Spider-Man 2 (2004)

This Spider-man game was the first one to feature an open city you could explore and the first one to have actual intricate and deep web-swinging mechanics. It set the standard for almost every Spider-man game going forward. It's undeniable that doing so has a lot of merit.

However almost every other aspect has aged like milk. The platforming sections are clunky, the camera goes crazy at times (specially when you attach to a wall, a recurring issue in Spider-man games) and there's a lot of padding and repetition (you'll chase Black Cat so many times you will lose count). I believe that if a game forces me to do side-quests, then those aren't side-quest anymore. There's also very random difficulty spikes.

It's an amazingly influential entry in the Spider-man games, and there's still fun to be had, but it shows its age in almost every corner.

Through the past 3 months of my absence between my personal school projects and work, I have been extensively playing Spider-Man 2 with RetroAchievements on, and I could say without hesitation, the game holds up with modern Spider-Man games without flinching, and competes with a hardcore heart.

The city is fun to explore! once you got ahead of the mechanics to maneuver around the city, it becomes very fun AF. not only that, if you mastered your Aerial movement, web swinging, and not to hit the buildings all while keeping momentum and speed going, you can make some FIRE moves getting around the city with ease. I personally prefer this type of gameplay over the modern one, as it feels to automated for my liking, even after adjustment and the modern releases.

The combat feels simple but varied, and unhinged! you can pile drive a guy off a 1000ft building all the way down to their death, drown them if you're not feeling like going after them, hell, you can hang their corpses off the traffic light pole and leave them. the game just doesn't give a fuck, and it lets you do whatever you can imagine. the rag-doll physics, only add to the experience a ton more than you would think. I didn't mention the combat itself, which as stated, simple but varied. you can still pull out sick but powerful move, and the combat lets you experience a lot, and gain more skills as you go to encourage you to do multiple things and not just mash the [square] button over and over again. even Bruce Campbell will comment on this many time throughout your gameplay.

There is a decent web system in the game that lets you do more than just the bad guy up, and with the combat, it can be insane what you can do with it.

The Graphics, oh, I just love the graphics of this game so much! it has a calm style that somewhat is very relaxing yet at the same time, just beautiful. the sunset is amazing, the night's blue light sky is an experience! I did notice an issue with texture streaming that I had went back to confirm with the original hardware, and it was there. it has something to do with the draw distance, but it's very annoying not to notice once you see it. it also on the GameCube version. not sure about the Xbox, but will have to look it up.

The story is... not bad? I don't know, honestly. it just works for the job it did. the in-between main missions like Mysterio, Rhino, Shocker, Black Cat, and some part of the original movie were very interesting, but the Doc Ock plot felt very rushed and unfinished. speaking of rushed and unfinished; let me tell you about the content and problems that I found in the game.

I enjoyed the previous game's side content a lot. while some are beyond ridiculous in difficulty, they were still doable. in this game, they expanded some of the previous and altered some. adding the likes of Pizza missions, taking photos, MJ races, Survival, collecting tokens, and city events to make the world living. while exploring and playing some of those missions, you will realize there are a shit-ton of cut content was taken off the game. so many unused interiors, and special places that went unnoticed. there is also rare side mission of a bank heist (by 2004 slandered) that you will barely find during your play time, because it only happens during one specific area, that was probably going to be used originally, but wasn't. the Lizard and the other witch boss lady?! there are bugs that will stop your progression entirely if you got a car robbery mission during the sunset, sunrise time, which after completion will soft lock the game and you are still in the side mission unable to finish and you have to start from the last save. the camera is horrendous! there is also a bug after the first or second black cat chase that will make the peds not move at all until you restart the game with the save file. there is a bug that if you got 100.96%, you will not get the award that says you completed the game. (there is a workaround to get it, but still)

The game really needed more time in the oven to Cook. it would have been The best spider-man game of all time even by today's standards.

nonetheless of all the troubles I had with the game, it was still a pure joyful experience to go through, and the game genuinely holds up way better than I thought.

This may have to be the wildest Spider-Man game out there. I'm doing the fight arena challenges, and I just discovered that you can use enemies as a bullet shield when grabbing them. Also, you can throw enemies into the sea and drown them. What the fuck is that! I love this game!

Side note, the camera is abysmal. and please don't play with the dualshock 2. you will get a far better experience with any new controller with decent analog sticks.

Never thought I would have so much fun replying this game! Even better with RetroAchievenments!

