuff like new hardware and what Matt McMuscle said in his review about development team being thrown into the next Call of Duty while working on this affected development of this game negatively.