Spider-Man: Total Mayhem Review

By , on September 1, 2010

Spider-Man: Total Mayhem
Download on the AppStore
5 out of 5

PROS

  • Smooth combat and combo fighting system.
  • Eye-catching visuals and animations.
  • Clever level designs and boss fights.

CONS

  • Labored one-liners.
  • No long-term variation in combat.

VERDICT

Spider-Man: Total Mayhem is an easy to pick up and hard to put down action-brawler that not only does justice to the comic book hero, but to the game genre itself.


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Coming up to breathe after playing a long session of 'Spider-Man: Total Mayhem' by Gameloft was an eye opening experience - where did the day go? With so many action-brawlers trying to make their mark on the App Store it's great to see someone finally nailing it home and with a great franchise name behind it too no less.

The controls are nothing new for the genre, however Total Mayhem manages to make switching between ranged, melee and jumping attacks feel completely smooth to execute. This, in part, is thanks to a huge variety of combos being available for players to execute and an auto-targeting system that keeps you from making too many swings at empty air. Spider-sense also takes the catch-all role of providing a dodge and counter system, while in cut-scenes you'll perform quick-time events to avoid taking additional damage.

To keep the action at top-speed the game does use rendered down environment and character models, however to offset this the game is covered by sharp, bright textures that feel like they've been torn straight out of a comic book. The appearance and battles with seven of Spider-Man's villainous foes also makes this a great experience for fans of the series, with each one being given unique environments and situations to suit them.

Total Mayhem isn't without some small gripes, but these niggling issues are almost completely outweighed by the magnificently action packed gameplay that makes this a must try title for all action fans with an iDevice.

Screenshots

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