Spider-Man: Edge of Time

Spider-Man: Edge of Time is a 2011 video game developed by Beenox, based on the superhero Spider-Man. The game was directed by Gerard Lehiany. The story, written by Peter David, Ramiro Belanger and Gérard Lehiany, revolves around both Peter Parker, the original Spider-Man, and Miguel O'Hara, Spider-Man 2099, as they combat a new threat across space and time and attempt to save both of their realities. The game is a sequel to 2010's Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, although Spider-Man Noir and Ultimate Spider-Man are not featured, only mentioned.

Spider-Man: Edge of Time
Developer(s)Beenox
Other Ocean Interactive (DS)
Publisher(s)Activision
Writer(s)Peter David[1][2][3]
Composer(s)Gerard Marino
Platform(s)
Release
Genre(s)Action-adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

Gameplay contains a "cause-and-effect" system in which one Spider-Man's actions will affect the other and vice versa. It was released on October 4 in North America and on October 14, 2011 in Europe. Edge of Time is the second Spider-Man title to be developed by Beenox, after Shattered Dimensions, and the first one released since Activision and Marvel's decision to make Beenox their lead developer on future Spider-Man games. Spider-Man: Edge of Time, along with most other games published by Activision that had used the Marvel license, was de-listed and removed from all digital storefronts on January 1, 2014.[6][7]

Gameplay

Spider-Man: Edge of Time is a linear third-person action-adventure video game, where the player assumes the two versions of Spider-Man, spanning across the traditional Marvel Comics universe and the futuristic 2099 universe; the game automatically switches between the two Spider-Men. Gameplay is similar to Shattered Dimensions: players can web swing, web zip, crawl walls, and use the 'spider-sense' to identify enemies or objects of interest. The Spider-Man 2099 free falling sections from Shattered Dimensions also return, as does the upgrade system; XP is earned from completing various challenges with each Spider-Man, and can be used to purchase new fighting moves, increase stats, or unlock alternate costumes. Both Spider-Men have a new exlcusive ability: the original Spider-Man (Peter Parker) has a "hyper-sense" mode, allowing him move quickly, pulverize enemies one at a time or run through elaborate laser defence systems without getting hurt; Spider-Man 2099 (Miguel O'Hara), meanwhile, can create a fake simulation of himself to divert an enemy, to either attack without them noticing or to move to another area unharmed while their attack destroys something in front of him, such as a highly secure lock.[8]

Plot

The game begins with Peter Parker/Spider-Man battling Anti-Venom, who kills him. Rewinding back to the beginning of the event, in the year 2099, Miguel O'Hara/Spider-Man 2099 investigates Alchemax scientist Walker Sloan. While spying on him, O'Hara discovers Sloan plans to travel back in time to establish Alchemax years before its time, allowing him to rebuild the company in his own image and dismantle its corporate rivals before they are even established. O'Hara arrives just as Sloan enters his Gateway, but jumps through the portal too late to stop him. Trapped in the portal, he sees visions of the original Spider-Man being killed (though not by who), before being spit back into 2099. O'Hara (unaffected due to being trapped in the portal) discovers Sloan's interference has turned New York City to a horrifying dystopia, and uses Peter Parker's DNA, stored within the company's archives, to create a chronal link with him, back in the present.[lower-alpha 1] Parker, now working for Alchemax in the genetics department instead of the Daily Bugle, is warned about his death on the 66th floor. However, he refuses to obey O'Hara's orders to flee and travels to the 66th floor to stop the potential killer psycho.

During their conversations, the two Spider-Men discover the wormhole between their timelines has created a 'quantum causality field', with the result being that actions taken in the past automatically change the future; an example being Spider-Man destroying a force field generator resulting in a force field blocking Spider-Man 2099's path in the future being replaced by robot sentries. Traveling to the 66th floor, Spider-Man finds himself confronted by Anti-Venom, Sloan, and Alchemax' head scientist, Dr. Otto Octavius. Spider-Man battles Anti-Venom, who drains his powers to the point of death. Before Anti-Venom can kill him, O'Hara pulls Parker through the Gateway and places him in a containment unit to heal, while he travels to the past and defeats Anti-Venom, breaking the chip that allowed Sloan to control him. Furious at Sloan's abuse, Anti-Venom attacks him and Octavius, sending all three of them through the Getaway, which destabilizes the time portal and leaves the two Spider-Men stuck in each other's time periods.

