Hello Enthusiasts,
If you go around and ask folks their opinions on Spider-man video games, you will often hear that the title I'm reviewing today is the best one. Today, we'll check the validity of that statement as I review Spider-man 2. I will be reviewing the version of the game that came out on consoles rather than the PC version, which I hear differs greatly. Also, of course, be prepared for some Spoilers Below.
This game is based off of the movie with the same title, which was released in 2004. The premise is that Peter Parker continues to do his Spider-man thing, but has been running into some trouble. He can't keep up with his school work, he can't make the time to impress Mary Jane, and Harry Osborne is hell-bent on getting revenge on the wall-crawler. This all lead's to Peter losing his powers due to a lack of confidence in himself as the web-slinger. Luckily for this game we were spared the task of having a level where Spider-man has no powers like the movie included. On top of all of that, Spider-man's new big foe comes into the mix, Dr. Otto Octavius, aka Dr. Octopus. I give the movie tie-in's a lot of credit, because they really do add a lot of additional story, which generally doesn't feel too forced.
So why do so many people consider this game to be the gold-standard when it comes to Spider-man titles? Well, this game had a lot of great firsts and set a path for other games to follow. This was the first Spider-man game to feature an open-world environment, and the first one to actually let you walk around the streets of New York City (previous titles were limited to rooftops and inside buildings). This allowed players to take on side missions, help with random street crimes, play arcade games, and gather collectables. This was also the first Spider-man title that didn't force a player to constantly refill their web, which helped a lot with the flow of the game. Plus, on top of those, the game was also the first Spider-man title to offer an upgrade system, which I believe every Spider-man game since has offered.
So outside of being the first to do a lot of different things, there are a few highlights to the game. As mentioned earlier, the story does differ from its cinematic counterpart, and it does the extended story well. Instead of just Doc Ock, players get to face The Rhino, Mysterio, and The Shocker. Players are also introduced to Black Cat in this game, who helps in moving the story along. The game introduced a decent fighting/dodging mechanic that works for what it is, allowing players a chance to counter-attack after dodging a hit (if they've unlocked the upgrade). There's also a system in the game that charges up and, when used, allows Spider-man to move fastter than his enemies and attack them while they move in slow-motion. This is especially helpful when fighting some giant mechanized battle suit guys later in the game. Even the side missions can be fun, like taking picture for the Daily Bugle or delivering pizzas as Spider-man.
However, even with all of these positives, the game does lack in certain areas. The cut scenes are painfully bad in several different ways. The graphics in these scenes get a downgrade from the rest of the game, looking more like they belonged on the PS1 than the PS2. This title came out on the same system as one ofy previous reviews, 007: Nightfire (which can be found at http://boredenthusiast.blogspot.com/2016/12/retro-game-review-007-nightfire.html?m=1 ), and these graphics are several steps behind that. Black Cat and Peter look especially bad in these scenes, which is strange since both of them are in so many. The dialogue in these scenes can also seem really forced, and I always just want to move on to the actual gameplay. This is made even more apparent when the dialogue during gameplay can be pretty funny and natural. Also, while the fighting mechanic does work well enough, the dodging system has a bit of a delay. It's not bad enough that you won't be able to adjust to it, but it will take a little time. I suggest one of the games in the arcade to assist, which is just a game that has you dodging bullets.
So, is this the best Spider-man game? I would say no, but it is a good one. While newer games have made the fighting more fluid and have of course gotten a graphics upgrade, not all of them have a story to match, or enjoyable dialogue like this one does. I think there's really one Spider-man title I enjoyed more, and that was Spider-man: Web of Shadows. So yeah, if you have a system from this gen, pick up this title. It won't look as polished as some other games, but it sure is a lot of fun.
I give Spider-man 2 an 8.5 out of 10.
Sincerely,
The Bored Enthusiast
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