Fun combat with an interesting artistic approach mixed with a little bit of repetition.
Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions starts off as the Amazing Spider-Man is investigating a disturbance at the Empire State University. After battling it out with Mysterio, Madame Web appears to inform him that a powerful relic has been shattered and it is up to him and 3 other Spider-Men to find the pieces that have been scattered across their dimensions. There's not a whole lot to the story outside of stopping the various villains of the spider-men universes and returning the damaged relic to safety. On a good note however, it does manage to deliver that charm that only Spider-man can.
Gameplay wise, Shattered Dimensions is repetitive. The Amazing, Ultimate and 2099 universes are just about all the same with a few more nuts and bolts thrown in for a minor shift in pace. Ultimate Spider-Man gets the Rage ability which increases his strength and allows him to attack in a wider area. 2099 gets his Accelerated vision which is essentially bullet time. It slows down enemies and allows him to get into a more comfortable position as well as avoid incoming missiles and even lure them into a group of enemies. Noir is the only universe that leads players astray from the path that the other 3 take with it's stealthy approach to combat. Even then, fighting the same 5 enemies that exist in every universe is unavoidable. No matter what universe you decide to sling webs in, you're bound to fight a guy with a weapon too large for anybody to use or a guy with a bat or some variation of it.
With that out in the open the combat in Shattered Dimensions is still very fun and it certainly captures the feel of being your neighborhood friendly Spider-Man. The Amazing Spidey sticks to his webs while the Ultimate version will make use of his Symbiote suits tendrils and power. Miguel O'hara from 2099 will use his agility and speed to defeat his enemies. In the Noir universe, Spider-Man uses stealth to his advantage much like Batman in Arkham Asylum. While he can handle himself in a fight, he can only do so in scripted fights which can is rather frustrating when you're caught during the stealthy sections.
As players defeat their foes and find spider tokens they'll gain spider essence for upgrades. Combat upgrades will allow the Spider-men to use abilities unique to their universe and some more basic skills they'll share with each other. Character upgrades unlock new skins for them as well as increase their special abilities performance, health and the amount of Spider-essence you collect. There are also one hundred and eighty challenges for players to complete. While many of the challenges for each level are just as repetitive as the rest of the game, they do break up the monotony of the button mashing combat and request that players try new things. For example, one challenge requests that players use explosive objects to ignite five enemies on fire at once. Another has players searching for a certain item during the ensuing chaos of a boss fight. There are also some unique moments that set the universes apart as well such as Noir side-scrolling through the darkness or watching Amazing Spider-man through the scope of a sniper rifle.
The game also has a tendency to slow down the pacing from time to time. It's hard to tell when you can or can't use your web swinging abilities until you've already began your plummet to certain doom. Spider-Man does however, get a couple of seconds to catch and save himself though so it's not too frustrating. In the end, you always have the ability to zip to plenty of objects in the environment if Spidey is close enough. There are some inconsistencies in the Ultimate universe as well. The problem mainly lies with one of the bosses you fight not belonging to that specific universe. While the reasoning behind this choice is obvious it's a little irritating to those that know anything about the differences.
Shattered Dimensions sports an interesting artistic design. Each universe has it's own unique approach. The Amazing universe sports a bright and vibrant cel-shaded style while Ultimate sticks to a darker tone. 2099 is set in a towering, technologically advanced metropolis that may remind players of Tron. Finally, Noir is set in it's signature black and white art style. The voice acting is well done and each universe delivers the wit that only Spider-man ever could. It is rather disappointing that the dialogue is lacking for each universe however. The Spiders share the same lines and you're going to hear them a lot. Like they say, they'll keep dishing it if you keep taking it.
Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions manages to deliver a fun and charming experience that only the web-crawler can despite it's flaws. It sports a great artistic design and the entertaining combat with challenges that will keep players coming back to complete them. If you're bored and need something to play, you'll certainly want to take a swing at Shattered Dimensions.