My Played Video Games Review: Spiderman vs. The Kingpin for the Sega Genesis
Spider-Man vs. The Kingpin is a video game developed by Technopop and produced by Sega of America for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis. An updated version was also released for the Sega CD add-on of the Genesis under the name of* The Amazing Spider-Man vs. The Kingpin*.
The 1990s was a great time for Spider-Man. Most of the comic books, animated TV series and video games (not all) about him totally rocked in this era.
The Story
The Amazing Spider-Man is in deep shit. The crime boss, Kingpin, has vowed to destroy New York City and he's hired supervillains for help like Dr. Octopus, Electro, The Hobgoblin, The Lizard, The Sandman, and Venom!
But Spider-Man got the powers of a super spider! He swings on a web line across skyscrapers! He punches and kicks with spectacular agility, crawls up buildings, and ceilings even upside down. And uses his web-shooters to trap enemies and put up protective shields.
Each supervillain has his own sinister bag of tricks. All these and more face the heroic web-slinger as he web-swings to save the city!
The Graphics and Sound
Pretty good graphics for the year 1991. Bad thing is that things can get blurry and you will notice some blank black backgrounds. Good thing the game has fairly big sprites and everything can be identified. The animation moves well mostly but sometimes is a bit choppy.
The game has mediocre sound effects. The bosses would have been more intimidating if they made a better kind of noise. The music is better but kinda weird. It is a strangely cool, jazzy type fare. It gives the game a unique feel.
The Gameplay
The gameplay is tops. There are plenty of moves that Spider-man can do. For example, web-swings and climbing walls, fighting enemies by punching them out or web tie them, taking pictures of bad guys, even going to his own damn bedroom! The gameplay is not that fast, but the difficulty is hard but beatable.
You will have to properly use your web shooter to make it through. The web fluid is not infinite, and money is needed to refill your meter. By taking photos of the criminals, you get money! At the end of each level, you'll get cash for the photos you have taken (bosses get top reward) and that will be your way to get web fluid!
The game has a 24 hours countdown, and should it reach zero, the nuke will explode and it will be game over. You can also send Spidey back to his home to rest and refill his energy, but while resting the timer will go faster!
If you manage to get all 5 keys, you are off to defuse the bomb and finally face the Kingpin.
The game controls are simple. Spidey is easier to control. You do not have to push two buttons at the same time unless you are doing the special moves.
The replay value is good because it is pretty long! Furthermore, the 4 different difficulty levels can make you busy for a while.
My Verdict
Spiderman vs The Kingpin is a damn good action game. It is challenging and fun. If you do not mind playing the aged graphics, you should check this out right away.
Go play this retro gaming classic on the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive or play it on a good emulator.