Spider-Man (1982 video game)
| Spider-Man | |
|---|---|
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| Publisher(s) | Parker Brothers |
| Designer(s) | Laura Nikolich[1] |
| Composer(s) | David Lamkins |
| Series | Spider-Man |
| Platform(s) | Atari 2600 |
| Release |
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| Genre(s) | Action |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Spider-Man is a vertically scrolling action game written by Laura Nikolich for the Atari 2600 and released in 1982 by Parker Brothers.[1] It was both the first video game to feature Spider-Man and the first Marvel Comics based video game.
Gameplay
The game involves players controlling Spider-Man to scale a building using his web shooters in order to defuse bombs planted by the Green Goblin.[2] Spider-Man is only able to use his web lines to move up the building either vertically or diagonally. Generic criminals dwell along the many floors of the building, moving randomly from one window to another. Spider-Man counts with limited web fluid to achieve his goal, indicated by a meter at the bottom of the screen. The web fluid meter slowly depletes as time passes, acting like a time limiter of sorts. If the meter depletes completely, Spider-Man will plummet to the ground with no means of saving himself and a life will be lost. If the player has no lives left, the game will be over.
Spider-Man can replenish a little amount of web fluid for each captured criminal or for each small bomb defused. To capture a criminal, Spider-Man must make physical contact with them. However, if a criminal manages to touch his web line, they will cut it and send Spidey plummeting below, though the player can shoot another web in time to save himself.
Near the top of each building, the layout changes to a series of girders where the Goblin has planted many small bombs to hinder Spidey's progress. When a bomb is about to explode, it will change its color from black to red. Defusing a red bomb yields more points than a black one.
Upon reaching the top of the building, Spidey must then face off against the Goblin, who has planted a "super bomb", whose fuse is activated upon defeating a certain number of enemies and/or defusing a certain number of small bombs.[3] Once the fuse is lit, there is a limited time to reach the super bomb before it detonates, claiming one of Spidey's lives. Upon defeating the Goblin (which involves simply avoiding him) and defusing his super bomb, the game starts over at the next level, which may feature faster-moving and/or more instances of the Green Goblin, taller buildings, taller scaffold sections or a quicker-depleting supply of web fluid. The building is also sometimes a different color.
References
- ^ a b Hague, James. "The Giant List of Classic Game Programmers".
- ^ "Spider-Man Manual". archive.org. Parker Bros. 1982.
- ^ Looking Back: Spider-Man for Atari 2600
External links
- Spider-Man at Atari Mania
- The Atari 2600 version of Spider-Man can be played for free in the browser at the Internet Archive
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