Video Game Vintage Title: Spider-Man: Edge Of Time

Spider-Man: Edge Of Time

Spider-Man: Edge of Time is a video game developed by the Activision-owned developer Beenox, based on the superhero Spider-Man. The game was directed by Gerard Lehiany. The story, written by Peter David, Ramiro Belanger and G�rard Lehiany, involves both Peter Parker, the original Spider-Man, and Miguel O'Hara, aka Spider-Man 2099. The game can be considered a sequel of 2010's Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions game, although Spider-Man Noir and Ultimate Spider-Man are not featured. 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, 2011 in North America and on October 14, 2011 in Europe. Edge of Time is the second Spider-Man title to be developed by Beenox, following Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions of 2010, and the first 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 licence, was de-listed and removed from all digital storefronts on January 1, 2014.

Spider-Man: Edge Of Time Plot

The game begins with Peter Parker/Spider-Man battling Anti-Venom, who suddenly kills him. Rewinding back to the starting of the event, in the year 2099 Miguel O'Hara/Spider-Man 2099 investigates Alchemax's scientist Walker Sloan. While spying on him, Spider-Man 2099 discovers Sloan's plan to travel back in time and establish Alchemax in the past years before its time, allowing him to rebuild the company in his own image and prevent its rivals from ever being established. Spider-Man 2099 arrives just as Sloan enters his Gateway, but jumps through the portal too late to stop him. Trapped in the portal, Spider-Man 2099 sees visions of the original Spider-Man being killed by Anti-Venom as history alters around him.

Upon his return to 2099, Spider-Man 2099 (unaffected by the time change due to being trapped in the portal) discovers that Sloan's changes to the timeline have reduced New York City to a horrifying dystopia. Spider-Man 2099 then uses Peter Parker's DNA, stored within the company's archives, to create a chronal link with him, back in the present day. He then warns Spider-Man, now working for Alchemax in the genetics department instead of the Daily Bugle, about the events to come about his death in the Alchemax's building 66th floor. However, Spider-Man refuses to obey his orders to leave the building if innocent people are in danger and travels to the 66th floor. During their talks, the two Spider-Men discover that the wormhole between their timelines has created a 'quantum causality field', with the result that actions taken in the past automatically change the future; an example being Anti-Venom's attempt to drop a lift onto Spider-Man resulting in the lift that Spider-Man 2099 was using in the future becoming a closet. Travelling to the 66th floor, Spider-Man finds himself confronted by Anti-Venom, Sloan and Dr. Otto Octavius. Spider-Man battles Anti-Venom, but is eventually killed by him. Seconds later, Spider-Man 2099 pulls Spider-Man through the Gateway in an effort to save him.

While sending Spider-Man to the future to revive him, Spider-Man 2099 travels through the portal into the past and battles Anti-Venom, breaking the chip that allowed Sloan and Octavius to control him. Furious, Anti-Venom knocks himself, Sloan and Octavius into the time portal, merging all three into a monster that Spider-Man dubs "Atrocity". Both Spider-Men are stuck in each other's timeline, with events accruing such as Mary Jane Watson's near-death at Alchemax before Spider-Man 2099 saves her, and a confrontation with Black Cat 2099. In the future, while investigating the company's central archives to work out how to repair the portal aided by Spider-Man 2099 altering the building plans in the past to provide him with a way into the archives in the future, Spider-Man learns that he will become the CEO of Alchemax thanks to an anti-aging drug, with his future self having set up the entire crisis for his own ends. He finds the portal and returns to the present only for "Atrocity" to attack him, forcing Spider-Man to lure the creature into a trap and takes his DNA samples so Spider-Man 2099 can analyze his DNA in the future, learning the truth about its creation.

Just as Spider-Man 2099 theorizes that forcing Atrocity back into the portal would disrupt and end the time storm, he is contacted by the CEO Peter, who reveals that he intends to harness the quantum storm to rewrite his history and undo his past mistakes, remaking the entire universe in his image. After a final battle with the Atrocity and the CEO, Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2099 knock both of them into the gateway, 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, leaving no one but the Spider-Men duo with any memory of them. Spider-Man 2099 then gives Spider-Man a lecture on time travel, ending the game.

Spider-Man: Edge Of Time Gameplay

Gameplay in the game is very similar to gameplay in Shattered Dimensions. Upgrades are available for both Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2099. Upgrades are bought with XP (short for experience points), which can be earned by completing mini-challenges, such as defeating 30 enemies in two minutes. Including the traditional spider-sense, each Spider-Man has his own exclusive new ability. The original Spider-Man (Peter Parker) features a "hyper-sense" mode, which allows him to move quickly, pulverizing enemies one at a time or running through elaborate laser defence systems without getting hurt. Spider-Man 2099 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.

Reception
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 "Edge of Time" a 4.5 out of 10. 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." Gameinformer gave it a 6.5, saying "Edge of Time is a major step back from the formula that worked.". Destuctoid gave the game a 5 out of 10. Gametrailers gave the game a 5.4 out of 10, praising the story and voice acting, but criticizing the repetition of the gameplay. On the other end of the spectrum, Game Chronicles gave the game a very positive review, stating that "Edge of Time excels in every aspect of game design with solid combat, fun navigational puzzles, and one of the best cinematic presentations of any Spider-Man game to date" and awarding it a score of 8/10.