Spider-Man has had more video games than you can count. Many of these games have been of varying quality. Some have been great and really memorable, and some have been below average, frustrating, and memorable for the wrong reasons. Spider-Man Shattered Dimensions was released back in 2010, fourteen years ago, which is crazy. This game is the first Spidey game developed by Beenox, a development studio that made many Spidey games in the early 2010s.
Beenox was in charge of porting the PC version of the 2005 Ultimate Spider-Man game. That game is awesome. That’s an article for another day. Shattered Dimensions is an interesting case because it started this era of Beenox creating Spidey games. After Shattered Dimensions, they made Edge of Time, then the first two Amazing Spider-Man games, based on their movie counterparts. Those other games all vary from good to pretty miserable. Shattered Dimensions is easily the best game Beenox developed due to its creativity and impact on the character.
Shattered Dimensions’ Story
Shattered Dimensions had help in the writing department from some Spidey comic writers. Beenox needed all the help they could get because they were working with four completely different Spider-Men. The plot of Shattered Dimensions starts with Peter Parker, also known as the Amazing Spider-Man, fighting Mysterio in a museum. Mysterio is a classic Spidey villain, and their fight shifts the multiverse’s dimensions. Spidey ends up needing the help of three other Spideys from other realities.
This story feels very comic book-y, for lack of a better word. It’s fantastical, and the game loves its source material. The intro of the game is narrated by the late and great Stan Lee. Stan always had a very larger-than-life personality to him, and he added some gravitas and charm to the game. It feels like a celebration of the Spider-Man character, and that can be seen in the cast. These four Spideys in Shattered Dimensions are all voiced by four actors who have played him in various television shows.
Shattered Dimensions’ Heart
As I mentioned earlier, this game oozes love for the character. Neil Patrick Harris, who played Spider-Man in the 2003 MTV animated series, plays the main Spider-Man. Chris Daniel Barnes from the classic 90s show plays Spider-Man Noir. Dan Gilvezan plays Spidey 2099 from Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends. Lastly, Josh Keaton, from the cult-classic cartoon, The Spectacular Spider-Man, plays Ultimate Spider-Man. They didn’t have to do this, but it was wonderfully done and added so much charm to the game.
The four different Spider-Men all shine in this game. Amazing has a fun, web-focused combat style that focuses on his acrobatics. 2099 is fast-paced and can even slow down gameplay with his unique abilities. Noir is based around stealth, similar to the Batman Arkham Predator sections. Ultimate uses the symbiote to enter a rage mode, which is the ultimate power fantasy. The combat and level design is fun here. It can get repetitive, but the game is linear, not open-world. That helps the game feel unique in the pantheon of Spidey games since most are in Manhattan and take place in a roamable city.
Shattered Dimensions’ Impact
The most interesting part about Shattered Dimensions is its impact. Shattered Dimensions was one of the first mainstream moments when a Spider-Man story went multiversal. The only other time I could think of is in the 90s cartoon. Once this game came out in 2010, it was only a couple of years later that Dan Slott, a writer who helped with this game, would start the Spider-Verse event for the main comic run of The Amazing Spider-Man. Nowadays, there are projects like Into and Across the Spider-Verse.
These big-budget animated movies have done incredibly well, critically and financially. Without Shattered Dimensions, I guarantee you that these new comics and movies would not have happened. It’s so interesting since this game was quite humble and small. Shattered Dimensions didn’t have a budget like the later Insomniac-developed Spidey games. But it still was beloved by fans for its creativity and novelty. Shattered Dimensions still holds up to this day and is still a great love letter to the character.
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