The Amazing Spider-Man (2012 video game)

The Amazing Spider-Man is an action-adventure video game, which is a tie-in to the film of the same name featuring the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man. It was developed by Beenox, developer of Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions and Spider-Man: Edge of Time, and published by Activision. It was released June 26, 2012 in North America and June 29, 2012 in Europe, on Nintendo DS, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Android, iOS, and Microsoft Windows. On October 13, 2012, it was confirmed that it will be coming to Wii U, in Spring 2013, this version was released March 5, 2013 in North America and March 8, 2013 in Europe as The Amazing Spider-Man: Ultimate Edition in both regions. A PlayStation Vita version was also confirmed to be in development.

The game was directed by Gerard Lehiany and written by Seamus Kevin Fahey, of Battlestar Galactica fame, Benjamin Schirtz and Gérard Lehiany. The game serves as an epilogue to The Amazing Spider-Man film.

The Nintendo 3DS and Wii version feature a different, more linear game with the same script and plot. The game is not open world, instead following a style of approach similar to that of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, where the player selects a level from a hub, in this case Stan's apartment, before playing a mostly linear level. It was natively designed for the 3DS, and later ported to the Wii. Beenox also developed this version.

High definition version
The game has an open world/free-roaming concept. The combat system is reminiscent of the Rocksteady Studios-developed Batman game series (Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City) using a freeflow design and counterattacks. Beenox took a cue from the Batman games, with Dee Brown, the head of Beenox, stating "I played both Batman games and liked them. For me, the Spider-Man character is very different than Batman. You have to approach both in a different way. I think the Rocksteady guys did a good job at providing what was required to make a great Batman game, and we're doing everything we need to this time to make a great Spider-Man game."

Players can collect full, vintage comic books, such as Amazing Fantasy #15, as they collect comic covers throughout the game.

The game uses a unique damage system—the more damage Spider-Man takes, the more his suit is damaged; returning to the 'hub' area repairs the suit. By finding different spider symbols in certain parts of New York and taking photos of them, alternate costumes can be unlocked, such as "Big Time" Spider-Man, Scarlet Spider (Kaine), a color-inverted version of the Future Foundation costume, the Sam Raimi trilogy red and blue suit when you get the Stan Lee pre-order DLC or Rhino pre-order DLC, the Spider-Man 3 black suit, a new version of the black suit and a party hat for Spidey's 50th anniversary, which can be changed when the player goes to Peter Parker's apartment, though,  there are some exceptions to the Wii U edition, as you have to COMPLETE the missions.

Many DLC packs have been released for this version. One of these is the "Lizard Rampage pack," where players play as the Lizard and destroying guards. The "Rhino Challenge pack" has players control the Rhino character, destroying cars and thugs. The "Oscorp Search and Destroy pack" has two minigames with similar gameplay to Snake and Space Invaders. The final DLC pack is the "Stan Lee Adventure pack", in which players can play as Stan Lee (with Spider-Man's powers). There are also many in-game references to characters in other franchises (e.g. Batman, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Captain America).

The Wii U version, called The Amazing Spider-Man: Ultimate Edition, features all content and is completely alike the PS3, Xbox 360, and PC versions instead of the Wii and the 3DS ones. It also has all the DLC packs included in the disc, and gives players the option to use the Osphone on the Wii U Gamepad.

Nintendo 3DS and Wii versions
The Nintendo 3DS and Wii versions of the game are a different game, also developed by Beenox. They feature different gameplay but do share the same plot, voiceovers, and some of the HD's versions level design. Instead of being an open world game, this version employs a "Force Unleashed" style hub approach, where the player selects a level from a Map screen in Spider-Man's apartment, and can also talk to Dr. Connors. Once a level is selected, Spider-Man is immediately dropped off at the start of that level. The game also includes some sub-missions that help the player work up their XP.