While attempting to fix the Getaway, the Spider-Men are attacked by tentacles appearing out of nowhere, and experience their own series of strange events, such as O'Hara saving Mary Jane Watson from a near-death situation, and Parker encountering several clones of Black Cat, whom he defeats. While investigating the company's central archives to work out how to repair the portal, Parker encounters his future self, who is still alive in 2099 thanks to an anti-aging drug and the CEO of Alchemax, and learns that he set up the entire crisis for his own ends. Eventually, the Spider-Men are able to fix the Getaway and return to their proper times, but something follows Parker to his: a large bloated creature with Anti-Venom's symbiote and Octavius' tentacles, which was created after Anti-Venom pushed himself, Octavius, and Sloan through the portal, and also attacked the Spider-Men earlier by opening small time portals with its tentacles.

After Parker lures this "Atrocity" into a trap and collects a DNA sample to learn its identity, O'Hara theorizes that forcing it back into the portal would disrupt and end the time storm. O'Hara is then contacted by the CEO Parker, who reveals his intentions to harness the quantum storm to rewrite his history and undo his past mistakes; remaking the entire universe in his image. While Parker battles Atrocity at the Getaway and throws it into the portal, O'Hara does the same with the CEO Parker; the resulting release of quantum energy collapsing the bridge and ending the time storm, which also reverses the changes brought about by Sloan and the CEO Parker, leaving no one but the Spider-Men with any memory of them. After Parker reveals that he now has memoriess of both of his lives, O'Hara gives him a lecture on time travel, ending the game.

Development and marketing
The four bonus pre-order costumes

Information on the game was first released at WonderCon on April 2, 2011.[9]

Customers who pre-ordered the game at GameStop got early access to bonus downloadable alternate costumes inspired from the Identity Crisis storyline,[10][11] while pre-orders from Amazon.com allowed the customer to unlock Spider-Man's Future Foundation costume for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions early in the game.[11][12] Customers who pre-ordered the game at Best Buy got early access to Spider-Man's Big Time costume.[11] The Spider-Man costume worn by Miles Morales, Peter Parker's successor in the Ultimate Universe, was also available.[13][14] The Spider-Armor,[15] Cosmic Spider-Man,[16] Cosmic Spider-Man 2099,[17] Iron Spider,[18] Secret War,[19] 1602 Spider-Man,[20] Scarlet Spider[21] and Negative Zone costumes can be unlocked, only if a player has a save game of Shattered Dimensions on their PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 or Wii.

Music

The original score music was written by Gerard Marino, lead composer of the God of War series. The PlayStation 3 is the only version to feature DTS surround sound.

Reception
Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic3DS: 50/100[22]
DS: 50/100[23]
PS3: 58/100[24]
WII: 62/100[25]
X360: 57/100[26]

Spider-Man: Edge of Time has received mixed reviews. McKinley Noble of GamePro highly criticized the game pointing out it ultimately doesn't live up to Shattered Dimensions, only giving Edge of Time a "fair" rating of 3 out of 5. Joystiq was more critical, giving the game 2.5/5 and criticizing Beenox's misuse of the Spider-Man character. IGN gave the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions a 4.5 out of 10,[27] but gave the Wii version a 6.0 and the Nintendo 3DS version a 5.5. GameSpot gave the game a 6 out of 10, saying that it "tells an enjoyably absurd time-hopping tale, but stepping into the tights of its two heroes doesn't feel as empowering as it should".[28] Game Informer gave it a 6.5, saying "Edge of Time is a major step back from the formula that worked."[29] Destructoid gave the game a 5 out of 10.[30] GameTrailers gave the game a 5.4 out of 10, praising the story and voice acting, but criticizing the repetition of the gameplay.[31]

Notes
  1. Peter's question if the "other me's" are in his head, suggests this takes place in the same continuity of Shattered Dimensions.

