Spider-Man PS4 The Heist Review: 4 Ups And 3 Downs

Downs...

3. The Predictable Side-Mission Twist

Unfortunately, not everything in The Heist manages to stick the landing. Screwball's side-missions are entertaining enough, and the Maggia crimes provide a neat enough distraction, but the collectible quest which sees Pete retrieve art stolen by the original Black Cat is ridiculously predictable.

The mission in question sees Spidey meet up with an NYPD officer called Detective Mackey (pictured above). Mackey is a cop who worked the original Black Cat case 20 years ago, and now - out of nowhere - he needs Spidey to retrieve all the art the criminal stole. There are 10 pieces for the wall-crawler to collect in total, and well... isn't it all a bit obvious where this is heading?

Eventually, it transpires that Mackey is none other than the original Black Cat himself, Walter Hardy, and that he'd been using Spidey to retrieve his loot in order to retire happily. Why is this so predictable? Well, for starters the design is lifted straight from the look seen in the nineties Spider-Man cartoon, and if the white moustache-combo doesn't scream "CAT BURGLAR" to begin with, then well, what does?

Ultimately, Mackey's introduction in the DLC is a dead giveaway that he's really Hardy, and though it does end on an interesting note, it may have made more sense to introduce the character in the base game and develop him over time that way, rather than to have him suddenly appear in a Black Cat-themed piece of content right off the bat.