Eight Legged Freaks

letthesquashingbegin.warnerbros.com

Scores:
As a Webgame: 4
(It's better than a lot of web games. It would have a higher score if it were longer.)

As a Downloadable Free Game: 2
(Yeah, you can download it and keep it, but it's not long enough to be really interesting, and replay value is next to nothing.)


I was fairly skeptical of this movie tie-in game at first. A free first-person-shooter? That's a lot of programming to do to give away for free, even to promote your movie. I was only half justified in my skepticism. It is actually a full, free game. It is a FPS, and it is free, but it isn't by any means exemplary.

In my mind, all FPSs will always be judged against grandpa Wolfenstein. While the 8-legged freaks game has modern graphics, it isn't nearly as fun as good ol' Wolfenstein in the sheer carnage department.

Gameplay is a bit awkward. I found aiming problematic (shots I thought dead-on sometimes didn't seem to have any effect.) And while the movement is fluid, the controls aren't customizable. In addition, the game is fairly short, with only four weapons, three types of enemies, and two levels (the second one being very short.) It isn't really very difficult, generally using a 'find the keys and get to the exit' theme. In addition, the weapons are kind of pathetic--I expect the last weapon one finds in a FPS to kick some serious arachnid rear. None of these weapons (crossbow, bug spray, shotgun, and nail gun) fill that bill very well.

Still, the game has a few good points. It's playable as either a web game, or you can download it and play it on your computer. It offers both a Mac and a PC version. There's also a save function, and two different characters to choose from. (Though this only changes the little remarks you make when you kill a spider.)

In all, I would be impressed with this game if it were longer. The creators took their task seriously, making a promotional game that is actually kind of fun to play. It seems like it would have taken very little effort to develop a few more levels of play. But, hey, at least it's free.

Written by EUOL on September 10th, 2002