By
Matthew Scott Hunter
 ‘Spider-Man:
Edge of Time
(T)
**
Activision
Xbox 360
Last year, developer Beenox brought us “Spider-Man:
Shattered Dimensions,” a game featuring four
versions of the amazing web-slinger, each with
his own distinctive art style and move set.
This spiritual sequel scales back the number
of Spider-Men to two, the art styles to one
and the move sets to .75. Gone are the innovations
from the previous game, like POV boss battles.
Instead we get a game that plays very much like
2004’s “Spider-Man 2” video game. In other words,
your spidey sense should be telling you to get
ready for some button mashing.
The plot is promising enough. The head of an
evil corporation called Alchemax travels back
in time from the year 2099 to give his company
a head start in the 1970s. So it’s up to the
quip-spewing Spidey from our modern era and
his no-nonsense, similarly dressed heir from
2099 to restore the timeline to the one we’re
all familiar with (where lots of evil corporations
rule the world, instead of just one). You’ll
alternate between controlling the present and
future Spider-Man (not that they control much
differently) and pummel lots of similar looking
minions. The narrative’s cleverest idea is,
sadly, underutilized. Actions in the past can
affect things in the future, so if future-Spidey’s
having trouble with a giant killer robot, present-Spidey
can put a quick end to the conflict by putting
the mechanical man out of commission in his
own era. Unfortunately, these temporal intersections
are few and entirely scripted.
It would’ve been nice if there were many things
you could do in the past—both deliberately and
accidentally—that would affect the future. But
that’s not the case, so just rest assured that
if your future self could visit you, he’d warn
you not to waste your time with this game.
‘Resident Evil: Code Veronica X HD’
(M)
**
Capcom
Xbox 360
“Resident Evil 4” was a gift to the franchise’s
future and a curse to its past. Even with a
high-definition makeover, “Veronica” is showing
her age. Gamecube’s remake of the original “Resident
Evil” looked better than this. This game should
only be played by nostalgia gluttons or series
fans curious about the chapter of the Umbrella
corporation’s increasingly convoluted history
that they’re most likely to have missed. But
both groups should be warned: the infamous “tank-like”
controls are even worse than you remember or
have heard. And the equally notorious load screens
that play every time you open a door are downright
laughable.
‘Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 2 – Innocent
Sin’
(T)
**1/2
Atlus
PlayStation Portable
After crawling through countless dungeons in
service of clichéd fantasy tales, RPG fans might
find the contemporary high school setting and
bizarre story of this belated Japanese import
a welcome change of pace. Among the odder attributes
in “Persona 2,” demons are summoned with cell
phones, attacking enemies can be convinced to
walk away and if you need a particular weapon,
you simply need to start a rumor that it exists,
spread the rumor, and then wait for the rumor
come true. Unfortunately, once the charm fades
from these strange gimmicks, you’re left with
tedious random encounters and graphics that
were dated even when the Japanese played this
game 10 years ago. CV |
