In a mammoth hands-on session with Gameloft today we got a first look and hands-on with Spiderman for iPhone…Called Ultimate Spiderman: Total Mayhem, it is an action brawler based on the animated series from Marvel. Presented in full 3D with cartoon-like graphics (think Crackdown), you play as the web-slinging hero through linear levels, saving hostages from the clutches of famous spidey villains such as Sandman.
At first look I thought it was using the same engine as Iron Man, but as that game was more open world and free-roaming, it isn’t. Of course it does share the tried and tested thumbstick for movement as well as context sensitive action buttons for various moves. Chained together you can pull off some seriously awesome kill moves, 18 in all, including grappling enemies with your web and swinging them around like an olympic hammer event. You can build up a power meter, which when full can unleash a massive kill attack, taking out all enemies in the viscinity.
Interestingly the camera is not free to control, instead opting for an auto camera system. However, in our playtest it never hindered us. As expected the game allows for some web swinging mechanics, though don’t expect free roaming… instead it’s used to jump large areas or holes. When needed you can jump and then tap the web icon to grapple onto lamp posts and such to swing.
Spiderman impressed us with its no messing brawler action. Look for it to hit the AppStore later this summer.
