I have webs in my brain (well, more than usual). Insomniac’s new Spider-Man game comes out on September 7 for PlayStation 4. I reviewed it earlier this week, and I love it. A couple of week’s ago, I wrote about one my favorite games from Spidey’s past, 2000’s Spider-Man for the first PlayStation.
Today, I want to talk about a Spider-Man game that is not as good those two, but it’s plenty interesting. I’m talking about Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage, which came out in 1994 for Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis.
At first, Maximum Carnage looks like a generic beat-’em-up. And, well, it is. If you played 16-bit games like Final Fight or Streets of Rage, you know what to expect. You walk across linear levels while beating the crap out of anyone you come across.
This sort of game was popular in arcades and 16-bit systems in the ’90s. The beat-’em-up even proved a suitable genre for superhero games, with the X-Men, The Punisher and Batman having their own punchy-punch adventures. But all of these games suffered from similar problems. With the action focusing so much on fighting, things could get monotonous. These games can feel like marathon of pushing the same few buttons over and over.
Maximum Carnage had this same problem when it launched in 1994. I applauded Insomniac’s Spider-Man for capturing all of the important aspects of the hero: swinging, fighting, science, photography, and empathy. Maximum Carnage is just about beating people up.
It also has some weird problems. As the name promises, you can play as Spider-Man or his nemesis Venom. But this is only a single-player screen. Oddly, you and a friend can’t team up as Spidey and Venom. You need to pick one or the other and go it solo.
It probably sounds like I’m trashing this game so far. It’s not a classic. It’s not one of Spider-Man’s best games. But Maximum Carnage is still a fun (if simple) game, and I have a soft spot for it.
It was special because it was based on a recent comic book event (which went by the same name, Maximum Carnage). This 1993 story took place over 14 issues of comics. It saw Spider-Man team up with Venom, once a great enemy, to take down Carnage. Like Venom, Carnage is a symbiotic alien using a human host. And he’s going on a murder spree across New York City. Having the game follow the comic story so shortly after its debut made Maximum Carnage feel like a multimedia event.
Maximum Carnage also came in a red cartridge. As we all know, special color cartridges are awesome. This treatment makes a game feel special, as The Legend of Zelda established with its use of gold. Maximum Carnage is no Zelda, but that red cartridge has always helped it stand out as something special (probably more than it deserves).
The game is a typical beat ’em-up, but it’s still a pretty one. The dark outlines of the characters capture the look of the comics, and panel-style cutscenes progress the story in an interesting way. And while Spidey had starred in plenty of games by this point, getting to control Venom was novel. Maximum Carnage also featured music by rock band Green Jelly, which had a big hit in the ’90s with its heavy metal take on the classic story “Three Little Pigs.”
This is a very ’90s game.
Maximum Carnage even managed to have a sequel (something I have to admit I didn’t know until I started doing some Google research for this story). Venom/Spider-Man: Separation Anxiety came out in 1995 for Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis.
Separation Anxiety plays a lot like Maximum Carnage, but it supports two players! So, hey, problem solved.
When Insomniac’s Spider-Man game comes out, play it. But if you’re wandering through a second-hand game store and see a strange, red cartridge among the heap, consider picking it up. I know that I’m going to be hunting for a copy of Separation Anxiety now that I know it exists.
The RetroBeat is a weekly column that looks at gaming’s past, diving into classics, new retro titles, or looking at how old favorites — and their design techniques — inspire today’s market and experiences. If you have any retro-themed projects or scoops you’d like to send my way, please contact me.