Questprobe Featuring Spider-Man is one game in a trilogy of games featuring Marvel comic book characters as heroes. There were originally intended to be twelve different games in the series, which was primarily marketed in the United Kingdom. However, the series fizzled out after only three editions. The first Questprobe game centered around the Incredible Hulk, and the third game featured the Thing and the Human Torch, two popular members of the Fantastic Four crime fighting group. Spider-Man was the subject of the second game in the series.
The series was created by Adventure International and was released for play in the middle eighties. The series was made for play on the personal computer, but the games were also ported to other formats, such as the Commodore 64, Atari 800 and Apple II.
One of the more intriguing things about Questprobe Featuring Spider-Man was the manner in which the game’s manual was included. It was done in the form of a comic book, which was worthy of a read in itself. The instructions were included in this booklet. This was a great way to pull the comic book experience throughout all the portions of the game and unite the theme.
Both in the comic book manual, and within the actual game
of Questprobe Featuring Spider-Man, the main adversary is the arch-enemy Mysterio. Mysterio is a one-time Hollywood special effects designer, and somehow the flare for the dramatic managed to work its way into Quentin Beck’s head and turn him into a force of evil. He uses the power of hypnosis and illusion, as well as some homemade gas concoctions, to control his opponents and warp their brains. Of course, Spider-Man, controlled by the user, is one of these adversaries. Mysterio is portrayed as a man wearing a fishbowl style of helmet to protect himself from his own gas bombs. This look definitely helps to enhance his weird look.
Mysterio captures Spider-Man and takes away his memory. He makes Spidey his lackey and forces him to perform quite a variety of demeaning tasks. Spider-Man will perform many fetch quests and solve many puzzles in this adventure game as he struggles to determine his identity and escape from Mysterio’s clutches.
Questprobe Featuring Spider-Man is an interesting action adventure game with a theme that kids, and old school adults, are sure to love. With the recent resurrection of the Spider-Man character in film, Questprobe’s ancient gem should be all the more enticing to the average gamer.
