With the release of Insomniac’s Spider-Man 2 upon us, gamers are in a frenzy over Marvel’s favorite wall-crawler. But Peter Parker is no stranger to starring in blockbuster video games. Spider-Man has a long history in gaming that includes a few very popular releases across different console generations.
Although the latest Spider-Man adventure from Insomniac Games will have you swinging through New York City, their titles aren’t the only ones to get your spider sense tingling. What other Spider-Man games can you check out in between swinging sessions? If you’re a big fan of good ol’ web head, there are plenty of offerings you’ll want to check out when you have some downtime.
Here are five Spider-Man games that you’ll definitely want to swing into if you fancy yourself a Spider-Man fan!
The five must-play classic Spider-Man games
Spider-Man (PlayStation)
Most fans of Spider-Man who grew up in the 90s fondly remember the animated series that aired on television. Spider-Man: The Animated Series was the basis for many video games that featured the character—including Spidey’s first appearance on the original PlayStation.
If you were a fan of Marvel Comics and played video games, then you definitely came across Spider-Man on PlayStation. The game was most notable for its narration by Spider-Man creator and comic book legend Stan Lee. Who better to narrate a Spider-Man adventure than the man himself responsible for Spider-Man’s existence?
This Spider-Man game features many of the classic and popular villains from the animated series. You’ll face dangerous foes like the Scorpion, the Rhino, Mysterio, and Doctor Octopus in levels that have Spidey tackling many challenges. Whether you were taking out groups of enemies on rooftops or going one-on-one with a supervillain, it was incredibly fun to do so on the original PlayStation.
Maximum Carnage (SEGA Genesis, SNES)
The comic book run titled Maximum Carnage was a major event for Spider-Man fans around the world. Not only would Spidey team up with one of his most deadly enemies, Venom, but they’d face an even greater threat that brought in many familiar faces around the Marvel universe. The video game of the same name was a brawler that had you controlling both Spider-Man and Venom as they took to the streets to battle New York citizens gone mad under the influence of the chaotic and vicious Carnage.
Maximum Carnage is a very popular Spider-Man game that stood out for its red-colored cartridges on the SEGA Genesis and Super Nintendo. Marketing for the game had promos with a haunting image of Carnage over a red New York City.
While the game was challenging with its emphasis on fighting groups of thugs, it featured many cameos from other Marvel superheroes. Spider-Man received help from heroes like Captain America, Black Cat, the Iron Fist, and others. This was one of the web crawler’s biggest adventures during the 16-bit era.
Spider-Man 2 (PlayStation 2)
To superhero lovers, Spider-Man 2 is a legendary movie that impacted Hollywood significantly. The video game based on Spider-Man 2 is just as legendary as the film with how it changed the way we viewed Spider-Man in games.
This was the first major Spider-Man game release that let players swing through a fully 3D-rendered New York City as Spider-Man, which became a major influence to today’s Insomniac double. What better way to feel like Spidey than to shoot a web and swing between the highrise buildings of New York at your leisure?
While the game did feature aspects of the movie, Spider-Man 2 also included characters and scenarios that don’t appear in the story of the film. Spider-Man clashes with the Rhino in a few sequences, and eventually meets with Black Cat as well. None of these characters appear in any of the Sam Rami Spider-Man movies.
Spider-Man 2 also had players completing missions throughout the city, tasking you with stopping crimes or helping out some of the citizens of New York in various ways. In between missions, you can swing through multiple parts of New York City including Manhattan, Roosevelt Island, and Ellis Island.
Spider-Man: Mysterio’s Menace (Game Boy Advance)
There have been many portable games based on Spider-Man, but not all of them have been home runs. Luckily, the Game Boy Advance had one solid Spider-Man tale that fans could enjoy on the go—Spider-Man Mysterio’s Menace.
The story of the game has Spider-Man battling Electro, Hammerhead, Big Wheel, and others who are working with Mysterio. It’s not as deep of a story as other Spider-Man video games, but it has all the right characteristics to be a good one that is fun to play through.
The game features seven levels to play through, which pit Spidey against one of his rogues’ gallery. Completing stages lets you upgrade Spider-Man’s attributes like his webbing and health to make him stronger.
The game is a side-scroller that lets you fight thugs and battle villains, but you can also use webbing to swing between buildings and platforms or climb walls. If you wanted a solid Spider-Man game that was easy to play and take with you anywhere, this is a great one to check out.
Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
Why settle for one Spider-Man when you can have multiple? While Insomniac’s Spider-Man 2 has two heroes donning the name, we previously had a game that featured multiple Spider-Men working together. A story that crossed literal dimensions, Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions brought together four different wall crawlers from different dimensions to stop a cataclysmic event from affecting multiple realities.
A battle between Spider-Man and Mysterio shatters the Tablet of Order and Chaos, causing dimensions to be affected in different ways. Spidey and three alternate versions of himself are tasked by the powerful Madame Web to gather all the fragments of the tablet and restore every reality.
What makes Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions interesting is how it highlights different versions of the character using different gameplay mechanics and art styles. The Amazing Spider-Man looks and feels different from Spider-Man 2099, which also happens to play differently than Spider-Man Noir and Ultimate Spider-Man.
Even better is the inclusion of multiple villains across the dimensions we see, which builds up the ever-growing Spider-Verse. If you’re a big fan of seeing different versions of Peter Parker, then this is a game you should definitely play when you can.
