We caught up with Shaba Games's Chris Scholz, who gave us the skinny on this upcoming installment in the web-slinger's videogame adventures.
Yahoo!: Can you give us a quick rundown of the story?
Chris Scholz: Through the course of the game, the player will see all of NYC being overwhelmed by an ever growing invasion of Alien Symbiotes. Spider-Man has to wade through the panic that ensues as Symbiotes start grabbing pedestrians off the street and infecting them to swell their ranks. S.H.I.E.L.D hovers over Manhattan in their Helicarrier, setting up quarantine zones and evacuation points as they try to stem the tide. The conflict engulfs everybody, and it is up to Spider-Man to decide who to team up with, his fellow heroes or even some of his oldest adversaries, to save the city.
Y!: Web of Shadows isn't tied to a major motion picture release, which means no Tobey Macguire or Kirstin Dunst. Is this newfound creative freedom a blessing or a curse?
CS: The blessing of not being tied to a movie is that we have been able to craft a story that best suits the game we wanted to make. The combat system we have designed hinges on Spider-man having a ton of enemies to fight. So being able to have Spider-man literally going up against an entire Symbiote army, all of them running through the streets, slithering up buildings, and leaping through the air, forces the player to use every weapon in his arsenal.
We also wanted to be able to explore the red suit / black suit duality. To give the player the freedom to play as the true "red suit" hero, or the "black suit" renegade and have the story change accordingly.
"The blessing of not being tied to a movie is that we have been able to craft a story that best suits the game we wanted to make. "
Y!: So the game is all about choice. Does that mean the game isn't linear? Will there be branching paths?
CS: There are key moments in the story where the player has to make decisions that have far reaching consequences affecting the story, ultimately deciding who is fighting alongside Spider-Man in his desperate last stand.
Y!: The most recent trailer shows off some amazing mid-air fight scenes. What changes have been to the combat system?
CS: The combat system has been completely rebuilt. For years, we have had the idea of taking the lessons we've learned doing extreme sports games like Tony Hawk and bringing them to an action adventure game. To do this, we needed a character with blazing speed that moves with grace and fluidity, so Spider-Man is the perfect character to realize this vision. Spider-Man is constantly in motion, bouncing from enemy to enemy, fighting up building sides, and swinging through the air. Add in Spider-man's web abilities and his super strength, and you have a character who can fight with more uniqueness than any other. Players will feel like this is finally the game where they can fight as they always hoped Spider-man would be able to fight.
Y!: How does "Spidey-sense" play into the game?
CS: The player will need his spider sense to locate enemies and people in danger. His spider sense is also key to bringing some sanity to the camera system. Because Spider-man can cling to any surface and moves with such speed, making the camera smooth is particularly challenging. We've added the ability for the player to lock the camera target on to an enemy. This not only lets the player easily target his foe, but also gives the game an incredible cinematic feel.
Y!: Web of Shadows is the first Spider-Man game crafted by Shaba. What are some of your favorite superhero games?
CS: Technically, this isn't our first super hero game. We were responsible for the downloadable character pack for Marvel: Ultimate Alliance that came out last year, so we have some experience with the Marvel Universe. MUA is also one of our favorite superhero games, but we've been fans of all of the Spider-Man games going back to Neversoft's first Spider-Man game on the PS1.
Y!: Who would win in a fight: Spider-Man, Batman or Bruce Lee? Please explain.
CS:Hmmm, the age-old argument. Well, thinking logically, it wouldn't be close... Spider-Man would mop the floor with them. Still, Spider-man doesn't have the kill instinct of Batman, and don't count out Bruce! Master of the "Way of the Intercepting Fist" and his lethal one-inch punch!
I don't know, maybe it would be like reservoir dogs, they'd all get a blow in, and knock each other out simultaneously.
Posted: 1 Jul 2008
