Alien Spidy (XBLA): "An Intergalactic Web Swinger"

Alien Spidy is a simple yet complex arcade platformer. It utilizes simple controls, and challenging gameplay to entertain the player. At the heart of the game is a brief story that is brought to life through a cinematic 3D intro. This visually interesting tale of space exploration, and a lost love ultimately begins with a line of dialogue that all science fiction fans will recognize. This line of course is none other than the one that starts off every "Star Wars" movie (In a galaxy far, far away ...). Within the 3D spectacle that is the intro the gamer will catch a glimpse of the game's protagonist, 'Spidy' as he waves goodbye to his female companion who is headed to planet Earth. After monitoring her progress for a short while (via an intergalactic control panel) he finds that his female friend has crash landed on the intended destination. In a panic Spidy hops aboard a spaceship, and zooms out into space after her. With a quick, and humorous nod towards the camera Spidy shuttles off towards Earth in hopes of rescuing his lost loved one. This my friends is where the story ends, and the game begins.

As I mentioned earlier "Alien Spidy" is a simple yet complex platformer. The controls play a major role in overall gameplay, and consists of four simple controls. To move Spidy in the game the (Left Thumbstick) is a must. Unfortunately the DPad doesn't work in the game even though it's a 2D platformer. As you can imagine there's also some gameplay mechanics that involve web swinging. This is done with the (Right Thumbstick). You simply tilt the required thumbstick in the direction you wish the web to shoot. To jump in the game you will have to press the (A) button. Timing your jumps properly is a very tedious, but necessary part of the core gameplay. If you should mess up at any point in a level/stage you can press (Y), and it will warp you back to the beginning of the area.

I know you're wondering what "Alien Spidy" is all about at this point, so I'll explain it to the best of my ability ...

Alien Spidy, in layman's terms is a 2D platformer with a next-gen appearance. The goal, or aim of the game is to make it from start to finish in each, and every one of the game's levels (69 stages, 3 Levels). This includes the training, standard, special, and final levels. There are a total of three main levels in the game which include the "Forest", "Pond", and "Caves". As the gamer it is your job to take control of Spidy, and use the previously mentioned controls to swing, and jump your way through each stage while collecting orb-like objects. There are a wide variety of point orbs, and power-ups that can be gathered within each given level by simply jumping, or swinging into them. Collecting orbs will either gain you points, or deduct your points based on the type, and color of the orb. As a gamer you definitely need to keep in mind that the game is score based. As such collecting as many of the objects as possible is a very important deal.

The stages in each of the levels (i.e., 1-1) are littered with point orbs (otherwise known as "Objects"), point markers, and check points. As you progress through a stage you will collect orbs in sequence to the best of your ability. This can be done by swinging from certain objects (ladybugs, branches, ceilings, flowers ...) into the orbs, or by simply walking or jumping into them. Collecting multiple orbs in a row will score you increasingly more points. This is a good thing to keep in mind, because scoring high, and finishing a stage with a high score will allow you to complete one of the current stage's five star challenges. Completing each of the five star challenges will ultimately require that you earn a certain point total at stage completion. You can always go back, and try to earn the stars again if you like via the main menu map.

The point markers I mentioned are located sporadically in each stage of "Alien Spidy", and are basically color coded stationary circles that judge how well you did with your object collecting during certain portions of a stage. The circle will turn anywhere from blue (good) to red (poorly) depending on how well you did while collecting the objects/orbs. If you died, or had to respawn the color will be one of the poorer colors after you pass by it. The more yo fail the poorer the color  you will receive. In a slightly similar fashion there are arrow signs located at various parts of a stage which will allow to respawn at that point if you happen to die by hitting one of the many environmental hazards. One thing I forgot to mention is that as time progresses your points will gradually deplete. If you die, or respawn your earned points will deplete more significantly. The time factor along with the number of respawns are ultimately tallied up at the end of each stage completion, and are deducted from your overall score accordingly. This in turn effects whether or not you have met the requirements for a completed challenge, and an earned star.

About the stages ...

The stages, and levels in "Alien Spidy" are complex platform oriented areas that require quick maneuvering, and reflexes. You'll find that there are only certain areas on branches, and ceilings that you can attach your web to. Certain things like flowers, stationary ladybugs, and hanging fruits can also be used to swing from. Aside from the obvious swinging objects you'll also find that it's necessary to push, and interact with certain blocks, or other moveable objects located within the stages. Getting past certain creatures such as the carnivorous bats, and one-eyed gorillas will require that you use nearby hanging fruits to distract them. As far as the hazards go you can die by running into thorns, falling into water, hitting certain creatures, or even by running into poisonous mushrooms. These are all things you have to keep in mind while trying to achieve that highest score.

Speaking of highest score ... Alien Spidy offers one of the most detailed leaderboard systems I've seen in an Xbox 360 game. It is divided up into six sub-sections which include "Overall Game" progress, "Environment" categories, "Levels", "Overall Scores", "My Scores", and "Friends". Navigating through this complex system mainly requires the use of the four shoulder buttons, but searches can be narrowed down using the (X) button. Another cool feature is the "Statistics" section that can be found at the game's main menu. This feature gives details on all of your in-game progress. At the top of the "Statistics" feature you'll find your "Total Score" which is a collective score base on your entire progress. You'll also find the total number of respawns you've used as well as the total number of levels played. The more interesting features in the "Statistics" include the completion percentages of the various level types (Training, Standard, Special, Final), and star collections (1 - 5) percentages. The fact that the game has "Downloadable Content" also listed in the main menu is purely icing on the cake.

Now onto the verdict ...

This game is a hard one to judge. It has a lot of things that make a game great such as impressive visuals, unique gameplay, and "potentially" high replay value. Where it fails though is the actual control sensitivity. Often times when pressing the jump button there will be a significant delay in the onscreen action. This of course results in repetitive unnecessary deaths. I also found that the web hit detection was a bit hit, or miss. The game required you to hit the swinging objects at precise places. Often times this resulted in missed orb gathering opportunities. It also made it very difficult to complete any of the 5 star challenges. I will say though that I was able to do some 4 star challenges. Considering all of this, the potentially high replay value is somewhat dumbed down due to the precise nature of how the developer expects a player to complete a stage. If the jumping, and web swinging were more consistent, and effective the game might actually be enjoyable. A game that uses control sensitivity, and precisely timed control input requirements will often times fail among the gaming community due to the aggravation it causes.

With that being said "Alien Spidy" is not all that bad of a game. With a few patches, and tweaks it could live up to it's potential. The fact that there is "Downloadable Content" listed is definitely a plus. I'm actually curious to see if Kalypso Digital Media (the developer) will add some more levels, or even more playable characters (Spidy's Girlfriend perhaps?). If you don't mind a difficult challenge, and are looking for a cool arcade style platformer then "Alien Spidy" might just be what you are looking for. I for one am not totally impressed. As I've said in other reviews I cannot stand unnecessary challenges in a game. Games like the "Impossible Game", or "Platformer From Hell" are the kind of games that send me into a cussing frenzy. That is me though. I know there are some gamers out there who enjoy such a challenge, and would probably love this game. I'll leave it at that though. In the end you'll have to figure out whether, or not you are up for a truly challenging gaming experience.

MSP: 800

ACHIEVEMENTS: 25