28-Feb-2004 Some comic book heroes never quite get what they deserve.
The Hulk surely deserved a decent film - didn't happen. Judge Dredd demanded a cracking game - no chance. Spawn got the biggest shaft of the lot though, in the form of a woeful movie starring John Leguizamo - the voice of Rayman's buddy Globox. Oh. Does the game do anything to redeem Spawn's cultish anti-hero status?
You Spawny Git Spawn looks and plays like Devil May Cry or Legacy of Kain: Defiance, or any other half-decent actioner come to think of it. Only with much of the fun sucked out.
Things start well enough; Spawn himself is equipped with the stacks of weapons fans of the comic would expect, and there are more than enough vile demons to slaughter. But that's about it. Things never really rise above the basic hack 'n' slash platforming fare that's been seen before - and seen a lot better.
Spawn can pull off a number of nifty moves ranging from hauling himself up buildings with chains shooting from his waist, to scaling walls with his razor-sharp claws. Thanks to the simple controls these moves are easy to master, but as there's little depth, the gameplay feels too simplistic. But at least it's easy to spill maximum demon blood in no time at all.
Blood 'n' guts is something Spawn has in spades. If you play the game on its hardest difficulty setting (which we recommend), you'll be surrounded by up to 10 demons at once, leaving you to massacre them amid a shower of gore and gristle.
Cacka Combos As you progress through the game it's possible to increase the power of Spawn's weapons. But combos are pretty lame, and with only a couple of basic attacks, the action gets very repetitive.
This isn't a terrible game and, of course, if you're a fan of the comic you may well find enough here to amuse yourself. But with so many other quality titles around, it's hard to heartily recommend this trip to hell.
The lack of challenge and any real depth to the slashing and slicing makes this a title that, like its star, finds itself languishing in eternal purgatory. One for fans only, we reckon.
Weapons can be upgraded as you play through the game, so that you can lay waste to even the most powerful of demons in your path. As well as a limb-shredding axe, Spawn has a range of other weapons to clear the world of foul demons, especially a few long-range numbers offering destruction from a safe distance. Boy will you be glad of these.
The armour piercing pistols are rapid fire and powerful – we like
The chains never run out but they have a limited range, and look a little odd
The shotgun is pretty powerful but takes time to reload
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