Spider-Man The Video Game (Arcade)

Spider-Man: The Video Game is a video game developed by Sega in 1991 based on the Marvel Comics popular comic book character Spider-Man. The game was released as a coin-operated arcade title based on the Sega System 32 hardware. The game can be played as a single player game or up to a four player one. The game is a beat 'em up game similar to Data East’s title based on the Marvel Franchise, Captain America and the Avengers released earlier that year.

Gameplay
A novel bit of gameplay is that every so often the game changes from a multi-scrolling fighter into a platformer as the camera zooms to a far-away view of the characters in miniature. Later it zooms back in for the much larger and more detailed characters to continue the brawling. When Venom is defeated at the end of the first stage, the Venom costume melts away to reveal an unconscious Eddie Brock in his white briefs.

The game allows the user to play as one of four characters: Spider-Man, the Black Cat, prince Namor the Sub-Mariner, and the Avengers' Hawkeye. The game was divided into four acts, meeting various villains, including Venom, Kingpin, Doctor Octopus, Electro, Lizard, Scorpion, Sandman, Green Goblin, Hobgoblin, and ultimately Doctor Doom. High scores are separated by character; so a high score on Spider-Man may not be a high score on Hawkeye or Black Cat.

It has been speculated that the 2008 symbiote story in Mighty Avengers was inspired by the final part of this video game; in both the comic and the game, Dr. Doom creates an army of symbiote clones.

Reception
The game was reviewed in 1992 in Dragon #177 by Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column. The reviewers gave the game 5 out of 5 stars.