The DS version of the game is done in a 3D top down view on both screens most of the time. Sometimes in buildings, the top screen is a map, and by map, I mean a tiny dot of where you are in a country/continent. It’s not much help, which is strange since the dual screen is used so well for outside environments.
The controls are easy enough, and while the game does give you a tutorial, it’s not really needed. This game is very much meant to appeal to a wider range of audience than, say, Ultimate Spider-Man that came out a few years ago. Since the controls are pretty basic, so is the combat. Strangely enough, the DS version does give you a punch and a kick button (whereas the PS2 version doesn’t), but they aren’t used to their full potential. The combos are very basic three button tap, and varying between punch and kick doesn’t shake things up too much.
You’re also given “powered” abilities, web bullets, web net, and a web whip of sorts that knocks down opponents in a small area. All of the powered abilities are dependent on how much you have in the blue power meter, which starts on empty. You can gain in the meter by fighting or finding power ups, but it seems to drain when you’re not fighting. The powers have limited auto targeting, and sometimes, can be incredibly difficult to hit the bad guys.
The bad guys are made up of things called P.H.A.N.T.O.M.s, beings that essentially seem to be solid holograms. Their look changes mainly on size and coloring, but there is some detail change. I understand the need to keep things at a more simple level, but the lack of variance on the baddies only adds to the repetitive nature of the game.
At first, the game is quite fun and you can make your way through areas on both rooftops and the street level. The two screens split the areas so when you go from one to the other, the focus will switch between the screens. This is actually done really well and your eyes will quickly adjust to switching between the two. Again, the fights are pretty basic, and with your powers, you can make it a little more interesting. There are also your partners. In the DS version, they’re chosen for you, which does allow for a change of pace, but at the same time can make a particular area kind of boring if you don’t find the partner interesting. The partner will also have two powers or abilities that you can switch between and use during fights, presuming you have enough in the power meter to use. You can switch between Spider-Man and his partner at any point during the game. Whichever character you do play, the other one seems to become invincible, which does make saving a life easier.
Except saving a life is somewhat unnecessary. If both characters are KO’d, the one KO’d first will revive with some health, but no power. This does make the game easier, but it does remove some of the challenge. As you advance though, it also becomes quite frustrating.
The PHANTOMs are easy to beat at first, but it does become evident later on that you can easily get into a rut with them. The PHANTOMS have the ability to fight hand to hand or use range weapons, and the range weapons are what can get you KO’d quickly. The way it often happens is that they will fire in a certain pattern that keeps you from being able to move too much due to being hit. You might be able to switch to the partner and stop it, if the partner is actually conscious. Sometimes in later levels, that isn’t the case and you essentially feel like you’re moving in slow motion only to be knocked out when you get close enough to fight.
The areas, while they do vary, tend also to be pretty repetitive, which actually seems to be more of an issue of the game itself, regardless of the platform. While it is nice to have different backgrounds and look of the environments, how the environments are used seems repetitive. With that, the lack of combos, effective powers, and repetitive baddies, it’s hard to feel the drive to pursue the game much beyond the first two locations.
What does help in the PS2 version is the fact that there are new partners in every location, sometimes two partners. In the DS version, there are much fewer, generally one per location and again, you cannot chose who. Your partner is either a “good guy” like the Black Cat or Blade, or baddies, like Sandman, Green Goblin, or Doctor Octopus. To be able to play the baddies, you have to beat them first. To make the “bad guys as partners” more believable, all of the baddies are being controlled. That way they can feel the need for revenge on the person controlling them and it makes a small bit of sense on why they would want to join with Spider-Man. Why Spidey agrees to join up with so many of his rogues makes less sense. In fact, you’re not really given a reason why.
While you play, you’re able to gather coins and power ups. Sometimes, the power ups seem so plentiful that you would have no issue keeping everyone alive and powered up. Then in other areas, they suddenly become scarce, which is also the time that you get a lot more PHANTOMs to take care of. The game becomes “harder” as it goes on, but not really because of a higher skill level, but more of an “odds stacked against you”. Often you’ll be caught in a continuous crossfire that is very difficult to move out of before you’re knocked out. The baddies aren’t really difficult, just annoying.
The coins you gather allow you to unlock partners for free play, which allows you to go back to old areas with whichever partner you choose. Other than using that to gain more coins, there isn’t much point to it. You can also unlock mini-games, which ends up being pretty pointless. The mini-games are just the unlocking tools you run into during normal game play: picking a lock, finding a security code, and matching up voltage to circuits. They can be fun during the game itself, but as a mini-game outside, they’re kind of boring and they don’t have any rewards. The security code mini-game is so frustrating, that wanting to play it more than you have to is unlikely. In the game itself, you have to have Doc Ock to be able to access panels to get into new areas. The numbers rotate and are generally red. When the numbers turn green, you tap it with the stylus to lock it in. It’s a timed thing, so you have to do it quickly. The downside is that if you miss or hit too late, you lose a chunk of time. For all of them but the last one, it’s not really an issue. The last one, however, seems to switch from green to red as you tap it. It’s not that you hit it too slowly, you can hit it immediately after it turns green and it will bleep red at you. If you run out of time, you have to face a small group of PHANTOMs before you can try again. Which gets very repetitive when you have to do the same puzzle repeatedly.
The graphics for a DS game are pretty good, as are the animations. The animations are limited, but nice. The voices are well done too, but most of the humor from the PS2 version is gone.
It’s understandable that they would have to cut things down from the version on the PS2 and other bigger platforms, but in the end, the DS version of Spider-Man: Friend or Foe is lacking quite a bit. Between the limited fighting combinations, repetitive baddies and locations, the game ends up lacking significantly in behind the other versions. It’s not a terrible game, but it’s not a great game. Players will get some enjoyment out of it at first, but will likely grow tired of it.
Special thanks to Wiebke Hesse and Activision for providing a copy of this title.