Spawn

Children (including Spawn's daughter, Cyan) have been kidnapped by a sinister foe. It is your duty to save them. You just don't go as any mortal. however; you have been given the power to fight as Todd McFarlane's popular superhero. Spawn. Using your arsenal of hell-spawned weapons, fight your way through the urban landscape to reach the captive children.

Spawn can be compared to every typical comic-book hero that has been transformed into a video game. The character bears a striking resemblance to the 4 comic book (which is good), but game play and uniqueness have been passed over flying at warp 9. This directional side scrolling action title puts you up against an army of hired thugs with knives, guns, fire bombs and bare fists. However, one problem arises with this impressive-sounding scenario. They can't hurt you. All of the enemies could be armed with nuclear devices and still not put a scratch on you. Why? Because you're Spawn, a superhero that can't be harmed by mortals. Give me a break! These fall-down enemies do nothing more than just irritate you and boost your self-confidence as you walk through them with the greatest of ease.

The appearance of the character and the rest of the scenery look as if they have been plucked right out of the confines of the Image world. Spawn's actions and movements also coincide with the superhero look. His use of buildings to get that all-too-familiar superhero jump off of the side of a vertical object is also a nice touch. Apparently, the programmers thought so too because you will need to complete levels where all you do is use this jump to get from one ledge to another. The first level you come across where you are required to do this is fairly easy; you only have to fight with the terrible control interface in this area. The next level where you are expected to ascend vertically is where the difficulty arises. This is the stage where you are trying to enter the warehouse, and the hired guns are practicing up on their sniping skills by launching giant exploding bullets at you. You don't come across one enemy here either, only a single crosshair that is always right on your tail. Your job is to stay ahead of it as you climb to the roof and the bullets explode at your tail. Keep in mind that the control is fighting you every step of the way and one mistake will knock you out of your jumping rhythm as the giant projectiles pound you mercilessly. Again, not fun! Fortunately, an unlimited amount of continues are available for use throughout the game.

Spawn's entire game layout tries to purposely annoy the player instead of being entertaining and challenging. The style is more of the same with nothing new except the character. Bad control, unbalanced enemies and absolutely no power-ups force Spawn well into the snoring range.

WHAT'S UP WITH ANTI-SPAWN?

Once Spawn reaches the warehouse and frees the children, he must combat his archnemesis Anti-Spawn more than once. Surrounded by an aura of flying mannequin parts, Anti-Spawn tries to get the chain-wielding hero back for releasing his hostages. Block your way through the airborne plastic body parts, jump over his powerful light beam attack and pick him apart one scratch at a time. Remember the damage his minions did (or I should say didn't do) to you? Well, now you have the favor returned as you watch all of your weapons and attacks switch to the "Gentle" Mode and barely harm him. After many tries and countless attacks, you defeat him. But wait--now he is back again with even more special powers. And you're expected to beat him all over again. Once is more than enough!

Capcom continues their exploration of other genres by making their first arena-style shooter on Sega's Naomi hardware. Spawn employs four action buttons: attack, jump, item, and view. (The view button allows you to slide into first-person view for a look around, but you must remain stationary). The most impressive aspect of Spawn is the wide variety of characters and weapons you may choose from: 14 characters and hundreds of weapons in all. While the singleplayer game is fun, the real strength of Spawn comes from its linked modes which allow up to four machines simultaneously. A Dreamcast version will happen sometime next year, followed by a PlayStation 2 release sometime in 2001. Capcom will release Spawn to arcades this fall.

THE BASICS:

You're a demon who'd rather do good than the devil's bidding. Rampage through Gothic ruins, stab and shoot hideous escapees from hell, and absorb their souls to fuel your profane powers. In a word (or three): Devil May Spawn.

HOW WAS IT?

So far, Spawn looks noticeably worse than the three-year-old Capcom game it shamelessly copies. And I'd say the first boss (a spider-legged car with a face on its grill) is proof enough that aligning creator Todd McFarlane's name with a project is more incriminating than it is compelling.

Spawn's mood is one of horror, with added exploration and action elements. Everything from the moody music in the background to the strange sky above gives you kind of a creepy, gritty feeling. (Think of the first Tomb Raider but with more action.) In fact, Spawn allows players to explore, but when they encounter a bad guy, the game turns into a fighting game--side view and all--until the enemy's dead. You can take the role of Savage, Medieval and Street Spawn. Each of these different Spawns has its own unique levels with enemies created for the game or ones from the popular comic book. The game also allows you to control the camera manually and go into a first-person view. You can't control Spawn in either of these Viewing Modes, but it helps when finding enemies and secret areas.

Note: Deals with the devil never work in your favor. With that out of the way. Spawn for the PlayStation looks like one of the few comic-inspired games to actually be worthwhile.

From what we've seen thus far. Spawn looks similar to Tomb Raider with fighting aspects of Tobal No.1 (in the Quest Mode, that is). The graphics are what makes Spawn stand out at this step in the development process. Realtime lighting effects give an eerie feel to the levels.

