Spawn Preview

Spawn is the upcoming third-person action game from Namco, based on Todd McFarlane's hit comic creation. The multiplatform game marks the latest attempt to capture the character's appeal in video game format. The last time we saw the game it looked to be coming along fine. Developer Point of View has put together a solid engine that features strong visuals and solid gameplay. We recently received previewable versions of the game for the GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Xbox and have checked them out to see how development is faring.

As any comic fan will tell you, Spawn has been through the wringer. He was originally a soldier, named Al Simmons, who was killed as part of a conspiracy. Simmons was then resurrected as a hellspawn--an agent of the demon Malebolgia. In addition to getting a new, rather twisted, lease on life, Spawn's resurrection also included a new career path--that of an agent of the apocalypse. However, his demonic visage and powers aside, Spawn is still a good guy at heart, generally speaking anyway, and decides to break from tradition to fight evil. The ensuing drama, from such a decision, has made for a little over a decade's worth of comics, crossovers, animated series material, and kick-ass toys. In addition, a motion picture was made. However, as Spawn's popularity extended beyond comics, game developers came a-knockin,' and, as any fan can tell you, things haven't turned out quite so well. The past three generations of consoles have seen some "craptacular" attempts to recreate Spawn in video game form. As a result, the bar's been set pretty low for Spawn games. Fortunately, it appears that Point of View may break from tradition and deliver a decent Spawn game.

The game's story follows Spawn's attempt to stop a pack of rambunctious angels who have plotted to wipe out hell. While this is good in theory, the enormous weapon the angelic ones have trained on the underworld will have a nasty side effect on the earth--such as destroying it. Spawn clearly has some issues with this plan and sets out to set everybody straight. The story is serviceable and sets up a few choice opportunities to interact with some familiar faces in the Spawn universe.

As far as gameplay goes, Point of View isn't setting out to reinvent the wheel, which is both good and bad. Spawn is a third-person, mission-based action game that puts you in control of the hellacious one as he tries to stop the aforementioned pack of overly enthusiastic angels from wiping out the earth. The end result is an atmospheric game that owes quite a debt to the original Devil May Cry. You'll go from mission to mission dealing with assorted foes and encountering familiar faces, such as Violator and Redemeer. Along the way you'll collect pickups that restore health and hell power (which allows Spawn to use a variety of mystical forces) as well as others which serve as currency you can use to enhance his abilities. You'll also find comic books that will offer a gallery of the comic's covers. The game's basic structure should be a comfortable fit for veteran gamers and is easily accessible to newcomers.

The same familiarity holds true for Spawn's controls, which are fairly easy to get a hang of, on the whole. You have four basic attacks: melee attacks using Spawn's ax, weapon attacks using a broad arsenal of firearms, assorted hell powers, and ranged attacks using Spawn's chains. You can mix and match the various attacks into assorted combos that dole out impressive amounts of damage to your foes. Spawn can also double-jump and glide using his cape, which is usually morphed into his trusty ax. Additionally, you can use Spawn's chains as grappling hooks to reach out-of-the-way areas.

Spawn's presentation is shaping up pretty well, thanks to a nice assortment of menacing locales. You roam through demon-infested streets, warehouses, and docks, to name just some of the game's locations. As you hack, slash, and blast your way through the levels, you'll notice some nice interactivity, courtesy of quite a few destructible elements strewn throughout the game. The character models are detailed and animate well enough, although we'd like to see some of Spawn's attacks move a bit more fluidly--namely his chains. As far as how the game is looking on each of the platforms, there are some distinct differences among the consoles. The Xbox version fares the best, with clean detail and a high frame rate. The PlayStation 2 is a solid second, with slightly less detail and an occasionally inconsistent frame rate. The GameCube version was the most inconsistent, which is somewhat surprising considering the game's solid showing at E3. Still, given what we've seen before, we expect the game to run smoothly by the time it ships.

Based on what we've seen so far, Spawn is coming together fairly well across the board. The graphics are shaping up well, and the gameplay is solid. Fans of the comic series will appreciate seeing Spawn and some of his foes, while comic-challenged players will appreciate the detailed character models. Spawn is currently slated to ship this fall for the GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Xbox.