Instead of photographing spider symbols or discovering comic book pages, Spider-Man is tasked with finding and photographing evidence that links Oscorp to the cross-species conspiracy. This includes photographing villains and Oscorp Logos, and finding special Oscorp items, such as audio files or other files. When he finds this evidence, it can give Spider-Man XP Points, or unlock extra content in the main menu, such as concept art. The photo mode makes use of the 3DS gyroscope, but can also be more easily controlled by the analog slider.

Spider-Man's moves in this game are more based on the previous moveset from the earlier Spider-Man movie based games, and not that of its HD counterpart or Arkham Asylum, although several changes have been made, such as the addition of a "Web Rush" mode, which allows Spider-Man to slow time down while he's looking for targets to aim at.

The 3DS version has an exclusive game mode named "Vigilante", which is a strategy-based RPG-style text game where you are given a map of locations and must complete tasks and missions and collect items needed for certain missions. A meter is shown with a slide moving to either a red or green marker. When Spider-Man successfully completes the mission, the player is awarded Vigilante Points (VP) and Action Points (AP), which are to complete the missions. The higher your skill rank, the more locations and additional content are unlocked. Vigilante is compatible with Street Pass, allowing you to trade items with other players.

Unlike the HD versions, there are three suits to unlock: Basic, Classic, and the Black Suit. The classic suit is unlocked by completing all of the side missions. The Black suit is unlocked by beating the game on Vigilante Mode.

DS version
The Nintendo DS version features 2.5D side-scrolling action with the same script and plot as the other versions. The game play is similar to the previous title in the series for the same console, Spider-Man: Edge of Time. 2D is the main feature whilst also used to manipulate the touch screen and the buttons.

Plot
Set a few months after the events of the film, Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy sneak into the restricted areas of Oscorp after hours, where Gwen reveals her suspicions that they may be continuing the cross-species experiments of Dr. Curt Connors, who had become the monstrous Lizard. They are caught by Alistair Smythe, the new Oscorp director, who confirms Gwen's suspicions, although the cross-species carry a powerful virus and are to be disposed. However, the cross-species all react to the presence of Peter, a cross-species himself, and break out, infecting all of the scientists, including Smythe and Gwen, in the process. Smythe unleashes his security robots, which are programmed to defend them from cross-species. Peter quickly dons his Spider-Man suit and gets the infected to quarantine, fighting off the robots in the process, but is unable to stop the cross-species and the virus from escaping into the city.

Spider-Man goes to the Beloit Psychiatric Hospital, and seeks the help of the incarcerated Connors to develop a cure for the virus. Connors relents, but only if he is returned to the asylum when the crisis is resolved. They set up a laboratory at the apartment of Aunt May's friend Stan, and begin development of an antidote, while keeping in close contact with Gwen and Smythe via webcam. At the same time, Smythe is developing his own "cure" which involves nanobots destroying the host from the inside out. Spider-Man also forms an alliance with Whitney Chang, an investigative reporter who believes Oscorp's facelift operation is a scam, in unveiling the suspicious activities of Oscorp.

Connors manages to create an antidote, which Spider-Man delivers to Gwen, however a skeptical Smythe decides to test it on himself; he unexpectedly loses the use of his legs as well as his sanity, and, in a fit of rage, programs his robots to eliminate Spider-Man. Returning to Connors after narrowly escaping the robots, a heavily injured Spider-Man berates Connors about the antidote's failure before passing out from his injuries. Since Spider-Man retains his humanity despite being a cross-species, Connors uses Spider-Man's blood to create a more accurate antidote. Spider-Man travels to Oscorp and manages to cure Gwen and the other scientists with the antidote. Meanwhile, the CDC quarantines the city with the advancement of the virus.

