Problems with Spider-Man: Friend or Foe
Marvel's wall-crawling, superhero Spider-Man is a comic-book icon and has appeared in many mediums, from television and movies to books and video games. "Spider-Man: Friend or Foe" is one of the many video games to feature the adventures of everyone's favorite web-slinger. Combining stylish-action, web-slinging powers and tongue-in-cheek humor, "Spider-Man: Friend or Foe" can be a fun game, but it is bugged with many problems that cut into overall enjoyment.
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Spider-Man: Friend or Foe
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The game finds Spider-Man being contacted by S.H.I.E.L.D director Nick Fury to help figure out who is brainwashing super-villains with the use of pieces from the same meteor that gave Spider-Man his black, symbiotic suit. As Spider-Man, you team up with fellow crime-fighters like Black Cat and Iron Fist to defeat the super-villains and eventually fight the mastermind.
The problem with these team-ups is that, even though you get to switch between Spider-Man and his partner whenever you want, the partner's abilities are extremely limited. As the story progresses and more allies come to aid Spidey, it's easy to feel cheated, since you can't enjoy playing your favorite super-heroes or even the villains the same way as you can with Spider-Man, so there is little reason to make the switch.
Multiplayer and Online
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The concept behind "Spider-Man: Friend or Foe" would have made for excellent multiplayer action, much like other team-based, Marvel video games like "Marvel Ultimate Alliance" and "X-Men Legends." But this one falls short because of the limited abilities of the other playable characters. There also is no online multiplayer gameplay, which is extremely distressing considering the nature of the game. The lack of multiplayer online gameplay limits the replay value of the title.
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Difficulty
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The game has only one difficulty level, which is apparently set at easy. The lack of extra difficulties also lessens the replay value. According to the Internet Gaming Network (IGN) review of the game written by Ryan Geddes, the gameplay is so easy that when playing a two-player game, a single attack button allowed for sailing easily through the level. In another case, Geddes was playing with another player and the two chose the island-themed level, in which the gameplay takes place on top of a cliff where wave after wave of enemies, known as Phantoms, spawn. The players left the game to run on its own for 30 minutes, only to return to see that not only were their characters still alive, but all of the enemies had killed themselves, apparently by falling off the cliff.
Graphics and Control
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The game uses a type of cell-shaded graphics that provide a stylish look, but fall short in delivery. The levels and enemies have similar designs, with only slight differences as you play from location to location. The PlayStation 2 and Wii versions seemed to run slower than the PC and Xbox 360 games and the graphics for these versions appear fuzzy and with jagged edges. The game also suffers from camera control issues. Characters are known to disappear behind blind walls and textures.
Tech-Tokens
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The game allows the player to collect tech-tokens by defeating enemies and breaking objects, then use them to upgrade abilities, making their characters stronger. Players also lose tokens when they die. Although this seems like a great option to intensify gameplay, it isn't, since gameplay is so easy that upgraded abilities aren't necessary, especially considering that they can't be used in boss battles. Players also have unlimited lives, so the loss of the tokens when you die makes little sense, since you don't lose any progress.
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