Mobile gaming giant Gameloft has been quite successful with its mobile games based on Marvel film properties, including Captain America: The Winter Soldier, The Amazing Spider-Man 1 and 2, and Iron Man 3. It also happens to have published Despicable Me: Minion Rush, one of the better 3D endless runners out there. So what happens when we combine both things?
Spider-Man Unlimited, it turns out. Gameloft has just announced that Spider-Man Unlimited will be coming to iOS, Android, and Windows Phone this September. Based on the Spider-Man comics universe instead of films (and named after an older cartoon series), the new game looks both action-packed and filled with costumes and villains from Spider-Man lore. Check out the announcement trailer, high resolution screenshots, and our analysis after the break!
Endless slinger?
The first question you have to ask about a Spider-Man endless runner: doesn’t Spidey do more web slinging than running? Sure he does, and he’ll be doing plenty of both in Spider-Man Unlimited. So far we’ve seen Spidey running across New York city rooftops, battling jetpack-equipped foes, and collecting yellow vials that probably serve as the game’s soft currency (i.e. coins). It’s too early to say what the vials contain, but probably not Mountain Dew.
Spider-Man will also sling through the city and iconic locations such as the Daily Bugle building. Some of the web slinging in the trailer appears to be cinematic in nature, probably along the lines of the jumping tricks that break up level segments in Sega’s Sonic Dash. But at other times, players definitely control the webhead as he moves through the air from a behind-the-back perspective. Spider-Man will have to dodge lasers and other obstacles during these segments as he chases after foes like the Green Goblin.
Unlimited definitely has a combat mechanic. Our hero will have to punch a variety of goons who work for the game’s mysterious primary foe. And he’ll do battle with several famous supervillains, including the Green Goblin, The Vulture, and (ugh) Electro. The superheroic combat and boss battles should help Spider-Man Unlimited appeal to core gamers and comic fans.
Spidey suits and villains galore
Another exciting aspect of Unlimited is that it won’t be based on a film like most of Gameloft’s recent Marvel and DC-licensed games. Not that Amazing Spider-Man 2 was restricted to using elements from the film of the same name (Venom appears in the game for instance), but the new game really embraces Spidey’s comic book origins.
The plot involves a dimensional rift opened by the malevolent Sinister Six. Instead of simply equipping different Spidey suits from throughout the character’s history, these different versions of Spider-man actually meet up with each other. We see traditional Spider-Man shaking hands with stealth suit Spider-Man, with several more Spider-Men showing up to help out with the fight. I caught the Iron Spider, Cosmic Spider-Man, Bag Man, and Ben Reilly. Do you guys recognize the rest of the team? In total, Gameloft promises 23 Spider-men for fans to collect and upgrade – the most any game has ever offered!
Team Spider-Man will have three “narrative-driven issues” to play through, so perhaps Unlimited really will have more story than the average endless running game. Although Gameloft hasn’t revealed the full Sinister Six roster just yet, we do know that multiple versions of each villain will enter the fray. Green Goblin shows up in his traditional comic costume (which looks better than designs used in either of the movie series), and The Vulture in his newer red and black outfit. But the trailer teases color variants for both criminals as well.
Spider-Man Unlimited is due out in early September 2014 for iPhone, iPad, Android, and Windows Phone. The Windows Phone versions of Gameloft titles have been arriving about a month after other platforms, so we’ll see how that goes. Mobile Nations will have more Spider-Man Unlimited coverage during E3 next week!
