Marvel's Spider-Man 2 Review

hey man glad you could make it with Marvel's Spider-Man 2 Insomniac has the unenviable task of following up two riveting superhero fantasies full of excitement and heart while that may sound like a good problem to have the question becomes where do you go from there well its answer is to Double Down double down on Spider-Man double down on the size of the map double down on explosive action sequences in doing so the studio has crafted another consistently exciting roller coaster ride and the best story of the series yet but stand the original alongside the sequel in other ways and it can look a bit like two Spider-Man games pointing at each other the excellent combat hasn't gotten old but it is largely the same fun as before and despite that larger map most of the open world activities found within it are in desperate need of evolution the result is a Blockbuster in the most modern sense of the word undeniably thrilling for long stretches but by the numbers for others despite a couple of new tricks up its sleeve Spider-Man 2's combat is very familiar it doesn't have that new suit smell anymore but it still feels incredibly comfy to slip back into the rhythm of precision Dodges the new perfect parries so you're not only swerving and striking now and acrobatic finishes are hugely satisfying as is chasing High hit combos to keep the fight as stylish as possible the movement is smooth and the hits are crunching like some sort of peanut butter hybrid that every one of your foes is allergic to power and elegance are brought together in a brick to the- face ballet as enemies are thrown around like dolls juggled in the air slammed across concrete floors and slung into each other like body armored bowling pins but naturally never killed every bone in their body may be broken and every organ punctured but of course they'll somehow live to commit crimes again overall there's slightly less emphasis on stealth Encounters this time around than in either Spider-Man or Miles Morales as someone who found the stealth Action of the previous games a little simplistic and routine this new louder approach is welcome naturally there are story missions where Miles or Pete have to slink across ceilings and take out Thugs who never look up but Spider-Man 2 is much more eager for you to get into the action with many abilities designed to let you group up enemies and then deal big damage to all of them at once rather than spreading them out to pick them off one by one but once Parker Don the symbiote suit already shown off in trailers the gooey angry powers that come with it make a big impact adding more of a brawler nature to fights and giving Peter a set of tools to match miles satisfying electric abilities one area the Insomniac has made improvements in is that Spider-Man 2 offers significantly more in the way of enemy variety so you'll no longer be battering the same five ball clava bullies with baseball bats certain enemies are weak to different types of abilities such as electric or symbiote attacks which also adds an enjoyable extra wrinkle to fights it's by no means revolutionary stuff but a welcome added level of complexity that makes you consider which powers or even which Spider-Man are best for the job that's not to say there aren't benefits to taking a sneaky route though there are many perch takedown possibilities offered and new toys to play with too such as the web line which allows you to create your own high wires over your enemies to prey on them from above it's a fun tool that allows you to reshape the tightly designed Arenas into a battlefield more in your favor and in doing so redecorate the room with web wrapped people pinatas on the topic of cover Ops the playable MJ sequences from the original return and while they are more involved this time around and serve the story well they never add up to more than simple stealth missions or splashes of basic third person shooting she's certainly not sidelined but it does feel like a little more could have been done to make her gameplay sections a bit more exciting combat aside our Spider-Man can now move around their friendly neighborhoods in more stylish ways than ever the new web wings are undoubtedly a standout like Batman before him Spider-Man can now Glide and saw with ease through the city and web swinging is as gratifying as you remember and still one of the best ways to get around any open world the story swings just as elegantly between upbeat High Jinks and solemn moments of reflection it's undeniably a fun time to Dawn the suit and enter a kattos likee rage mode where you push in both thumb sticks and start one hitting everything in your path but the writers never once forget to take their eyes off the humanity inside these superhumans the same can be said for both its heroes and villains as Spider-Man 2 tackles the reasoning behind each character's actions and the good that can hide in the shadows of evil avoiding spoilers the basic premise revolves around craving the hunter who is well craving a hunt for those uninitiated in the character he's essentially the Predator an apex Hunter blessed with super strength who has chosen New York as his next hunting ground the great hunt begins it's a great starting point that sends the city's hero and villain Dynamic into flux as he sets his sights on the biggest prey possible there are also smaller stories at play though ones that may seem less important when compared to the Citywide chaos but feel like potential World Enders to those who inhabit it both Spider-Man tackle the most extreme examples of trying to manage a work life balance you could imagine exploring a range of personal issues including strange relationships and loss that plague us as humans no matter how superpowered we may feel it's