Game music of the day: Spider-Man & The X-Men: Arcade's Revenge
GR's ongoing tribute to the beloved world of videogame music
Game: Spider-Man %26amp; The X-Men
Song: Mission Briefing
Composer: Tim and Geoff Follin
Above: Mission Briefing from Spider-Man %26amp; The X-Men
After six years of open-world romps through Manhattan, Spider-Man returns to straightfoward action today with the release of Shattered Dimensions. While some may lament the loss of free-roaming gameplay, it's important to remember there are a few decent-to-great Spidey games from years past that put you on a direct path instead of a wide-open cityscape. One such title would be 1992's team-up extravaganza, Spider-Man %26amp; The X-Men, which also sports one of the most glamorous and funky soundtracks of all time.
This "Briefing" track perfectly exemplifies the full OST, as it starts out like porn music, then seamlessly blends into something akin to circus porn, then circus disco porn, then a totally legit bass groove. It's a grand musical journey, making for one of the weirdest Marvelexperiences of the 16-bit days. Doubly so if you know your costume trivia - Wolverine and Cyclops were in different suits at this point (classic yellow and Jim Lee blue, respectively), while Storm is already in her new '90s attire seen in the Fox cartoon. It's a bizarre mishmash of spandex.
Above: Cyclops' level is more akin to a '70s variety show. Seven minutes of freakin' out, man!
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Above: Wolverine's theme sounds a bit silly because the level takes place in a toy world. Yep
Just about every song is incredibly strong, which is thanks to the continued skill of Tim and Geoff Follin, two fairly well-known games musicians. Everything they touch is VGM gold, and you can check some of their additional work below.
A surefire cure for whatever ailes you, by Tim and Geoff Follin
Level 2 by Tim Follin, the best part about the entire game
Face-shredding metal from Frykman and Strong
A fomer Executive Editor at GamesRadar, Brett also contributed content to many other Future gaming publications including Nintendo Power, PC Gamer and Official Xbox Magazine. Brett has worked at Capcom in several senior roles, is an experienced podcaster, and now works as a Senior Manager of Content Communications at PlayStation SIE.