References
  1. Kato, Matthew. "Edge of Time", Game Informer, August 31, 2014
  2. Johnston, Rich. "Peter David Writes New Spider-Man Game, 'Edge of Time'", Bleeding Cool, August 31, 2014
  3. Siegel, Lucas. "Activision Announces PAD-Written SPIDER-MAN: Now in Pakistan", Newsarama, March 31, 2011
  4. Spider-Man: Edge of Time dated at Comic-Con, Spidey is Mr. October
  5. "Spider-Man: Edge of Time First Trailer & Screenshots". Marvel.com. April 4, 2011. Retrieved January 24, 2012.
  6. Chieng, Kevin. "Deadpool Currently Delisted From Steam [Update: PSN, XBL too; Includes Activision Marvel Titles]". GameTrailers. Retrieved January 3, 2014.
  7. Futter, Mike (January 1, 2014). "[Update] Deadpool And Other Marvel Games Disappear From Steam, Xbox Live, And PSN]". Game Informer. Retrieved January 3, 2014.
  8. Nelson, Mike. "Review: Spider-Man Edge of Time Traverses Mediocrity". 1up.com. Archived from the original on October 7, 2011. Retrieved January 24, 2012.
  9. Sinicki, Joe. "Activision announces Spiderman: Edge of Time" Blast, March 31, 2011
  10. "GameStop Wreaks Havok on the X-Men, Gives Spider-Man an Identity Crisis". Kotaku.com. July 12, 2011. Retrieved January 24, 2012.
  11. "Spider-Man: Edge of Time Retailer Exclusive Bonus Suits Trailers". Thehdroom.com. September 18, 2011. Retrieved January 24, 2012.
  12. Amazon.com Spider-Man: Edge of Time Product Page Spider-Man: The Edge of Time (PS3)
  13. "'Spider-Man: Edge of Time' And 'Super Hero Squad Online' Get The Ultimate Costume Of Miles Morales". Comicsalliance.com. Archived from the original on January 25, 2012. Retrieved January 24, 2012.
  14. SuperHeroHype (September 14, 2011). "New Ultimate Suit Available In Spider-Man: Edge Of Time". Superherohype.com. Retrieved January 24, 2012.
  15. "Suit Unlock: Spider-Armor". Herohq.com. September 28, 2011. Archived from the original on September 29, 2011. Retrieved January 24, 2012.
  16. "Suit Unlock: Cosmic Spider-Man". Herohq.com. October 3, 2011. Archived from the original on January 6, 2012. Retrieved January 24, 2012.
  17. "SUIT UNLOCK: COSMIC SPIDER-MAN 2099". Herohq.com. October 3, 2011. Archived from the original on January 6, 2012. Retrieved January 24, 2012.
  18. "Suit Unlock: Iron Spider". Herohq.com. September 29, 2011. Retrieved January 24, 2012.
  19. "Suit Unlock: Secret War". Herohq.com. September 30, 2011. Retrieved January 24, 2012.
  20. "SUIT UNLOCK: 1602". Herohq.com. October 2, 2011. Archived from the original on January 6, 2012. Retrieved January 24, 2012.
  21. "Suit Unlock: Scarlet Spider". Herohq.com. October 1, 2011. Archived from the original on October 10, 2011. Retrieved January 24, 2012.
  22. "Spider-Man: Edge of Time for 3DS Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
  23. "Spider-Man: Edge of Time for DS Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
  24. "Spider-Man: Edge of Time for PlayStation 3 Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
  25. "Spider-Man: Edge of Time for Wii Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
  26. "Spider-Man: Edge of Time for Xbox 360 Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
  27. "Review: Spider-Man: Edge of Time (360/PS3)". Webcitation.org. Archived from the original on December 1, 2011. Retrieved January 24, 2012.
  28. Petit, Carolyn (October 4, 2011). "Spider-Man: Edge of Time Review – PS3". Gamespot.com. Retrieved January 24, 2012.
  29. "Spider-Man: Edge of Time The Great Locked Door Caper". Gameinformer.com. October 6, 2011. Retrieved January 24, 2012.
  30. "Review: Spider-Man: Edge of Time". Destructoid.com. Retrieved January 24, 2012.
  31. "Spider-Man: Edge of Time – Review Pod". Gametrailers.com. October 17, 2011. Retrieved January 24, 2012.
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