Angry Video Game Nerd
Episode 24
Spider-Man

Mike's notes:

– In episode 24 AVGN reviews Spider-Man on Atari 2600, Spider-Man: Return of the Sinister Six (NES) and others.

– Kyle Justin guest stars as Spider-Man

– The Nerd begins using the NES Top Loader in this episode and sticks with it until Episode 90 where he starts using the Nin-toaster.

YouTube description

The Nerd has his hands full, swatting down bad video games based upon comic-book character Spider-Man, created for the Atari 2600, NES, Game Boy and Game Boy Advance. This is Angry Video Game Nerd Episode 24.

Though Marvel’s masked poster boy has a fair share of good video games, (such as Spider-Man for PSX, N64, Dreamcast, and PC in 2000, Spider-Man 2: The Game for Gamecube, PS2, and Xbox in 2004, and Maximum Carnage for SNES and Genesis) his true success in gaming wasn’t realized until The Amazing Spider-Man vs. The Kingpin for Sega Genesis. He gotten into a rough start when he enters the gaming industry beginning in the Atari 2600. In this episode, the Angry Video Game Nerd takes a look at bad Spider-Man games. While he is indirectly reviewing those games, he dares to conquer the atrociousness with the help of a certain friendly neighborhood…

First off, they’re playing Spider-Man for the Atari 2600, Marvel and Spider-Man’s first ever video game. The object of the game is to get Spidey to the top of a building and disarm the “superbomb” planted by one of his arch-nemesis, The Green Goblin. Granted that Spidey’s is best known to crawl on walls, it’s not helpful in this game because he’s unable to. You only have to rely on his webbing to go up. Unfortunately, the webbing can be very finicky since it can only touch the structure of the building in order to go up. If the webbing touches the window or the air, or if the webbing or Spidey get hit by a bomb, he’ll fall, though you can shoot another web in time to save himself. But if you ran out web fluid, you’re screwed.

Next, they’ll try the only Spider-Man game ever existed on the NES: Spider-Man: Return of the Sinister Six. How can this one fail? Well it’s made by Laughing Joking Numbnuts, LJN that’s for sure! In this game, you control Spidey through six side-scrolling levels, with a member of the Sinister Six at the end of each level as a boss like Electro, Sandman and Doctor Octopus. Had it not been for the confusing controls and cryptic level design (good luck on Sandman’s stage), this would have been a decent side-scroller on the NES library.

Sad thing is that wasn’t the only Spider-Man game by LJN that the Nerd and Spidey have to deal with, for they will try The Amazing Spider-Man for Game Boy. In this game, Spidey’s most famous rogues have discovered his secret identity, Peter Parker, and kidnapped his wife, Mary Jane. The action game takes the player through various city locations, battling an assortment of minor thugs, animals, and a supervillain at the end of each level who, through intermission scenes, will taunt Spider-Man as to the whereabouts of his wife. Though the story seems to be pretty good, the gameplay is a whole different story… After that, the Nerd takes a brief look at Spider-Man 2 for Game Boy Advance. While it’s not a terrible game, the Nerd and Spidey only addresses to beginning part of the game where they have Spidey to deliver pizzas, almost like in the movie. That’s an absurd way to begin a Spider-Man game, isn’t it?

Guest starring Kyle Justin (a.k.a. The Guitar Guy behind the Couch) as The Amazing Spider-Man!!

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