RETRO REBOOT | Spider: The Video Game (Sony PlayStation)

Not to nitpick immediately in my introductory, but why exactly is it titled that way? As opposed to Spider: The Musical, or Spider: The Anti-inflammatory? It’s like Slugs The Movie, nobody will confuse it with any other previous work, so the subtitle comes off a tad deflating. Maybe I'm counting my blessings, it could've contained overused surname devices like "Resurrection", or "Dark Requiem". But for now, let’s talk about the video game, Spider…The Video Game.

Developed by Boss Game Studios in 1997, Spider was a bit of a shift for the company who has previously worked on a majority of racing games, notably Top Gear Rally. Spider was their only foray into platform game developing. After the success of early 3D platform titles like Super Mario 64 and Tomb Raider, programming teams usually made two decisions; attempt to follow in the footsteps of aforementioned titles and meet with great success (the Spyro series), or horrible abominations (Bubsy 3D). Or stick with the near foolproof formula of traditional 2D side scrolling utilizing 3D rendered backgrounds and/or characters (Pandemonium and Tomba!).

Spider is a little underwhelming as an action platformer, but there's a kernel of a cool idea here. At the time, more impressive games were available and this one got severely overlooked, there's a chance this one may have glazed by your eyes on a Funcoland shelf.

Like Clockwork Knight and Cool Spot, I really like it when a game makes objects to scale when playing as a small or shrunken down character. While Spider doesn’t boast the same vibrant visuals as Clockwork Knight, what is really impressive is that all the objects and character models are fully rendered in real-time. It's early CGI, so not only did it look rough for its time, but it's aged poorly like many games around these dark ages. Super blocky, though it retains a charm.

Nevertheless, the rendered environments and levels look pretty sweet and stylish, almost comic book-like. The spider model looks cool for its time, though I am not sure what species it’s supposed to be. In game it looks like a tarantula, yet the manual art depicts something that looks a little closer to a Sydney Funnel Web, admittedly the angle can be misinterpreted. A generic "spider", of sorts.

As you find weapon power-ups, Spider becomes more and more metallic, and the silver look rocks. The camera follows you from a side scrolling perspective, occasionally alternating to a first-person angle, catering to the third dimension. While the camera can obstruct your view from time to time, only seldom this has led to me dying or taking damage. If anything, I believe the camera is too close to Spider, and that kind of cripples how fast you want to move. Using Mega Man as an example, he takes up maybe 8% of the total screen (measuring on a 10×10 grid using his hit box), leaving more visual flexibility to plan your selected path of travel, position of enemies and obstacles. Spider is slightly bigger than Mega Man, but not by much, and the angle is zoomed in too close to allow that same freedom. I would have to constantly pace myself once I got to an unexplored area, because my haste would lead to a bat dropping bombs on my head!

Spider’s controls are pretty solid. He moves very quickly and gets good elevation on jumps, so at no real point during my playthrough did I feel bogged down by sloppy mechanics like some sluggish platformers (Circus Caper), where every jump was a bleeding chore. The ability to climb on nearly everything is a great advantage, but it is too bad that this game was too old to be Dual Shock compatible, which came out later that calendar year in 1997. This game could really have benefitted from the use of an analog stick. Spider can use a web thread to descend downward, but I never really found much use for this, since the web thread is not very long.

Best utilized when getting an extra life that is barely out of reach. I remember reading the early specs on this game before it was finished that you would have the ability to eat your foes to regain health, and that could be awesome. That didn’t make to the final version, so instead, enjoy the one or two health power-ups each stage will provide you. Sucks, because two hits and it’s right back to the very beginning of the stage!! Not even a health increase for an extra hit, and you will take a lot of cheap hits in this game.

It also is too bad that the arachnid theme isn't particularly utilized to much extent. Climbing obstacles is neat and all, but you could swap out the spider for Buzz Lightyear or even just a generic commando, and it would be about the same level of creative expression with gameplay.

Speaking of cheap hits, Spider’s arsenal of semi-useful weaponry!! He has flamethrowers, heat-guided missiles, a defensive electro shock, a handy boomerang (my favorite, since it’s the only weapon that doesn’t have a limit), and a poison spray, to name a few. Why I say that they are semi-useful? Because while what you get in terms of ammunition, it sometimes isn’t really worth the hassle, and mostly come in handy when dispatching wasps and other airborne enemies. The standard attack is pretty weak, and takes some practice to utilize without putting yourself in harm's way. And there aren't enough weapon drops as the game progresses, so it gets very demanding when it's time for boss fights.

Spider has a perfectly good game engine, solid levels, decent music, and sweet visuals for its time. But the game hampered a by just how utterly generic the overall package is, in the big scheme. You don’t get much of a character to care about in Dr. Kelly, enemies are rather lifeless and forgettable, and there is just so much missed potential of being able to play as an arachnid.

If at any point in your gaming tenure you decided to give this one a play, what could be found is a moderately good PlayStation platformer without much identity or flare. If you passed it up, you didn’t miss a super gem, but a pretty interesting idea that makes me miss aspects of this gaming era. Devs just had off-the-wall concepts in the mid-90's that would fit great with indie comics.