Spider-Man swings into the original Game Boy system like only a spider can. He arrives at the crime scene just in time. Spider-Man must use all of his superpowers to kill a gang of super villains who have kidnapped the woman of our networked wonder. LJN Toys released the game, but luckily Rare did the programming. Spider-Man offers beautiful 8-bit black and white graphics. The characters are big, the urban levels are well designed, and you hear a funky soundtrack. Well-known super villains mock our hero between levels and act as bosses. Spidey can hit, kick, crouch, swing on orbits and shoot web projectiles. Smaller enemies will drop icons that will give you points, restore your health, and give you more web fluency. Most of the game is made up of side scrolling levels, but in some levels you climb a skyscraper, a nice nod to Spider-Man's adventure on the Atari 2600. This game has lots of nice little touches that show respect for the comic book universe .
Spider-Man is a solid platformer, but it doesn't break new ground in the genre. The story is about a woman in need, the levels are pretty simple, the enemies in the game are standard for the genre, and each boss follows their own pattern that is easy to spot. The cut scenes between the layers look nice and offer some catchy dialogue, but the ending is a let down. Since the game was made in 1990, Spider-Man can be seen talking to the villains over a large, bulky cell phone. In certain situations, Spider-Man can be a bit difficult to control. You have a regular and a super jump. The super jump is necessary in certain places for lack of a better expression and requires an easy start. It also seems to be required to swing on your tracks. Sometimes when you want a super jump, you do a regular jump. It's not a huge problem, but it does happen occasionally.
The Amazing Spider-Man is a fun black and white platformer. It was released early in the Game Boy's life, and contemporary gamers may not be as impressed as gamers in 1990. Of course, this Spider-Man game is not breaking new ground in the genre, and its control mechanics have a few rough spots. The Amazing Spider-Man may not be "Amazing," but it is well made and fun to play.
