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As many of you may know, the symbiote is an alien suit that Spider-Man wore for a good amount

of time. Here, I will show you all the incarnations that have existed in video games of this popular
entity.

In Spider-Man for PlayStation 1, the symbiotes play a moderately important role. On one hand, we
have Venom, who acts as an antagonist in the first half of the game, but then becomes our ally in
the second half. On the other hand, we have Carnage, one of the two main villains, along with
Doctor Octopus. Together, they create several symbiotes that attack us during the final part of the
game. At the end, we have to escape from their secret lair, being chased by a Doctor Octopus
covered by Carnage’s symbiote. Eventually, with the help of others and Venom, we manage to
escape.

In the game, we have access to over a dozen suits. Here, we will focus on the black suit. In the
game, each suit has a special ability, such as increasing Spider-Man’s strength, making us invisible,
giving us greater swinging range, or even making us invincible. When using the symbiote suit, we
don’t have to worry about the web bar, as we have unlimited webs. Therefore, we don’t have to
search for web cartridges throughout the levels.

Next, we have Ultimate Spider-Man, a game that continues the symbiote saga from the comics. In
fact, the story eventually ended up being adapted into the comics. The game recaps the events of
the symbiote saga, including how Peter obtained the black suit. Here, instead of being an alien, the
black suit is a failed experiment created by Peter’s father and Eddie Brock’s father. Many characters
in the game want to get their hands on Venom’s suit, mainly to use it as a weapon. We can play as
Venom, who is much stronger and brutal compared to Spider-Man. However, this power comes at
a cost, as our health bar slowly decreases over time. Therefore, we have to find sustenance in the
game by devouring enemies or other civilians to survive.

Spider-Man 3 is often remembered as one of the strangest entries in the franchise, hated by many
and loved by others. Here, I will talk about the two versions of its console adaptation. On one
hand, we have the PlayStation 2, Wii, and PSP versions. In these versions, we had an expansion of
the symbiote story in the form of Morbius and his wife Shriek. Shriek is infected by a symbiote and
acts as the antagonist in her own missions. In the game, we can switch to the black suit whenever
we want, changing from the red and blue suit to the black suit. However, once we want to switch
back to the red and blue suit, we have to wait a certain amount of time. When using the black suit,
we become faster and our health bar increases. Not to mention that we can use certain moves that
are only available when wearing the black suit. However, the black suit becomes somewhat
obsolete once we unlock all the skill tree abilities. On the other hand, in the PlayStation 3, Xbox
360, and PC versions, we can only use the black suit from a specific point in the game until almost
the end, where we lose it and have to face Venom without it. However, upon completing the game,
we unlock an extra game mode where we can use the black suit from start to finish. In this mode,
we can use exclusive moves that only the black suit has. Additionally, we can enter a Fury mode
that increases the damage of our punches. And if we fully deplete the Fury bar, we can unleash
devastating attacks that eliminate enemies in one hit.

Web of Shadows is an interesting case, as it is considered by many to be the best version that
realistically captures the feeling of using a symbiote in a video game. The game presents the
scenario where Venom begins uncontrollably reproducing and creating hundreds of symbiotes that
start infecting all of New York City. In the game, we can use abilities that Spider-Man possesses on
his own as well as those granted by the black suit. Unlike the PlayStation 2, Wii, and PSP versions of
Spider-Man 3, where we have to wait a certain time to use the black suit, here we can instantly
switch between suits.

Shattered Dimensions is a game that introduces four different versions of Spider-Man: the classic,
ultimate, 2099, and noir. However, here I will focus on the Ultimate Spider-Man. During the
adventure, Madame Web gives the young Peter Parker the symbiote while using her psychic
powers to prevent it from overtaking him. Throughout the game, we can use all the symbiote’s
abilities, such as tentacles, spikes, and enhanced strength against enemies. Not to mention that we
have a Fury mode that increases the damage and range of our attacks. In one of the game’s final
missions, we have to confront Carnage’s symbiote. Unlike its counterpart from Universe 616,
where it is a serial killer, here the symbiote is a clone of Peter Parker, one that ends up dying while
Gwen Stacy is cloned and becomes the second version of Carnage. Therefore, in the game, we
have to defeat Carnage and prevent him from using the power of the fragment to harm anyone
else.

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