Marvel's Avengers is no stranger to introducing heroes with movesets that separate themselves from their contemporaries in unique ways. For example, while Captain American and Black Panther are both essentially super-soldiers, T'Challa fights more flexibly and with greater agility than Steve. The same can also be said for the game's latest addition, Spider-Man, who has a unique selection of abilities and moves unlike anything seen in the game yet.
As Spider-Man, players can use webs to take to the skies or deliver devastating web-yank and immobilization moves on enemies. Combined with the character's Spider-Sense, he becomes a dangerous, web-slinging opponent who's as untouchable as he is strong. But for longtime fans of the character, particular moves are incredibly similar to attacks and movements from past Spider-Man titles.
The most important part in adapting a character like Spider-Man is to deliver on the character's web-swinging abilities. Since most of the maps are either indoors or in large rural areas, Marvel's Avengers lets the character swing freely in any location thanks to a glass ceiling. With no buildings holding the wall-crawler back, this also helps set up devastating combos and get to distant places with ease. However, the glass ceiling mechanic has also been seen in some of the character's earliest 3D titles. It's most recognized in 1999's Spider-Man for the PS1 and N64. However, it's also appeared in 2002's Spider-Man movie tie-in for the PS2, Xbox GameCube and PC. But rather than completely mirror those older mechanics, this version is much more fluid and flexible.
Combat, for Spidey, has also been tailored to the style of the game by giving the character access to support, heroic and ultimate abilities. For his ultimate attack, Wrecking Ball, Spidey takes a massive web ball and slams it on the ground, covering enemies in the area with webbing. The move can also be modified to allow Spidey to have webbed gloves that add a damage boost to the character's attacks. Web Gloves are another classic power-up from the Spider-Man PS1 and movie tie-in. But rather than use an ultimate move, the Web Gloves were available so long as there's enough webbing. The Wrecking Ball is also similar to a web-based attack in Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, where the Amazing version of Spidey picks up debris with his webbing and slams it back to the ground with a web tether.
Like Shattered Dimensions, web combat is a significant factor for the character in Marvel's Avengers. However, players use Spidey's skills to immobilize and pull enemies to and from rather than make web constructs. Spidey can also use his webbing to create web bombs and fire web bullets to maintain distance. These skills can also be found as gadgets in Marvel's Spider-Man, which help take out enemies quickly and efficiently. Similar strategies can likely be applied to Avengers as players do whatever a spider can. Another skill borrowed from Marvel's Spider-Man is the Spider-Drone. But this version can be customized to fit the player's style better.
Spider-Man looks to be an exciting addition to Marvel's Avengers with moves that will make a mark on the roster while being separate from all that's come before. By nodding to previous iterations of the character's combat, it also shows how the character's history continues to grow. But Spidey also lives on through the various improvements and callbacks from past versions of the character. Now, by joining Marvel's Avengers, Spidey will offer a version of the character that acts as the perfect blend of the past and the present and will hopefully impact his future.
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