We all have Pavlovian responses to different things. When you hear Superman, you think a giant S or even a long red flowing cape. When you hear Batman, you think of shadows and a figure with an imposing bat-like figure. However, when it comes to Spider-Man, we don't just think of a red and blue figure that shoots webbing. We think of the geeky Peter Parker, the guy who has to balance his daily life alongside being a superhero. You could pick out other examples but there's no denying that various types of people have with Spider-Man.

Insomniac Games is looking to bring the world of Spider-Man to us in glorious high-res graphics with a sprawling city and impressive set pieces. If you've played Sunset Overdrive or Ratchet & Clank, you should be well-acquainted with what Insomniac is capable. In many ways, this could be the Spider-Man game that will appeal to an entirely new generation of players. What about the past games though, especially those which have been de-listed from every possible digital store?

As it turns out, there are plenty of old Spider-Man games that managed to hold their own in delivering the web-slinger's brand of action comedy. Take Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage (1994), a side-scrolling beat 'em up based on the epic Marvel story of the same name. Since this was a Super Nintendo/Genesis game, the drill was simple – navigate levels, beat up goons, occasionally choose a different character and fight a villain. Rinse, wash, repeat till you get to Carnage. The game itself is actually one of the more average beat 'em up games of that era considering Streets of Rage and Final Fight made a name for themselves. But still, it's a decent attempt at adapting a major story-line and – shock and awe – it wasn't totally awful.

It would take a while – and some awful new titles like Spider-Man Animated Series along with the largely ignored Web of Fire – but Spidey wasn't done yet. Spider-Man (2000) for the PS One, Game Boy, N64 and subsequent other platforms would bring the animated web-slinger into the action adventure realm. Spider-Man (2000) was developed by Neversoft of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater fame and was pegged as the defining game in the genre.

Fortunately, the cinematic Spider-Man wouldn't be too far behind. Spider-Man (2002) was based off of Sam Raimi's movie of the same name and once again went with the action adventure route. With how well it sold, we quickly received Spider-Man 2 based on the film – which many revere to this day – and Spider-Man 3 which most kind of want to forget despite it being pretty average. The parade of lame games wouldn't stop but Spider-Man showcased an altogether interesting new direction in 2005 with Treyarch's Ultimate Spider-Man. Based on Marvel's new comic universe, Ultimate Spider-Man introduced a younger Peter Parker, a brand-new story and free roaming in the big wide city. It may have been criticized for being too repetitive but Ultimate Spider-Man showcased what an open world Spider-Man game could be and didn't suck. That's progress.

Of course, Treyarch would then be shut away to work on Call of Duty for the rest of its life, leaving us with Beenox. Fortunately, the developer delivered with action adventure/platformer Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions where players could take control of multiple different Spider-Men. It was fun, different and even had Neil Patrick Harris playing Spider-Man. Unfortunately, it was removed from online digital stores and despite coming back to Steam in 2015, it was recently de-listed again.

Beenox tried to repeat the success of Shattered Dimensions with Spider-Man: Web of Shadows in 2011. This time, the focus was on two Spider-Men and actions in the past affecting those in the future. Critics were mixed on this approach, especially considering how much fun Shattered Dimensions turned out to be. Still, it's one of the better Spider-Man games out there.

The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) and its sequel (2014) would be the last major multi-platform titles with Spider-Man in a starring role. While the visuals weren't exactly loved in the first game, the gameplay and open world aspects made for some good fun. The sequel, much like the movie it was based on, didn't do quite as well. The other Spider-Man title to release was Spider-Man Unlimited for mobiles in 2014. Interestingly enough, as an endless runner game, it reviewed fairly well.

Spider-Man as a hero will always appeal to a near universal crowd of people and while the video games may not have capitalized on that success like, say, the Batman Arkham series, they still gave us a chance to play as the friendly neighborhood web-slinger. Regardless of how you've felt about each of the games, Spider-Man is inextricably linked to the history of gaming with his ups and downs. Now let's see if he can pull of a return of sorts in Spider-Man (2018).