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Review:

19th July 2004:
Spider-Man 2
Take the whole of New York for a spin, with the greatest superhero game to date.
Posted by John Grothier - Xbox,PlayStation 2,GameCube - UK and Europe

For years gamers and comic-book fanatics have been waiting a long time for a really great superhero computer game to come along. Many have failed miserably and some have come close, but finally the wait is over, as developers Treyarch have really come up with something truly special with Spider-Man 2.

Spider-Man 2 is based on the plot of the new blockbusting movie - as Spidey takes on super villain Doc Ock, but the game goes far beyond the film with more of Spider-Man's greatest adversaries to vanquish from New York City. Not only does Spider-Man 2 the game have a strong mission based story mode, the developers have incorporated the whole of Manhattan to explore - with random crimes to resolve. Spider-Man can swing his way through a living, breathing New York at frightening speeds, and choose to help the good people of Manhattan from muggings, shootings, road-rage and even rescue them from the occasional sinking ship.

The first thing would-be superheroes have to master is to swing through the city. Unlike previous Spider-Man titles where Spidey's web would apparently stick to thin air, with Spider-Man 2 the web fluid will actually stick to the sides of buildings, trees, lamp-posts and other structures around New York City. After a brief training mission that gives you all the basics, you will find that with practice you will be swinging with ease through the city, stopping only to help citizens in distress. Fortunately the controls are well laid out and extremely responsive, so you only have only yourself to blame if you fall from a New York skyscraper.

As you explore the city you will notice that there are several on-screen markers that appear on the main screen and on the zoom map. These are a blue story mission marker, a green civilian offering information marker, and a purple petty crime marker. The story mission markers are in various places around the city as and when a chapter begins. This could include the Daily Bugle, Peter's apartment, the upgrade stores, the pizza parlour, Mary Jane's apartment or a special place icon. As you explore the city, petty crimes are taking place all the time, and it's really up to you whether you want to intervene or not. These include the incredibly frustrating 'Balloon Grab' where Spider-Man must retrieve a lost balloon that belongs to a very spoilt sounding child. 'Purse Snatcher' is all about defeating thugs who have stolen a purse or briefcase from a distressed citizen. The 'Gang War' mission sees Spidey up against violent street gangs, and 'Road Rage' where Spider-Man must stop a reckless driver careering through the streets of Manhattan. The green markers spread around town are citizens who have information on crimes to personally give to Spider-Man, these include 'Ambush', 'Cop Shoot Out', 'Sinking Boat', 'Hospital Run' to name just a few. Most of these seem a little daunting to the junior superhero, but once you have mastered your web swinging and fighting techniques then they become much easier. Defeating enemies and helping citizens in distress earns Spider-Man 'Hero Points'. These points are used to upgrade Spidey's abilities, and as each new chapter dawns, there are many fantastic upgrades for Spider-Man to purchase at the many upgrade stores.

As the amazing Spider-Man there are many different combat and web attacks for Spidey to perform on his foes. By using these powerful combos Spider-Man can launch enemies into the air, finishing them off even before they hit the ground. Using a combination of attack, dodge and web attacks and you won't have too much trouble defeating enemies. Also Spider-Man has 'Spider Reflexes' that slows down time letting Spidey inflict much more damage by using special attack combos. As you progress throughout the game, more and more of these combos become available to buy at the upgrade store, and before long you will have an amazing amount of moves to help defeat your foes - spectacularly. Some of these special moves really come in handy in some of the tough boss battles in the game. And as the story unfolds through the sixteen chapters, Spider-Man must take on adversaries Rhino, Quentin Beck, Mysterio, Shocker, and Doc Ock as well as rescuing Mary Jane, chasing Black Cat, and saving New York City.

As if that was not enough, the developers have included an incredible amount of tokens and challenges throughout the whole of New York to find. The city is full of skyscraper tokens, hide-out tokens, buoy tokens and secret tokens, so if you're a gamer who likes collecting items, this game has loads to offer - and you will spend many an hour just exploring the vast city searching for secrets. The blue star challenge markers are essentially races through parts of Manhattan, these range from easy to really hard, but by completing these challenges and collecting the odd token from around the city you will gain valuable hero points to spend on upgrading Spider-Man.

The graphics in Spider-Man 2 are quite stunning, with the whole of Manhattan complete with all the famous buildings and landmarks included. The city streets are filled with cars and yellow cabs and unfortunately some rather blocky looking pedestrians. Spider-Man and the main characters in the game look and move well, but the good people of New York are nowhere near as detailed. The lighting effects in the game really are something special, and night follows day in the city that never sleeps. The effect of swinging through Manhattan at speed is just about as close as you could hope for, the web effects are simply striking, and they actually stick to the building in this Spider-Man adventure. The attention to detail is such, that you can even see the remains of your web fluid blowing gently in the breeze.

The sound in the game includes a small part of the glorious score by Danny Elfman, as well as some original music made for especially for the game. Sound effects fit the action perfectly and everything is presented in the wonder that is Dolby Digital. The voice acting is above average with efforts from Toby Maguire, Alfred Molina, Kirsten Dunst and tour guide Bruce Campbell. A nice touch is that the citizens of Manhattan also have thick New York accents and call out to Spider-Man with a great variety of phrases as he passes by.

Overall Spider-Man 2 is a fantastic game in its own right, and without doubt the greatest superhero game yet. The developers have the right idea with the go anywhere, do anything style of gameplay, and we're already looking forward to Spider-Man 3 - which is already in the works. Personally I would love to see a living, breathing Gotham City to explore as Batman. Maybe one day...

John Grothier

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Review Summary:

A truly great game and the greatest superhero game to date. The whole of New York is yours to explore, filled with all the famous buildings and landmarks you would expect. Web swing across Manhattan with ease and, for the first time; watch as you web actually sticks to buildings and other New York City structures. Help the citizens and save the city - you are Spider-Man.

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