The Amazing Spider-Man (1990 video game)

Oxford Digital Enterprises

Industry	Video game development
Founded	1990
Headquarters	United Kingdom
Products	The Amazing Spider-Man (video game)

The Amazing Spider-Man is a platform game starring the Marvel superhero Spider-Man. Created by Oxford Digital Enterprises and launched in 1990 for the Commodore 64 and Amiga, it was subsequently adapted for IBM PC compatibles, Amstrad CPC, and Atari ST. In North America, the title was released by Paragon Software, while Empire Software handled its European distribution.

Plot

Mary Jane, Spider-Man's spouse, has been abducted by Mysterio. Players must guide Spider-Man through various levels and solve puzzles set within acts inspired by Mysterio’s fascination with cinema, often satirizing different film genres.

Development

Rick Yapp from Oxford Digital Enterprises explained in a 1990 interview that platform elements were introduced during production to enhance Spider-Man’s web-swinging mechanics, replacing an original straightforward beat 'em up design. To enable detailed animations—including walking on ceilings and walls—Spider-Man’s character sprite was reduced in size to accommodate 256 frames illustrating multiple directions.

The decision to set the game within a movie studio allowed for the incorporation of cinematic references into the gameplay experience. The soundtrack consists of original compositions rather than adaptations from earlier Spider-Man media. The MS-DOS edition supports AdLib sound cards and features a manual speed adjustment to suit faster computer systems. Additionally, all versions permit saving progress to RAM at designated rooms, offering players greater control over gameplay continuity.

See also

• List of Spider-Man video games