(ThyBlackMan.com) Spider-Man was a true game of the year winner. It had everything that would make it a classic before time passed. The story was incredible and well-paced with some cool revelations. I also loved how these well-known characters had their stories changed a bit to fit in with the larger story. Graphically stunning and we even got dope costumes. Gameplay was tight for the action presented. It’s this gameplay that delivered five of the best fights in Spider-Man.
7. vs. Taskmaster
As I’ve mentioned before, Taskmaster is my favorite Marvel character and doesn’t get enough shine. It’s concerning really. The fight against him is a straight up battle of dodging and attacking at the right moment. That’s the case with most of these battles but since Taskmaster isn’t really superpowered or anything—he has peak athletic condition with photogenic reflexes—you’re not dodging blasts or having to web-sling to avoid this or that.
No, Taskmaster shows up wanting smoke and he’s willing throw hands. I loved this fight.
6. vs. The Kingpin
The first major battle you run into is against The Kingpin. This is basically where you learn to move and groove. It took me a few times to get everything right but once you did, you realize that The Kingpin was an incredible first boss. I mean, you’re not exactly lumping him up with your blows or anything. What he teaches is timing and paying attention to your surroundings in Spider-Man.
Most of the boss battles don’t involve crowd control but this one featured a few henchmen coming to The Kingpin’s aid. Some of them are actually taken out by his charging attacks but it’s all good. I would’ve ranked him higher but the other bosses actually give you a better fight since you would’ve fine-tuned your combat ability in the raids (my favorite part of the gameplay).
This is a basic fight once you get into the later ones. Still, The Kingpin belongs on the list.
5. vs. Mr. Negative: Final Round
Never mind the first fight with Mr. Li or any of the other fights. What you want is that last fight with him. It’s a doozy because you have to do crowd control. The thing about crowd control here is that, Mr. Negative’s goons are so annoying. They have a wide array of attacks and some can hit from a distance. Swinging around will help deal with them.
The big demon that Mr. Negative uses is actually easier than the goons, it just hits hard. Avoiding it and keeping space helps a lot as does timing when you hit it. As far as loses I’ve taken here: two.
4. vs. Rhino and Scorpion
I like the one-on-two fights in Spider-Man. You don’t have to worry about crowd control but you still have to be aware of your surroundings. In this fight, the one you had to worry about was Scorpion. Rhino is easier to deal with once you figure out how to deal with him. He moves faster than you think he would but swinging around and keeping enough distance to smoothly escape are key.
Scorpion can get in close and I’ve been caught a few times while trying to flee. The key to deal with him is to stay above and attack from a distance. Getting in close is good when he’s incapacitated but both of these guys are harder to deal with up close.
3. vs. Shocker
I lost several times doing this boss fight. While I have done battles in closed in spaces and dealing with mobs during raids is great practice for this, the Shocker fight confused me the first three times. I was wondering “What am I supposed to be doing?!” Then it finally clicked! Obviously, you have to avoid his area attacks which can really wipe you out.
By this point in the game, you’ll probably end up web-slinging a lot more to avoid stuff than just flipping and jumping about. The bank is the perfect place for Shocker to have the advantage since there’s really nowhere to run. You can get some distance but Shocker will close that quickly so you have to keep moving and swing whatever isn’t bolted down at him.
Luckily, the design for his battle actually had plenty of plunder to throw at him. If it was explained but there was nothing to web and throw, this would’ve been one of the harder battles in the game. And it wouldn’t be down to Shocker being a tough enemy but just poor stage design by Insomniac.
Luckily, this wasn’t the case at all!
2. vs. Doctor Octopus
The final fight in the game was the one I took the most loses on. It wasn’t the cinematic battle at the very end but trying not to get hit by Doc while swinging around and hitting him at just the right moment. Seriously, the progression of battles in this game was perfect because you have to use everything you’ve learned combat-wise to beat him.
You have to move, dodge, swing, throw, strike, web—you timing of buttons have to be at least B+. If you’re coming with B- or B-solid reflexes, you’re in for several loses. My reflexes aren’t anything to write home about—which is why I tend to stick with RPGs and strategy games.
I’d say that this is definitely the hardest fight in the game. You’d think it wouldn’t be since you can climb down the building a distance but Doctor Octopus really brings the heat to take you out. It was a four-death fight with Ock.
1. vs. Vulture and Electro
This was my favorite fight in the game. It had a decent amount of difficulty and was easy to figure out but I just had a blast with it. Part of it was the dizzying mid-air dodging and wide web-swinging necessary to pop Vulture and dodging Electro’s bolts! This fight along with the battle against Rhino and Scorpion had me wanting more of these one-on-two fights.
Hopefully we’ll get more of them if there’s a sequel to Spider-Man. The game’s ending left the possibility open and Spidey still has a lot of villains to fight. Oh, honorable mention goes to the raids against Sable International’s holding centers. Her men come heavily armed!
What were your favorite fights in the game?
Staff Writer; M. Swift
This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.