RETRO REVIEW: Spider: The Video Game

Spider: The Video Game is certainly a hidden gem within the PS1 library, which is a shame as more people should experience this impressive, if forgotten, platformer.

PS1

Remember when spider's had guns attached to their legs? No? The storyline explains all, which won't win any awards by any stretch of the imagination - it's the core gameplay which makes Spider: The Video Game truly shine.

When a scientist decides to create a 'cyber spider', two suspicious individuals soon become aware of this and decide they want the technology themselves, and so whilst on a raid on the lab, various pieces of equipment gets destroyed in the process, leaving the scientist to fall on a machine, which ultimately turns him into a spider. That makes it your mission to play as the spider as he pursues the couple in search of revenge. Yep...

Each level is designed around the 2.5D perspective, much like Pandemonium or Klonoa: Door to Phantomile, and it works perfect for a game such as this considering the maneuverability of a spider - this little guy can climb, crawl, and hang from various obstacles. With a total of 60 playable levels, there's a lot of ground to cover and many enemies along the way. retroreview

These include the likes of other spiders, gigantic rats, bats that drop the occasional bomb here and there, slugs, and many more bugs you wouldn't like to see in your bed. It's often the case you won't see the enemy coming as they're so quick and the camera angle can be a little awkward at times - good old fashioned memory and trial and error are needed for moments like these.

There are a fair amount of weapons to find, including the flamethrower, missiles, boomerang, among other effective weaponry, each with its own unique advantage - the flamethrower can quickly kill anything at close range, whilst the boomerang can dispose of enemies from a distance without having to consume ammunition.

The most useful is the smart-bomb, which is a rare find and rightly so considering it wipes out every enemy on the screen in one go. Spider: The Video Game can be hugely difficult and often cheap, but its addictive and fun nature will more than likely make you want to carry on, which is worth it as the game is worth playing right until the end. You'll go through the lab itself, the sewers, a city, and other locations which offer fantastic graphics that immerses you in that particular environment.

Whilst this game is hidden in the depths, much like spider's themselves, no one can be blamed as it's pretty rare to find these days. If you're fortunate enough to find a copy, get it - you won't be disappointed.

8/10

REVIEW: The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct

What could have been a quality game full of real survival scenarios you might expect in The Walking Dead universe, Survival Instinct doesn't deliver whatsoever.

Developer: Terminal Reality | Publisher: Activision | Genre: First-Person Shooter

PS3 | Xbox 360 | Wii U | Windows PC

It's always a shame when an idea as ambitious as this is completely ruined through lack of key features and gameplay mechanics, which if done correctly, would have made Survival Instinct a game worth playing. Unfortunately, there's practically no substance and leaves you more than disappointed.

Set before the events of The Walking Dead, Survival Instinct follows the story of Daryl Dixon as he comes to term with the recent zombie outbreak, all whilst trying to locate his brother Merle. Obviously, there's a few hick ups along the way as well as encounters with fellow survivors, but nothing so intriguing you'll be itching to carry on playing. The core narrative is nothing to boast about, leading to skipping cutscenes all together. review1

Right from the start, you'll be tested on your survival skills by taking out a few zombies here and there, making yourself familiar with the simple game mechanics and such. Zombies are generally slow, but can be a nuisance if they're in a pack and chasing you relentlessly, which they do - you might find yourself dying more times than initially anticipated. Of course, you can choose to sneak around, check corners before proceeding, and crouching.

Zombies unaware of your presence can be approached from behind, in which you'll be able to pull of a silent kill - this involves impaling your trusty knife through their skull. Rule #1 of zombie survival: destroy the brain, right? This is a nice touch but the novelty soon wears off. There are zombies literally everywhere you go, but there's no real satisfaction from killing them - there needs to be more incentive such as an XP/level up system or just more of a reason to keep on mowing down the undead.

The entire game plays out like this: get in vehicle, travel through the 'world map', break down, scavenge car parts and supplies, go back on road, rinse and repeat. It becomes boring very quick - perhaps Terminal Reality themselves got a little tired of making the game due to the fact environments are re-used for the breakdown sequences. If you break down near the start of the game, you explore the area for whatever is required, but further into the game you might find yourself doing the same in the exact same environment you were in earlier. That's physically impossible - it just goes to show how much this game was rushed and not thoroughly tested.

If you're going to play a game based on The Walking Dead, do yourself a favour and get stuck into Telltale's games. Survival Instinct offers a weak storyline with predictible and boring gameplay, giving a bad name for licensed games. So much could have been done to make Survival Instinct something truly special - perhaps an open-world game with genuine survival mechanics, instead we have a hugely disappointing cash grab.

3/10