25) The Amazing Spider-Man (Computer, 1990)
This game gets points for creativity and then loses them for its loose connection to Spider-Man. It’s a puzzle game where you are trying to rescue Mary Jane from Mysterio and he’s filled a tower with film-related challenges. That’s sort of a neat idea, but the game never makes you feel like Spider-Man. You’re just red-pajamas-movie-puzzle-solver-guy.
24) Spider-Man: Battle For New York (GBA, DS, 2006)
Battle For New York had a lot going for it. Unfortunately, none of it had to do with gameplay. As a tie-in to Brian Michael Bendis’s Ultimate Spider-Man series, it actually had a semblance of a cool story. It let you play as Spidey and the monstrous Ultimate Green Goblin. It had cutscenes drawn by Ron Lim, the dude who drew the original “Infinity Gauntlet” comics! If only this game was any fun to play, it could have been something.
23) Spider-Man: Return of the Sinister Six (NES, Master System 1993)
Six levels. Six bosses. Maybe a six out of ten overall. At the time of its release this was a gorgeous game, but even then the buggy controls were grating. It was a straightforward beat-em-up, and while it never rose to the heights of say, the Ninja Turtles games of the era, it was honestly pretty mindless fun. Having six themed levels for Spidey’s most notorious team of villains was a solid choice, and while it’s no classic, this game holds up surprisingly well.
22) Spider-Man (Atari 2600, 1982)
The one that started it all! The first Spider-Man game, and the first Marvel game ever. Is it playable? Like many games from that era, not by modern standards. Not by a long shot. But you know what? It’s recognizably Spider-Man, and that counts for a lot considering the limitations of the hardware back then. The wall-crawler can’t be more than a few dozen pixels, but you can tell who he’s supposed to be. As he ascends a building to fight the Green Goblin, he swings around and saves people. A solid effort for the early 80s!
21) Amazing Spider-Man 2 (Gameboy, 1992)
Probably the best Spidey game of the early 90s. Platforming is a tough genre to get right. When well crafted you can create a classic. When poorly put together, you have yourself a game that’s more irritating than its worth. That’s why it’s smart that Amazing Spider-Man 2 decided to double down as a beat-em-up. A poorly crafted beat-em-up game can still be lots of fun, and that’s basically what you have here.