Is it worth it?

How many topics with this very question have I seen on this game? Across the many gaming message boards across the internet, I must have seen this thread topic a hundred times.

In every one of them, the only thing you will find is warring posts between people who love the game, and people who hate the game. Ive seen opinions posted about the game that I cant believe were posted seriously. Just unbelievable commentary about how bad they felt the game was. On the other hand, Ive seen posts put forward that overly glorify what the game is. None of these threads ever offered anything helpful toward someone who was looking at buying the game.

The bottom line is this. I cant tell you if this game is going to be worth 65 bucks to you. Nobody can.

Some players need stunning graphics. Some players need ultimate control. Some players need to be pushed to the brink of their gaming abilities. And some players just want something that gives them a way to kill an eventless afternoon. The opinions of this game are going to vary by what combination of gamer you are.

The question you should be asking, is how much information do I need before I commit to this game? There are several gameplay videos out there on youtube and other media channels for you to look at. You can basicly view the entire game, watching someone else play if you wanted. Video reviews are available if you put stock in what is basicly a glorified message board post. The opinion of a player, put into video form. Professional reviewers arent any different than you or me. They play the game and say what they think, based on how the game suited their specific needs as a gamer.

You could drop 8 bucks on a rental and play it for yourself if youre unsure. This is ALWAYS my recommendation if youre on the fence. Its much easier to lose 8 bucks and some time, than to lose 65. You play the game for yourself and you MAKE YOUR OWN JUDGEMENT.

There's one other type of gamer out there that I have trouble understanding. The gamer that needs to feel like his purchase was justified, by having OTHER PEOPLE say that the game is good. Honestly, if you need this kind of reinforcement youre playing the games for the wrong reason.

Either you like the game, or you dont. It was worth your money, or you feel like you shouldve gotten more. What someone else thinks of the game should really have no bearing on your like or dislike of the game.

Am I going to enjoy this game less because Chirovette m2caldwell and Lavitz arent as happy with the game as I am? No. Im bummed about it because it would make for better discussions if they all thought it was as good as I did, but it doesnt make me believe that the game is any less than what I originally thought. Am I going to put the game aside because a troll over at IGN overanalyzes every single minute detail of the game and is on a crusade to stop people from purchasing the game? No.

You should never form your decision on whether or not to buy something based on the opinion of someone else, nor should you feel guilty or take less enjoyment from your game because a bunch of people arent saying good things about it.

Rent it, borrow it, buy it, whatever you need to do, but judge the game's worth for yourself.

quote Lavitz

Hey! I enjoyed it alright! I just wanted more!

I totally agree though, while opinions and grades can persuade you, ultimately they can't make up your mind on something. Nobody but yourself can EVER tell you what you like and dislike.

Absolutely correct. And despite my initial impressions of this game, I did come to appreciate it much more by the end. Brilliant graphics, and once I got used to the subtleties of the combat system I really enjoyed it. I fully agree with The Stinger's assessment that the free flow in this game is more akin to the combat from Arkham Asylum than Arkham City; perhaps in a sequel we'll see it upgraded with some of those good ideas you had for quick-fire web attacks (at the very least, a web-yank to disarm thugs should be in there, as it really feels like a glaring omission to not have it in this game).

Is this my favorite Spidey game? Probably not. While the game is very good, and the webswinging coupled with web rush can make for some very cool visuals of Spidey doing tricks like running along the top of a bus, bouncing off flag poles and such, the swinging still feels very slow to me, especially after revisiting Web of Shadows over the last couple of days. There's a certain...elasticity....to the webslinging in WoS that ASM lacks; hitting the A button (X for PS3) in WoS for a speed boost at the bottom of a swing, then being flung way the hell up in the air like a you've been fired from a slingshot...well, that's just BOSS, and as cool as some of the web-rush animations in ASM are, I can pull off some pretty sweet moves using LB to wall-run in WoS, and I have wall jump to boot, not to mention a sweet web-zip too...it all just feels much more organic in Web of Shadows. Try it, you'll see. None of this means Amazing doesn't have some great webswinging; I just prefer the other.

Honestly though, I would have bought this game even if everyone here had hated it, simply because it was a return to the free-roaming Spider-man that I love, which brings me to my only real complaint, which is the lack of any random street crime after the story is complete. Now, in fairness, Web of Shadows didn't have anything after the story was finished either, but then again, WoS just plain ENDED after the story, so there was no continued free roam anyway. By contrast, Spider-man 2, Spider-man 3, and Ultimate Spider-man still had random street crimes happening after their stories ended. It seems like it should have been so easy for Beenox to have the muggings, car chases, rooftop snipers, and police standoffs continue to randomly pop-up after the story was complete; it would have been great to be able to protect the city with my fully-upgraded Spidey. Instead, I have only an empty city to swing around in, unless I want to replay the very linear story missions. Again, this game parallels Arkham Asylum more than Arkham City in that respect; at the end of Asylum we were left with a fully upgraded Batman running around an empty asylum with nothing to do. Of course, Rocksteady learned from this mistake and in Arkham City, there's still plenty of thugs to trounce after the game has ended, and even some of the stealth areas repopulate so Batman can keep revisiting them. Not to mention New Game+ ! It really would have been great to start Amazing Spider-man all over again with a fully upgraded Spider-man, facing faster, tougher enemies...but No!

I mentioned this other nitpick in another thread, and I was hoping Chirovette would chime in, since he's our resident New Yorker...anyway, I remember reading some developer interview before ASM came out, and they were saying that this game would boast "the most detailed, fully realized New York City ever featured in a Spider-man game". Personally, I think that turned out to be bullshit...sure, major landmarks like the Empire State building, the Chrysler building, and a few others are there, but for the most part the city seems very generic and small to me, whereas in Spider-man 2 and even Spider-man 3, there seemed to be dozens of recognizable landmarks, all in the proper location and proportion. Even comics-based Web of Shadows, despite its omission of the Chrysler building, seems to be a more accurate version of NYC than what Beenox gave us. Any thoughts, ChiroVette?

m2caldwell I think Chirovette mentioned something earlier about going on a cruise, which could explain his absence.

I just made this topic after reading some complete meltdowns in discussions about whether or not the game was worth the money, and they devolved into two or three posters defending the game so savagely it was as if the game were like their dying mother on the side of the road against another two or three that were putting every flaw the game has under a microscope.

One side was doing everything it could to convince the other that the game was great. When the other side wouldnt agree and slammed the game for it's shortcomings with the equivalent force of swatting a fly with a rocket launcher, then the flames began. All the while Im thinking, "what does it even matter if they like the game or not?" Provide your information as to why the game is worth it to the person asking, and if you feel like you need to, make your counterpoint against their complaints but after that.....you just have to let it go.

Most all of the "is it worth it" topics are all just worthless pages of people flaming the crap out of each other for not having the same point of view. How anyone could come to a decision on whether or not to buy this game based on that drivel is beyond me.

I also see a lot of comments like "Ill wait for the reviews before I decide if I want to try it." I cannot fathom how crappy it must be to go through your life letting the opinion of someone else decide whether or not you choose to experience something at all.

Ill look at reviews for games and movies to see what they have to say, but in no way do I allow that to influence whether or not I go to see it for myself. The only time that Im influenced by another opinion is by those close to me that have either known me for several years, or have very very similar tastes.

Youre not likely to find that on an internet message board.

Really like alot of the movement mechanics in this new Spidey game. The web rush was a great improvement to get the true spiderman feeling but sometimes it felt clunky when trying to make small adjustments to land in a confined space.