Spider-Man 2

"3D Experience? Not really"

Hi, welcome to my review for Spider Man 2 for the Nintendo DS. This review does not talk about Spider Man 2 for Gamecube, Playstation2, or the XBox (they are pretty much two completely different games) I will be talking about 5 different aspects of the game including Graphics, Game play, Story, and Replay Value, and Use of Touch Screen.

Graphics: 9/10
Well I would have to say this game does have very good graphics for such a small system (a lot better then the Game Boy Advance). I mean the movies looked like they were straight out of a movie! But, graphics are not the most important parts of a good game (at least not for me anyways). And from the reviews I have read in video game magazines they said this game was 3D. Yes it is 3D, but you play in a 2D side scroller. I will get into that later.

Game play: 6/10
Well the game play for this game is pretty much average. When you first start up the game (there are 3 files, so don't worry if you have brothers), you start at a chapter screen where you can choose a chapter to do. Of course, to unlock the next chapter, you have to beat the previous one. Now every chapter first goes through and little movie will play. Then you will see your mission screen. The one on the top is your Primary Objects, things you must do to complete the chapter. Then on the bottom screen is your Secondary Objects, side quests sometimes (destroy all robots, complete in 5 minutes). Ok you are ready to start. Now since the game is completely a side scroller, the game isnt a very big maze or hidden things to find and fun as they would be on a 3D game. Now don't get me wrong, I love Super Mario Brothers, but that was 20 years ago. This is 2004 on a brand new system, and is one of the launch titles to go with the DS. This is not how you start out on a new system Activision! When you complete the chapter, you will go to a progress screen, judging you on how you did on your objectives. About 90 percent of the time, you will either get a D (being the worse) or a C. Now if the chapter is 10 minutes long your going to have to do it till you get it perfect. And I dont get it too many times ont the second try. And if you get an A (being Perfect) you get a Secret Unlock where you can unlock a new move or upgrade your Health meter or your Special Move meter. And almost every level has a Hidden Upgrade where it upgrades the one of the two meters. I am not going to say anymore, I have said enough.

Story: 8/10
Not a bad story, if you saw the movie, you know what is was about, but the game adds a little extra stuff in it (like Mysterio). You, Peter Parker (or Spider Man), go to see a scientist named Dr. Octavus. He has invented a machine to save alot of energy using a substance called tridium. He also installs 4 machine "claws" to his body so he can make his experiment possible. But the tridium overreacts, and a small explosion ocurrs. Octavus falls and the "claws" take over his brain because of the explosion. The claws take over his brain and he becomes a super-villian. Who can stop him? None other then Spider Man!

Replay Value:3/10
I would have gave this a 1 if there was not any hidden upgrades or Secret Moves you can go back and unlock. And that isnt very fun as I told you early. And once you complete all the chapters, your done. Nothing else except bragging rights.

Use of Touch Screen: 3/10
As most of you know, the DS allows something new to video game technology, the ability to touch the screen to do various things. In this game, the touch screen is almost useless. The only time you get to use the touch screen is during boss battles, there are little mini game you have to do during the boss battle, which is about every other 3 or 4 levels. Not that great considering this game is a launch title.

Well my score is a 5.8, which is a overall score of all the aspects, and since its a 5.8, I rounded to a 6.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 12/30/04