Spider-man for PS4 was all but guaranteed to be a hit before it came out, dropping trailers that looked more like a web-slinging version of Arkham Knight than previous iterations of our friendly neighborhood... Peter Parker? Yep, expect to play as Peter Parker nearly as much as Spider-Man in this game, at least during the story missions, but this turns out to be better than it sounds. Miles Morales and Mary Jane get their own levels, too, but these tend to amount to little more than stealth missions most of the time. Still, it's cool that these characters get a few moments in the limelight. The storyline and characters of Marvel's Spider-Man drive the game and are ultimately what make it a success. From the opening battle with Kingpin, Marvel's Spider-Man never stops dropping spidery Easter eggs throughout its main play. Offering a bevy of twists and turns, just when the story-- based on the Brand New Day storyline from the comics-- threatens to drag, another familiar villain or ally, both old and new, gets thrown into the mix to keep things interesting. Cutscenes are consistently entertaining and often exciting, and the climax of the game gave me exactly what I hoped for but didn't expected to get. Traversal proves to be another huge plus in Spidey's arsenal. While fast-travel options appear after a few story missions, swinging solo across the city and doing aerial acrobatics never gets old. Fighting, on the other hand, can be somewhat frustrating as one often has to single-handedly fight off hordes of enemies but no more frustrating than similar games of this nature. Sometimes it feels like it makes no sense on whom Spider-Man decides to focus when the baddies surround him and start attacking, but that's how it goes. The game gives Spider-man plenty of gadgets and suit upgrades so that players should never feel at a COMPLETE disadvantage, and it's thrilling when a well-executed plan comes together. Although each gadget may be upgraded and each suit comes with its own unique power, some early gadgets and suits are so helpful that players may find themselves sticking to the same strategies throughout the majority of the game. The biggest drawback of the game is its repetitive gameplay. A lot of the side missions feel familiar, especially if you've played any of the Arkham series, and usually amount to fighting waves of bad guys, stealth takedowns, or traversal challenges. Early side missions force Spider-man to collect backpacks or activate towers so that he can access a map of Manhattan... as though SPIDER-MAN would need a MAP of Manhattan? The boss battles typically amount to figuring out a pattern and then repeating that pattern until the next section of the boss battle. Again, this has a familiar feel, which isn't necessarily a bad thing but also doesn't feel like it is adding anything new to the genre. Another drawback (at least for some) will be its relatively short length, especially when compared to similar games like Arkham Knight or Horizon: Zero Dawn, which offer a bit more bang for the buck. Serious gamers will be able to get through this game in a weekend (or less, depending on how long you play it) and most casual gamers will not need more than a couple of weeks. Spider-Man is fun, but it is also familiar-feeling and a little short. Fans of Spider-Man will most likely love it (I sure did!), and the game is worth the price for the story and how well it nails the feel of being an amazing spider-person. Excelsior!