Wonder if Todd McFarlane is actually working on the project? Gamers and fans of the comic should be pleased to know Todd is making sure the attitude of Spawn is intact. Although there is a lot that can change. Sony is on the right track with this upcoming title.

Spawn is the hottest-selling comic-book series since the X- Men. Although the SNES game is true to its origins, the linear gameplay makes for run-of- the-mill action.

Night of the Living Dead

As Spawn, you strike a deal with an evil force, Malebolgia, in order to acquire the powers that will help you save your kidnapped family. You receive more than 24 basic fighting moves and 8 superpower attacks, such as fireballs and teleport moves. Four deep stages lie between you and the final confrontation with Malebolgia.

Playing solo in this side scroller, you face unending waves of goons and thugs, plus tough bosses straight from the comic, including Angela and Violator. Additional obstacles include a tight time schedule and a limited life bar. The action is nonstop and very challenging -- fortunately there's a password feature.

Unfortunately, Spawn's gameplay is all action and little else; it offers no hidden levels, secret objects, or power- ups amid the relentless fighting. Many of the ruffians make repeat performances on every level, as do some of the bosses. It's a kick to see Spawn kicking tail, but the linear action quickly becomes monotonous.

Although Spawn has a substantial repertoire of easy-to- control fighting moves, his super moves are a bit thin. Most of them require some manual gymnastics with Street Fighter ll-like control-pad rotations.

Under the Hood

Spawn's highlights are its graphics and animation. The game's artists successfully captured the dark, brooding atmosphere of the comic, especially in the backgrounds. All the characters are well rendered with plenty of detail, and they move smoothly.

Spawn himself is an impressive sight with his trademark cape billowing and coiling around his body. The sound effects, on the other hand, are merely adequate.

Spawn Spurned

Although pretty to look at, Spawn doesn't offer anything new to the action/adventure genre. Spawn scores a direct hit with fans of the comic book, but veteran gamers will most likely be disappointed.

Awesome side scrolling game, and no one can deny how brutal spawn is, but how do you use his hell powers? it says in the handbook that you have to hit " R " to use them, but how do you program a button to be " R"?????? it only allows me to chose start, mode, a,b,c,x,y, and z!

Who doesnt like Spawn he whoops butt AWESOME GAME!!!!!!!download it now yo

From his top-selling comic-book origins, the dark superhero Spam has lent himself to a popular action-figure toy line, full-length feature movie, animated TV series, and now an impressive-looking video game that rings true to its comic origins, while providing gameplay features that are sure to attract non-comic fans.

Spawning the Mood

Sony will try to rev the PlayStation's graphic engine to produce impressive, sharp-looking visuals that effectively capture the ominous mood of the Spawn comic books. In this 40 percent beta version of Spawn, real-time lighting effects, ambient shadows, detailed 3D environments, and fluid, motion-captured character animation created a believable, digital representation of life in Hell.

From Hell to Heaven

Spawn is a reluctant agent of Hell who barters his soul for a chance to return to his wife on Earth. The game loosely adapts the comic book storyline spanning 18 massive levels, and transforms Spawn in 3 different time periods: Savage Spawn, Medeival Spawn, and Street Spawn. All your favorite Spawn villains such as The Clown, Violator, and The Soul Trapper await you.

Fight to the Death

Spawn combines Tomb Raider-like exploration and puzzle-filled game-play with plenty of hardcore battles. The Sony Interactive programmers are Tekken 2 fight fans, who say their aim is to replicate Tekken 2-style mechanics, like button-tap combos and cool throws. There are also power-ups and magic spells to add to Spawn's lethal arsenal of fight options.

It's been a rough year for Spawn. First his movie stinks; now his much anticipated game, Spawn: The Eternal, stinks too, crucified by bad control and repetitive gameplay. It's enough to make the guy wish he'd never gotten out of Hell in the morning.

As Spawn travels through three worlds (plus nine levels of Hell) on his way to fight Malebogia, comic fans will encounter many familiar characters, including Violator, Redeemer, and Billy Kincaid, plus plenty of generic goons. But if getting there is half the fun, players will want to know what the other half is supposed to be. The 3D sprites are huge and detailed, but Spawn runs like a linebacker and wears his trademark chains and cape only during a fight--and then it's either one or the other. Plus Spawn's special attacks are need-lessly complex to perform in the heat of battle, and the controls don't respond well. Oh, and you can't jump during fights, either.

A bunch of uninspired grunts and limp rock music during combat make up the fight soundtrack, though the atmospheric stuff you hear while wandering around is creepy. Still, Resident Evil a whole lot more foreboding.

It'll break every fanboy's heart to read this, but this incarnation of Spawn truly deserves eternal damnation.

If video games based on comic book characters are a mainstay of your gaming diet, then this little morsel should have you doing cartwheels. Acclaim is releasing Spawn, based on one of Image Comic's most famous anti-heroes. Spawn sold his soul to the Devil and spends most of his leisure time offing washed-up superheroes and the like. Although still in the early stages of development, Spawn looks as if it'll play a lot like the popular Maximum Carnage, released last year.