Spider-Man: Web of Fire (Sega 32X) review "Part clunky brawler, part frustrating platformer, Web of Fire is definitely not the “32-bit gaming experience” promised by Sega."

Spider-Man: Web of Fire is something of a novelty amongst the 32X’s small collection of games in that it isn’t a port of an arcade game, it doesn’t contain FMV, and it can’t be found on any other system. The title screen states that this 32X exclusive was released in 1996, although the date in the credits is November 30th 1995. In any case, it’s supposedly the final North American release for Sega’s doomed system. Rumours of a limited production run have seen prices soar in recent years; a copy sold on eBay just before Christmas went for an auction price of $378.

Its exclusivity and rarity may make it a treasure for Sega collectors, but for everyone else this is a side-scroller that’s best avoided. Rather than involve the guys behind the excellent Maximum Carnage, released a couple years before for the Genesis and SNES, Sega handed development responsibilities to BlueSky Software, a company who had brief success in the mid-90s with Vectorman and World Series Baseball before their demise during the early years of the PlayStation. The producer, Jerry Mankota, can lay claim to a handful of poor X-Men titles for the Game Gear. It’s hardly the all-star team you want in charge of a licensed exclusive and Web of Fire has an amateurish feel about it. Part clunky brawler, part frustrating platformer, it’s definitely not the “32-bit gaming experience” promised by Sega.

The problems begin with an uninspired story that makes poor use of the source material. Web of Fire brings Spider-Man into conflict with the terrorist organisation Hydra, which has taken New York City hostage by trapping it inside a giant electrical web. Although Hydra have become more prominent in recent Marvel films, fans of the mid-90s Spider-Man cartoon can be forgiven for being a little disappointed by the villains in Web of Fire. Instead of the Green Goblin, Kingpin or Dr Octopus, we get to fight Hydra’s hired guns, the likes of The Eel, Dragon Man and Thermite. I don’t know much about Thermite, and Web of Fire does little to make his character seem unique or interesting. Instead of a battle that showcases his super powers, we’re thrown into a brawl that demands we do little more than mash the buttons while Thermite jumps around and occasionally attacks with projectiles. The battles are so repetitive that you can substitute ‘Thermite’ in that last sentence for any one of the bosses in Web of Fire.

Web of Fire is reluctant to break with convention. As the adventure unfolds, we’re taken on a journey that will be very familiar to those who have played more than a few ‘90s side-scrollers. The typical locations are here: the burning rooftops of the city, a dangerous power plant, an even more dangerous oil refinery. The climax sends Spider-Man up the side of a rocket which is moments away from launch. I have nothing against such clichéd stages in principle, but the lack of imagination is unforgivable when the stage design is as poor as it is here. Levels are full of irritating traps and obstacles that slow your progress in the most irritating manner. In the power plant you must repeatedly scale towers while trying to pass electric wires that switch on and off. They operate at what seems like random and they’re reused to excess throughout the stage. It’s actually a short adventure, but it feels longer because levels are tricky and repetitive.

I would like to praise BlueSky Software for their inclusion of ‘web swinging’ sections that allow Spider-Man to freely swing through the skies. It’s the only time where they show an inclination to go beyond the standard platform-scaling, enemy-brawling action that forms the basis of the adventure. The finest sequence is the stage that takes you across Brooklyn Bridge; it even looks the part, with burnt-out cars on the bridge, the silhouettes of the city’s skyscrapers and a purple sky that’s illuminated by Hydra’s flashing neon web. It’s true that swinging through the skies allows you to miss the entirety of the level, but this is more of a blessing than a fault when you consider that the alternative is to battle through tough enemies with no more than a web projectile attack and a single punch combo.


Web of Fire would maybe, possibly, have been ever-so slightly more forgivable had it been released in the early days of the Genesis. It certainly feels, looks and sounds like a poor 16-bit adventure with its tired gameplay, muddy graphics and discordant music. When you remember that it was actually the final game on a console that was supposed to take Sega to new heights it’s harder to excuse its faults. Less than a year after Spider-Man: Web of Fire was released for the 32X, Nintendo gave us Super Mario 64.

I’ll leave you with one moment that demonstrates just how awful this game is. In the city rooftop stage there are rectangular fans that are wide but very low to the ground. Jump onto the flat blades of the fan and Spider-Man will recoil in pain, forcing you to reattempt the leap. Jump just short of the fan and he’ll automatically stick to it, his feet flat against the vertical side, his head sticking out parallel to the ground. While you’re in this ridiculous position, stuck to the side of fan that’s shorter in height than Spider-Man himself, enemies will happily come along and pummel you in the head.


Let me repeat, seven months after Spider-Man: Web of Fire, Nintendo released Super Mario 64 in Japan.

Freelance review by Tim Ayre (January 06, 2015) A bio for this contributor is currently unavailable, but check back soon to see if that changes. If you are the author of this review, you can update your bio from the Settings page.