Father's Pride

State of the Story

It's a rain-soaked night at the Midtown High School football field and two young adversaries are about to square off. Peter Parker finds himself in a battle with neither his identity-concealing Spider-Man costume nor his helpful Web Shooters. Eddie Brock, on the other hand, is reveling in his newfound abilities and has taken on the persona of Venom. Or, more precisely, the Venom suit has taken him over. Either way, Eddie intends to teach his schoolyard buddy a painful lesson...

BATTLE ON THE GRIDIRON

Without his Web Shooters, Peter is limited in what he can do when battling Venom. With that being the case, you're going to have to make do by relying merely on Peter's ability to jump out of the way of Venom's attacks, and counterattack with a punch or kick whenever possible.

Venom has several attacks at his disposal, but (in this particular bout) he's willing to rely almost solely on his Tentacle Attack. He'll use his tentacles to suddenly reach out and take a swipe at Peter. Making matters worse for Peter, Venom's tentacles are quite long and can strike from a distance.

Watch for a shimmering glow to appear above Peter's head and quickly press the Jump Button when it does. These flashes let you know when his Spider-Senses are tingling and indicate impending harm. Quickly leap out of the way to avoid being struck and press the Punch Button (or Kick Button) while airborne to dive in for a strike.

Peter tries to talk some sense into Eddie and, for a moment at least, it appears that Eddie is thinking about backing off. Rush towards him and use a combination attack to knock him down.

BATTLE RATINGS

Throughout the game, textbased ratings appear on screen whenever Spider-Man is succeeding in battle. A basic combo nets a "Good" rating, but it's possible to string numerous attacks together to net an "Ultimate" battle rating. Not only does this let you know that you are fighting superbly, but as these combo ratings increase, so does the attack damage Spider-Man dishes out. The more encouraging the rating ("Ultimate" is better than "Wonderful" which is better than "Good"), the larger the damage boost you receive.

Once Venom has been depleted of one-quarter of his health, Peter decides to lure Venom away from the school before he hurts someone. Look for the arrow to appear on the screen and run to the green beacon in the football field's end zone!

Peter leads Venom across several rooftops and the two ultimately plummet through some power lines and crash onto the roof of a car. Peter tries to back away, but Venom closes in and uses his tentacles to grab hold of Peter as if to feed on him. Peter must break free of Venom's grasp if he's to live to witness another New York minute. To break Peter free, rapidly alternate presses of the Web Swing and Web Attack Buttons. A small meter appears on the lower right-hand corner of the screen—continue alternating these button presses until the needle moves into the green and Peter is free of Venom's grasp.

Now Venom is really mad and begins to attack at a higher frequency. Peter must not only dodge Venom's attacks if he's to stay alive, but he has to also stay out of his reach. Venom grows hungry during this battle and takes any opportunity to feed on innocent passersby or, even worse, on Peter! Should Venom grab hold of Peter and try to feed on him, don't hesitate to begin tapping the Web Swing and Web Attack Buttons again.

The battle may have shifted off the football field, but that doesn't mean Peter can't still play some offense. Fortunately, it's possible to put the environment to use against Venom. Watch for Peter's Spider-Sense to tingle and quickly jump out of the way of Venom's attack. Follow this with a quick combination attack to knock Venom on the ground. Continue knocking him onto his back in the direction of the fallen power lines. Peter's punches and kicks do a fair bit of damage, but not nearly as much as the high voltage current flowing through those sparking utility wires! The battle ends once Venom's health meter is only one-quarter of the way full.

One of the benefits of not being at the mercy of the Venom suit is that Peter can use his smarts to out-think his over-aggressive opponent. Since knocking Venom into the sparking electrical cords can be tricky, try luring him into it. Venom is under the misguided assumption that he is invincible. Run to the far side of the fallen power lines and watch him run straight into the electrical current. Repeat this trick as necessary.

CHAPTER WRAP-UP

The police arrive on the scene and Peter quickly retreats to the shadows on a nearby wall. The police don't know what to think of Venom and, out of sheer fright, they open fire on him. With Peter Parker watching from above, Venom tries to outlast the cops' ammunition supplies and becomes entangled in the sparking electrical lines. All Peter can do is watch in disbelief.

For more hints, secrets, and strategy, check out the BradyGames Ultimate Spider-Man Official Strategy Guide!

Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education. Reprinted with permission from BradyGames.