I'm just amazed at how much this game offers and how it still holds up graphically wise. even most models (not including NPCs) are still decent. the gameplay is still solid and fun. the physics is amazing. I'm actually considering doing a full study on this game's mechanics just because I'm still en-thrilled by what is offered over here.

Definitely recommend playing with achievements and patches. it just makes the game a whole new experience.

If you've heard nothing but high praise for this game, Imma keep it real with you: it's really only for the web-swinging. Everything else is kinda meh, but enjoyably meh, like a cheesy pizza at a theme park.

To be fair, the web-swinging is pretty cool, and still kinda unique. It was the first Spidey game to have realistic swinging, with webs that actually attached to buildings instead of just up in the air. The modern Insomniac games look dang good, but have a more automated and player-directed mode of swinging, whereas this one is more physics-based and kinda slippery, but in a good way. It won't feel perfectly fluid and it won't look impeccably polished, but there's a one-to-one-ness with the swinging that arguably hasn't been recaptured since. Plenty of times I boot this up just to web swing around and hit the zone.

Oh yeah, the other stuff. Umm...

Story's alright, combat's fun, levels can get creative, voice acting is... alright (listen, I grew up with the Tobey Maguire Spider-Man movies, and even I have to admit, a voice actor he ain't. I'm not even sure he's that good of a regular actor.)

If you're a fan of the webhead at all, you'll probably enjoy this game, if only for the historically impressive web swinging mechanics. If not, I wouldn't say no, but don't expect this to be a hyper-polished Insomniac title. It's a charming cult classic whose web-swinging mechanics are worthy of its praise (at least, at the time) but understand: that's really all you're getting.

But hey, that might be enough. It is pretty damn fun web swinging, after all.

Recommended for fans of: Spider-Man & Sandbox Games.

Spider-Man 2: The Videogame has long been lauded as the best Spider-Man game and one of the best movie tie-in games. But is it still Spider-Man’s best released game? After all Spider-Man 2 did come out 13 years ago, and two console generations ago. Has this game aged well and is it still the best representation of Spider-Man in a game? Let’s review:

>Gameplay-There are two things Spider-Man does in this game which are web-swinging and beating up criminals, both of which are handled masterfully.

*Web-Swinging: Spider-Man’s web-swinging is his primary mode of transportation and relies on tight controls and building momentum. With practice and a liberal use Spider-Man’s ability to crawl on walls and web-zip a learned player can remain in continual motion. These well-designed controls truly make New York your playground. Although I’m sad to say no other Spider-Man game has made a better control scheme than Spider-Man 2. All Spider-Man games preceding this one had a stiff continual swing with very little player input. Ultimate Spider-Man which proceeded this game is almost its equal but that’s only because both games were made by the exact same design team. Spider-Man 3 is major decline with swinging that feels downright sluggish. Web of Shadows, Shattered Dimensions, and Edge of Time all have great swinging but they still don’t quite measure up. Unfortunately, the “Amazing” movie tie-in games continued this trend despite their innovation. Only time what Spider-Man (PS4) will do.

*Combat: The combat is fairly simple but well designed and rather addictive. One button each controls Spider-Man’s ability to punch, shoot webs, and dodge on the ground or in mid-air. Stopping crimes and completing story missions awards the player points which can be spend on upgrading Spider-Man’s swinging or combat.

>Story-The game’s story is similar the movie Spider-Man 2 (with several cast members reprising their roles), only with additional subplots thrown like Spider-Man’s relationship with Black Cat and encountering Rhino, Mysterio, & Shocker at various points. But since all these years later Spider-Man 2 is still one of the best superhero films ever made I doubt anyone will be complaining much.

>Graphics-The game looks like most games in 2004 looked. The ordinary human characters look somewhat blocky while Spider-Man, Black Cat, and all the super villains come off slightly better. The city looks great in the daytime or nighttime and is always teaming with life. Sadly, the game’s graphics are only going to get worse with age.

>Verdict: So, does the game hold up with the benefit of hindsight and is it still the best Spider-Man game? Well, yes and no. With the exception of the graphics Spider-Man 2 has aged extremely well and is remembered fondly with good reason. But as to it being the best Spider-Man game, I honestly can’t so say because that title belongs to Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions. Although this was a close call because both games capture the essence of the character so well. If you want a linear game with various gameplay styles and a simple story play Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions. If you want a sprawling metropolis to fight crime in and a more complex story, stick with Spider-Man 2. I assure you whichever choice you make your time will not be wasted.

This game gets a well-deserved ★★★★.