Mr. Negative is confirmed as one of the villains in the upcoming Spider-Man, but he isn’t the primary baddie in the game. E3 has given us a look at a slew of upcoming games, among them being Spider-Man, a PS4 exclusive from Insomniac. The Spider-Man PS4 E3 trailer offers a nice look at the gameplay footage in general, including the game’s own version of the Spidey villain Mr. Negative.
However, according to Insomniac’s Creative Director Bryan Intihar, Mr. Negative is simply “a villain in the game.” It sounds as if Mr. Negative will be part of side missions rather than the main villain at the centre of the game’s plot, even though its creators are actively trying to tie Spider-Man’s antics into his normal life as Peter Parker. Mr. Negative will play some role in Peter’s life, as the villain runs the soup kitchen where Aunt May volunteers. Peter isn’t the only one leading a double life it seems.
During the E3 event, Intihar also spoke about how integral Peter will be in terms of the core of the game (via Destructoid):
“The best stories are where Peter’s world and Spider-Man’s world collide, Peter is going to be an integral part of this. We really want to develop those characters when they’re not fighting.”
That doesn’t confirm any gameplay as Peter outside of the suit, but it doesn’t exactly rule it out either. And when discussing that they wanted to develop characters outside of combat, Intihar referenced the Marvel/Netflix TV shows and other superhero movie adaptations as influences on the developers. However, when it comes to the fighting mechanics of the game, Intihar indicated that the designers played a lot of the Batman Arkham games. It’s clear from the game’s footage that the Insomniac team have been influenced by the popular free-flow combat of the Arkham series.
Whilst Mr. Negative might not be the main villain of the game, during the gameplay footage a sign promoting ‘Osborn for Mayor’ can be spotted as Spider-Man swings through New York. Could this be a hint that the Green Goblin might make an appearance in the game? It’s wouldn’t be the first time we’ve seen the Goblin in the Spider-Man games. Numerous versions of the iconic foe have appeared in various video games spanning all the way from 1982. It would make sense that Peter would’ve faced the Green Goblin at some point in the timeline of the new game, since Intihar told the audience that Peter is 23 and that he’s been Spider-Man for a while.
Since Peter’s been the wall crawler for some time, he’s got numerous skills and gadgets that players can use against whichever villains Insomniac fill his world with. A ‘web-tripwire’ flings enemies to a wall and sticks them there lets players take out goons and guards from a distance. During the gameplay trailer, we see Spidey kick a guard off the roof of a building and then web him back in, but what happens if you let him fall? Well according to Intihar:
“He will not die. We’ll have things in place in this game where if you didn’t pull him back, he’ll be okay.”
Freeflow gameplay, incredible graphics and an experienced Spider-Man means that this games has the potential to be a fantastic addition to Marvel’s catalogue of video games.
MORE: Miles Morales Appears in Spider-Man PS4
Spider-Man arrives sometime in 2018.