Smythe, having been fired from Oscorp, somehow discovers both Spider-Man's secret identity and the location of their apartment. He subsequently kidnaps Connors and dares Spider-Man to come save him. Spider-Man breaks into the Oscorp robotics facility and manages to free Connors, only to be subdued by the robots. While Connors escapes and returns to his old lab in the sewers, Smythe restrains Spider-Man and injects him with his completed nanobot serum, which strips him of his powers. With his powers gone and health fading fast, Peter narrowly escapes from the facility as Smythe activates his S-03 robot to enact his plan to spread his nanobot serum all over the city. As a result of the war between the infected and Smythe's robots, the city is in chaos. Spider-Man manages to travel to Connors' sewer lab to reunite with Connors and Gwen, but he passes out with the nanobots slowly killing him. Deciding that there is no other way to stop Smythe's robots, Connors transforms himself as the Lizard. Gwen manages to revive Spider-Man with an AED, and a de-powered Spider-Man manages to make his way to the S-03 with Whitney Chang's help. Recalling his experience with the AED, he enters the robot and electrocutes himself to destroy the nanobots in his body. With the help of the Lizard, he manages to defeat Smythe and destroy the S-03, however Connors succumbs to the Lizard's consciousness and flees to the sewers. Regaining his sanity, a remorseful Smythe is arrested, while Spider-Man searches for the Lizard. As Gwen reprograms a robot to administer the cure, Spider-Man manages to subdue the Lizard and cure him, eventually returning Connors to the asylum.

With the cure discovered, the virus has been eliminated, and Spider-Man is revered by the city as a hero. Peter and Gwen realize through one of Chang's news reports that Smythe has escaped custody, but they decide to deal with it later. In a post-credits scene, Smythe has regained the use of his legs due to being in the final stages of his infection, and makes his way back to his lab. Unwilling to become a cross-species himself, he activates one of his robots and commits suicide.

Development and marketing
A video game based on the film was first announced at the 2011 New York Comic Con. The game was developed by Beenox, the development team behind the previous two Spider-Man games, Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions and Spider-Man: Edge of Time. During New York Comic Con a producer at Activision, Doug Heder stated that the game will take place after the events of the movie. Heder realizing the mixed reviews with the last video game, promising that the video game will find a different fate, thanks to its lengthy development time. The video game has been reported to be in development by Gerard Lehiany, the creative director of Beenox. Dee Brown of Beenox felt that the film was an inspiration of the development of the video game on how the creators wanted it to turn out. "The fact that our game is based on the movie, and the movie is re-approaching the universe in a completely different way — a more grounded, more realistic approach — gives us an incredible setting to play with".

The game released on June 26, 2012. The first concept artwork of the game was released on November 10, 2011. A world premiere trailer debuted during the 2011 Spike Video Game Awards, on December 10, 2011. The game was originally developed for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, Nintendo DS, and Nintendo 3DS. It was later announced that game will be released for PC, however the port was released on August 10, 2012. The game features PlayStation Move support. The game featured pre-order bonuses. Those who pre-ordered the game from Amazon.com will be able to play as Spider-Man co-creator Stan Lee (The DLC is available only until Saturday August 4, 2012), whilst those who ordered from GameStop will receive a bonus challenge featuring the Rhino. The pre-order bonuses were only made available for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 gaming consoles.

A PlayStation Vita version of the game was confirmed on PlayStation Blog on October 11, 2013. It was released on November 19, 2013.

Reception
The Amazing Spider-Man received generally positive reviews. Aggregating review websites GameRankings and Metacritic gave the PlayStation 3 version 73.10% and 71/100, the Xbox 360 version 70.87% and 69/100,  the Wii U version 68.43% and 66/100,  the Wii version 64.33% and 58/100,  the 3DS version 56.67% and 55/100  and the DS version 53.33%.

GameSpot gave it a 7.5/10, praising its controls while criticizing its easiness. Game Informer had a more critical view of the game, scoring it 6.75/10, citing failure to live up to potential due to its generic story and repetitive side missions. IGN gave the game a 7.0/10 with Greg Miller of IGN saying "The visuals aren't stunning, the story isn't crazy exciting But The Amazing Spider-Man is fun to play."