To say that Spawn’s video game career has been less than stellar would be something of an understatement. Like so many other licensed characters, games based on Todd McFarlane’s antihero have been mediocre at best and downright appalling at worst. Now, maybe I’m an optimist or just a glutton for punishment, but I picked up Spawn: Armageddon with the hopes that someone finally got it right. Sadly, another lackluster title seems to just further prove that Spawn games are destined to mediocrity.
I must admit that I’ve never read any of the Spawn comics, so I know very little about the character. Surprisingly, the game makes no attempt whatsoever to explain anything about Spawn’s past. In fact, the storyline is practically non-existent, save for a few cut scenes here and there. Each level begins with a paragraph or so of text explaining why Spawn is at that location and that’s pretty much it. I was expecting a fairly involved story considering the character is interesting enough to have entire comic series devoted to him.
Armageddon is a pretty straightforward game that focuses almost entirely on fighting the slew of hellish creatures that inhabit each level. Spawn’s main attack is a short combo with his large, double-sided axe. Actually, there are a couple of different combos that he can perform, but each has the exact same effect in most situations. He can also shoot chains out of his body that act like short-range projectiles. A number of guns appear throughout the game as well to compliment his main weapons. Spawn also has access to a number of Hell Powers. These range from fireball-like projectiles to the ability to slow down time. While some are fairly powerful, others are hard to use or just aren’t all that useful.
At first glance, Spawn’s combat system appears to work pretty well. The controls are very responsive and there are a variety of weapons at your disposal. It quickly becomes apparent, though, that there is actually very little depth. The simple axe combo that you begin with is what you’ll be using for the majority of the game. Spawn’s signature chains are nothing more than something to poke at the enemy with when your ammo is depleted. The many guns that become available are fairly powerful, but ammo is rather limited, so you’ll learn to save it for particularly pesky enemies that are difficult to get close to.
The incredibly simple enemy AI doesn’t help matters any. Most monsters have one or two attacks that are repeated over and over and simply don’t react to anything that Spawn does. In fact, aside from a handful of bosses, no single enemy, or even group of enemies is very difficult to defeat. To compensate, the game begins throwing hordes of enemies at Spawn simultaneously. These areas can be infuriating because the game’s camera is zoomed in so far that you are constantly blindsided by unseen foes. The end result is that many battles consist of madly jumping around the screen to avoid attacks by unseen opponents.
A number of other problems make Armageddon more frustrating than it should be. Sometimes it is difficult to tell how to proceed in the game. For instance, most of the doors in the game are just part of the scenery, but others can and must be used to move on to the next area. The problem is that the game doesn’t do a very good job of distinguishing between the two. This often leads to a lot of wandering around. I also happened upon a few minor glitches, such as getting stuck under invisible ledges and being unable to damage enemies in certain locations. These are infrequent and never force a reload, but inexcusable nevertheless.
Graphically, at least, Spawn does live up to its name. You’ll fight through a variety of different settings such as subway stations, dark alleys, city parks, and office buildings. The artwork in the game is fantastic, especially for Spawn himself and the many gruesome opponents he encounters. The framerate is pretty constant and I really didn’t notice any slowdown problems.
The game’s soundtrack is pure heavy metal and even features a track from Marilyn Manson. I know that heavy metal isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but it certainly fits here. The sound effects also fit the bill nicely, though since there are so few of them, they tend to be repeated a bit too often. The voice acting during cut scenes isn’t bad at all, though the script can certainly be corny in spots. At one point, Spawn actually yells, “You’re my bitch!” I’m not joking.
Spawn: Armageddon isn’t a terrible game. In fact, it’s quite playable and even enjoyable in short spurts. Does that justify a purchase, though? For Spawn fans, maybe. But purely from a gamer’s perspective, Spawn: Armageddon is a two-night rental and nothing more.
