No title screen to this one, so this week you’re getting a picture of the cartridge in all its early 80s glory.
That cartridge is older than I am! I’m pretty old, so that’s a weird feeling.
Spider-Man, or at least this version of it anyway, was released by Parker Bros. in 1982. There are quite a few games with this exact name, since extra words are hard. However, this is probably the one that should have that title, as this is the first Spider-Man game, and the first Marvel-based video game of any kind. Neat.
In each level of this O.G. Spider-Man, there’s a big building you need to climb, dispatching bad guys and diffusing bombs on the way up. Near the top of the building is the Green Goblin on his glider.
That’s him on the top there. Once you’ve done enough defeating/defusing, a “super bomb” appears at the top of the building. You need to then get to the top and defuse that, at which point you “win” and start another new level. What I appreciate about this set up is that you need to do more than just get to the top – you have to interact with the level and its machinations, and do it with a limited amount of web-shooter goop (though you get more by hitting bad guys, who I guess are also carrying some). You also really need to not fall down:
Any Spider-Man game tends to be at least somewhat judged on one particular, important attribute – the web-swinging. You could say they’re all the same in that regard, really. If only there was a way to visualize that…
Ah. I feel like in a lot of Spider-Man games, you can just sort of arbitrarily swing however you like, even if there’s nothing for your line to latch onto. I know it’s just a video game or whatever, but dang it, I want my web-swinging to be somewhat realistic. The 1982 Spider-Man actually does this fairly well – once you start aiming your shot, you need to release at a point that’s part of the building (in other words, something yellow). If you don’t, you’ll just start falling. Similarly, if your line hits an enemy or bomb, it gets cut and, again, you start falling. That part is honestly a bit terrifying, especially in cases where there’s nothing you can do but watch yourself plummet to death. Oof.
If you’re falling and have available web shoot-y stuff, though, you can still fire off another line – just make sure you hit something you can attach to. This part of the game is really fun – you need to try and stay agile, but keep your line in a spot where it’s useful and won’t get cut off. It’s simple, but quite enjoyable.
Spider-Man doesn’t look great, even by Atari standards, and the minimal audio is expectedly grating, but I felt the gameplay was surprisingly enjoyable. The web-swinging is tricky, but not too tricky and pretty enjoyable. My biggest complaint is that the game’s final sequence, where you have to stop the super bomb, goes by very quickly – again, there’s a threshold of defeated enemies needed to make it appear, and if you hit that near the bottom of the building you’re pretty much screwed. It’ll go off and kill you before you even get close.
Besides that, though, it really is a pretty fun, simple little game. I recommend checking this out if you’re into Atari stuff, or just weird Spider-Man goodness. Alternatively, there are several other outstanding games featuring the character, including the apparently sweet PS4 game. I should really play that one of these days.
Maybe I’ll do that tonight. If nothing else, the graphics are a bit better.
Next week’s game is another beloved licensed property, and part of a much beloved trilogy (both the game and the thing it’s based on). See you then?