Spider: The Video Game is a 1997 video game made by Boss Game Studios for the PlayStation where you are... a spider. You used to be the human Dr. Michael Kelly, a biologist and genetics expert leading Microtech Industries, a corporation developing artificial intelligence in insects. While spearheading research in hyper-intelligent spider specimens, you accidentally had your mind swapped with a spider. Unable to convince the lab personnel of your predicament, you managed to escape one night, but you'll have to fight your way out through other species roaming the lab.
Gameplay-wise, Spider is your standard 2.5D platformer with a more unique premise with your protagonist being a sentient arachnid (not even a cute one, but one which is rendered realistically). Besides jumping between platforms, you can also crawl alongside walls and underneath platforms, while avoiding hazards like water puddles and acid pools, while collecting all kinds of weapons discarded all over the lab's interiors - owing to you being an "intelligent" spider - to be attached to your body for battling enemies.
Spider: The Video Game contain examples of:
- Airborne Mooks: Wasps, bats and flies are airborne enemies who attacks from above. You'll need to save your missiles or ranged weapons for them or flee as soon as one appears.
- Arm Cannon: You can obtain these type of powerups; they attache a cannon to your forearms.
- Artificial Limbs Are Stronger: You can collect mechanical legs and appendages as substitutes for your own, which allows you to move faster and jump higher (while somehow retaining your Wall Crawl abilities).
- Bat Out of Hell: Bats appears in dark, dank areas as one of the few non insect-based enemy in the game. Who can somehow drop bombs from above.
- Battle Boomerang: Another item you can use, which deals average damage to your enemies but automatically returns to you after each use. And since boomerangs doesn't consume ammunition you can keep using it until you lose a life.
- Blade Below the Shoulder: One of the power-ups swaps your front arms with a blade, which allows faster and stronger melee attacks. It's even displayed on the cover art.
- Brain Monster: At the lab's exit and final level, after battling through hordes and hordes of insect-based enemies, you face the weird Final Boss: a gigantic floating brain with two eyes growing on it, and having a spine-like tail. Who attacks you alternately via Eye Beams or Tail Slap.
- Collision Damage: You lose health just by getting touched, regardless what your enemies are. Though you can still lash out at enemies with your spider-legs.
- Cyborg: Collecting enough mechanical appendages and upgrades turns your onscreen character into a cyborg spider.
- Down the Drain: One stage set in a kitchen occurs after you get washed down a sink.
- Drowning Pit: Water puddles, overflowing sinks, troughs loaded to the brim, all which kills you instantly when you fall in. Justified since you're a spider.
- Escaped from the Lab: You in the backstory, on your way out and into the human world.
- Exactly What It Says on the Tin: It's a video game where you play as the titular spider.
- Fire-Breathing Weapon: The flamethrower is one of the upgrades you can collect. It mostly averts Video Game Flamethrowers Suck by dealing heavy damage (especially considering your enemies are all insects or arachnids) and is capable of killing multiple enemies in a single blast, but has limited range and ammunition.
- Giant Spider: Subverted, you are a regular-sized spider, but appears to be human-sized because of the game being set in a sized-down environment.
- High-Voltage Death: Exposed bugzappers will kill you on contact.
- Homing Projectile: Homing missiles are another weapon you can obtain, which targets the nearest onscreen enemy and blasts it apart in an instant. The downside is that each pickup yields only three shots and is quickly finished after a while, making it Too Awesome to Use.
- Lightning Gun: The shocker gun you can collect functions as one, firing a jagged electrical bolt at enemies right in front of you. It can also arc from one target to another.
- Lizard Folk: One of the bosses is a humanoid gecko-creature, presumably one of Microtech's experiments, who attacks you while clinging from above.
- Macro Zone: Well, you are a spider in a lab infested with other arachnids and assorted insect enemies.
- Multi-Armed and Dangerous: Owing to your character being an "intelligent" spider, you can collect and equip extra weapons and power-ups on all your legs and use them separately.
- Ribcage Ridge: The mini-museum have you crawling on the spines of a dinosaur skeleton (most likely a model since you're, well, a spider) to get to the stage's other side.
- Rodents of Unusual Size: Giant, skinless rats larger than you are among the enemies you fight.
- Slaying Mantis: Praying mantises are among the various enemies you encounter, and the only land-based enemy with a ranged attack. You'll need to attack them from behind or jump over their flung blades and flee quickly.
- Smart Bomb: One of the rarer power-ups; when used, the entire screen flashes red for a split second, and it deals damage (and even kill) all onscreen enemies.
- Tactical Suicide Boss: The game's Final Boss is a giant Brain Monster who alternates between using his electrical Eye Beams and it's tail to attack you, and you can defeat it by causing it's power to overload. To do so, you'll need to trick the boss into redirecting it's attacks at a series of nodes around the area - you manipulate the boss into firing it's eye beams into charging the node, and then perform some Deadly Dodging so it's tail accidentally hits the switch while it tries to swat you. Repeat this process a few times and the boss will destroy itself.
- Wall Crawl: Owing to the fact that you're playing as a spider, you can crawl alongside walls and ceilings and underneath platforms, either for ambushing enemies or avoiding attacks. On the flipside, many enemy spiders have this ability as well.
