Best answer: Turf Wars suffers from being the middle entry in a trilogy of DLC packages, but Yuri's emotional journey easily elevates it. If you want the entire story from The City That Never Sleeps, you can't miss out on Turf Wars.
PlayStation: Spider-Man: The City That Never Sleeps ($25)
What's so good about Turf Wars?
Though Turf Wars did not offer any satisfying answers as to what happened to Black Cat, it introduced Hammerhead as a formidable villain and simultaneously let existing characters shine. It can't be easy to work on a property like Spider-Man that has countless heroes and villains, but Insomniac juggles them all wonderfully. The studio seamlessly adds new characters without sacrificing the development of ones we already know and love.
Turf Wars' overarching narrative regarding Hammerhead's plan to eliminate the Maggia Dons isn't quite as intriguing as Black Cat's mission was in The Heist, but this DLC package seems to take the approach of placing the importance on characters over plot, meaning its superb character development is more than enough to make up for a subpar plotline. Instead of focusing on Peter's characterization this time, Turf Wars instead focuses on police captain Yuri Watanabe. Learning bits and pieces about her past and how they've shaped her into the person she has become was a highlight of Turf Wars. I expect the next DLC package, Silver Lining, to further develop her character even more. And if Black Cat shows up again after her absence, that's an added bonus.
I also may have complaints that Turf Wars doesn't add any new suit powers along with its suits, but it's still nice rocking some new threads.
What's bad about Turf Wars?
I'm starting off the "What's bad" section with my biggest gripe: More Screwball challenges. With Turf Wars again featuring Screwball challenges, you don't get a sense of variety in its side activities at all. The district crimes, bases, and challenges are very much rinse and repeat as they were from the base game, and I frankly got sick of them near the end of it.
As with The Heist, we still don't have a complete picture as to what's going on in New York City. There's obviously some larger threat at play, but we won't find out how it all comes together until the end. Turf Wars did a commendable job moving the story along to its eventual conclusion and featured a strong story in its own right, especially in regards to police captain Yuri Watanabe, but as with any "episodic" release, it staggers along the way.
While I love the new suits that have been added, it's disappointing that they don't offer any new suit powers. They are all purely cosmetic. Considering this isn't a multiplayer game and you can't purchase the suits as part of any microtransactions, I don't see why new suit powers haven't been added.
Should you buy Turf Wars?
Turf Wars puts Black Cat on the back burner in favor of bringing Hammerhead into the fray. While its structure is similar to that of The Heist and can get tedious at times, you'll want to see how the story plays out. This one didn't end on as much of a cliffhanger as The Heist did, but it sets up a thrilling final chapter.
For more details on Spider-Man, check out our review and everything you need to know.
The complete package.
The City That Never Sleeps is shaping up to be a fantastic addition to Peter's story, and it's probably best to get the entire bundle instead of purchasing separately.
