Spider-Man 2

"The internet's greatest mystery solved: How do I shot web?"

Do you ever wish you could fly like Spider-Man? Well now you can, with Spider-Man 2, the great sequel to the really crappy Spider-Man game.

Spider-Man 2 is a great superhero game, one of the best that there has been (except for Marvel Ultimate Alliance, and Spider-Man is in that as well!), and it is one of the few movie-based titles that actually packs a decent amount of punch. It's enough to keep hardcore Spidey fans busy for at least a few hours. And yet, even if you've never even played any Spider-man game, seen any movie or read any comic, this game will probably be a fantastic experience for you, because it's just plain fun beating the crap out of bad guys and swinging around wherever you want.

Storyline: 6/10
The storyline in this game, like many movie games, doesn't follow the movie's plot very closely. The storyline is great, but it not only includes very few events from the movie, it introduces characters from the series that weren't even in the movie. The storyline also suffers from the dreaded "Beat-In-6-to-9-hours" syndrome.

The storyline however does have a few good points. The introduced characters (Quentin Beck and Mysterio, Shocker, Black Cat, and Rhino, among others) are great characters from the rest of the Spidey series and make the storyline somewhat impressive. Overall, it's average.

Controls: 9/10
The controls are amazingly easy to get a grip on. In true Spider-Man fashion, you can really swing around anywhere. The game starts you off with Easy Swinging, which is enough to get you zipping around Manhattan like a pro in about 5 minutes, but the game also offers Normal Swinging for those who find Easy Swinging too, well, easy. It offers more precision but is a bit harder to control, but you can get used to it with practice.

Swinging isn't the only easy-to-pick-up control. Fighting is easy, if a bit too easy. Oftentimes button-mashing is enough to get you through most of the game's fights. You can also incorporate web shooting and dodging. However, combat is still a major part of this game and you need to get used to it.

Maybe the most improved part of this game would be the fact that Spider-Man no longer jumps 6 inches into the air. By holding down the X button to charge your jump, you can make Spider-Man leap up several stories. This is especially useful for scaling buildings, attacking enemies in midair, and making people turn their heads and gawk at you.

And what would a Spider-Man game be without wall climbing? Not much of a game. Crawling on walls is as simple as running towards a wall and holding O. You can climb to the top of the tallest buildings in Manhattan, crawl all over ceilings and any other climbable object. Wanna go faster? Hold L2 when running and wall sprint. Feel like jumping off? Press X and jump away from the surface you're on.

A nice addition to the controls is Spider Reflexes, or, more affectionately, "Spidey Senses". Ever seen the Matrix before? Spider Reflexes allow you to go into slo-mo mode and dodge bullets, wrenches, and punches among other attacks. You can even do a Matrix Style dodge. Your Spider Reflexes are limited, however, by how much power is in your style meter.

Gameplay: 8/10
The gameplay is what makes this game so great, and so bad at the same time. The good news is, the game is VERY free-roaming (*cough*GTA*cough*), and the game is divided up into chapters. This includes a ton of great gameplay for Spider-Man fans; you can swing around Manhattan, crawl on buildings, beat up thugs, and jump off really high buildings in an attempt to see Spidey go splat. Being a guy dressed up in bright red tights never felt so good.

Now for the bad news: it's too short and too monotonous. The game is easily completed in about 6 to 9 hours, and it feels like every chapter requires you to get so many hero points by doing repetitive missions over and over again. There are usually a few story missions in the chapters to break up the monotony. Still, the gameplay value is pretty high.

The gameplay does suffer from one huge glitch that overshadows the other issues. The glitch forces chapter 9 to either not begin or not to end, and it forces a game restart. But not everyone suffers this issue, thankfully.

Graphics/Sound: 7/10
The Graphics remind me of PS1 graphics at times. Several parts of the game were done well, most notably the Spidey Suit. Other times, the graphics look very blocky and choppy, and the game suffers from one of the worst graphics issues ever, draw-in. The people and buildings in the game almost redefine the word generic as well. However, the graphics aren't unbearable and are still nice.

The best part of the graphics, besides the Spider-Man models, are the day and night changes. During the game, the sky will gradually change from day to night, and vice-versa. This is a really nice touch that makes up for the crappiness of the ordinary graphics. It also enhances the realism of this game out from the negative range. A guy in a spider suit shooting web and flying off buildings?

Sound is also not that great, because to judge something, it has to EXIST. However, in Spider-Man 2, there is very little background music. Background music appears occasionally while swinging around and always during missions. This is usually less appealing then even having crappy music play during the main part of the game. However, gamers that need their crappy music fix may get it during some of the missions anyways.

The sound effects, on the opposite end, are done wonderfully, and are most of the reason this category gets a 7. The noises made when web is shot, when Spidey falls off a building, or even falling in the water are all very well done. The sound effects are actually nicer than most games'. However, it still doesn't save the lack of background music.

The voice acting also gets an A++. They hired all of the actors from the movie. Tobey Maguire is there to provide the witty voice of Spider-Man/Peter Parker, Kirsten Dunst plays the lovely Mary Jane (Spidey's girlfriend), and Alfred Molina does the voice of Doc Ock. In addition to the main characters, Harry, J.J. Jameson and his secretary Betty, as well as several other Spider-Man characters have great voices, although it's unfortunate we don't get to hear them much during the story.

Replay Value: 9/10
Another stellar category of the game is replay value. Even after you beat the game, chances are you won't have collected every exploration token, read every hint marker, grabbed every upgrade, or done all of the bonus missions. This game's short longevity is more than made up for here. Unfortunately, by completing all of the game's bonuses, you do not get much more than a few unlockables, awards, and a nice shiny award saying you 100%'d the game. It's still wicked fun to try, however.

Not only does the game have extended longevity, but the game also has a lasting fun factor. Even if you do manage to collect everything and beat the last boss, I still find myself picking up this game to swing around and beat up bad guys for a few hours.

Buy or Rent?
Buy. The game has been a Greatest Hit for a while now, and even if you don't get a GH version, it's still cheap new or used (although, new games are hard to find nowadays). Plus, even new fans to the series will love this game for it's ease of playing and overall greatness. It is a huge improvement from the original Spider-Man.

Overall: 8/10
This is a great and inexpensive game to buy and it's a fine superhero game that would even do Spider-Man proud. I definitely recommend it to anyone; not just fans, but anyone who can pick up a game controller. After playing this for a few hours, you might even find yourself wearing spandex and trying to crawl on skyscrapers. Just don't hold me responsible if you injure yourself doing so.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 01/17/07