the best written story in the series yet if still a little cheesy at times with performances worthy of the script it's a real Triumph that manages to cover such a wide spectrum of themes without suffering from tonal Whiplash you made it I thought you said this was a startup primarily a Peter Parker story Spider-Man 2 explores his relationship with MJ and and the reintroduction of childhood best friend Harry Osborne into his life it's always compelling to watch him contend with which pieces of the past they leave behind and what future self he wishes to be no matter how hectic a scenario gets though he always has a quippy oneliner ready to be expertly delivered by actor Yuri lenal I really should have stretched miles still gets his time in the spotlight however and has some fantastic moments towards the end of the main campaign even if some of the more interesting explorations of his Puerto Rican africanamerican culture are reserved for side missions obviously what you take from the story and its diverse cast of characters will be unique to you on the surface it's another thrilling superhero story Pat full of surprises cameos and Easter eggs but there are deeper meanings to be found here too Mr Morales is it uh are you sure this isn't something you can handle yourself I'm sure Spider-Man 2 and to an extent all great Spider-Man stories tackle themes of adolescence and puberty a time of uncertainty for even the most normal of teenagers trying to control bodily fluids I got to get better at fluid management We join miles at this exact point in his life with Family Ties straining friendships facing new challenges and life decisions of genuine importance being posed for the first time at naagi jeta displays all the range needed for the role continuing to excel as a younger Spider-Man maturing before our eyes maybe one of those scholarships has my name on it for Peter these themes manifest in a much more physical sense he's in his early 20s has already navigated the difficult years that mils finds himself in but thanks to the symbiot suit he's working his way through yet more bodily changes this physical manifestation is also representative of mental health issues that have developed for each Spider-Man Venom hangs over the main characters like a spectre of grief drenching them in black as if in a state of mourning the story does a great job at gently exploring these issues and how when not healthily addressed personal demons can eat at us and need to people we care about being unintentionally caught in the crossfire of the anger and pain those feelings can produce of course a hero is nothing without its villains and Spider-Man's Rose Gallery is almost unparalleled outside of the likes of Venom Craven and lizard seen in the trailers Insomniac has kept many more hidden up its sleeve I won't even hint at any of these except to say that Spider-Man 2 opens with a bang offering up a sense of scale not previously seen in the series it's an adrenaline fuel reintroduction that tests how well you remember the combat as well as providing a few new tricks it's also the start of one of the new Side Story villain Freds that are optional and while those don't offer anything overly new in terms of gameplay they do add valuable extra scraps of story speaking of Boss Battles that's one area that Spider-Man 2 takes a noticeable step up hey DC ready for your annual physical there are evolving brawls Pat full of danger that put all of your skills to the test Dodges and parries are key as well as using environmental tools dotted around the arenas for your benefit the L a third of the campaign essentially becomes a Boss Rush mode that will put the sturdiest of thumbs to the test not necessarily because it ever gets too difficult but because of the sheer number of times you'll be hammering that square button these later stages are where the majority of Spider-Man 2's Thrills lay however as it really hits its stride late on and emphatically wraps up a tail with miles of emotional depth that never once threatens to Peter out your dad used to give me that exact same look despite what LOF your Ambitions the roughly 18-hour story have this is still unapologetically an old school approach to open world game design and nowhere is this displayed more clearly than in its optional quests to their credit the way you can highlight side objectives by pressing the right stick is a welcome upgrade over mere icons on a map this isn't a world that beckons exploration or Discovery necessarily but it is a step in the right direction toward creating greater immersion and mely less time spent looking at the map screen that being said I can't help but have hoped for a few more flashes of Gotham City to make their way into New York something like the spontaneous shock of manbat jumping at you out of nowhere went a long way to making rock steady superhero open world feel more reactive than what we get here when you consider the evolution of open world game design that the Arkham series took over the course of the trilogy it's a bit disappointing to see Insomniac series stuck in time when it comes to its side content and the way it presents itself to you standard open world filler activities are here a plenty and that's one area where Spider-Man 2 hasn't moved with the times or shown much ambition at all Collectibles photo opportunities and rather basic Street crimes are still here and despite having a few slightly more interesting quirks this time around they only very occasionally excite granted the additional enemy Variety in play makes these activities take a little longer to get old than they did in the past but this still isn't quite a strong enough twist to make prioritizing photographing these jonis over saving a house full of people from a raging fire not seem ridiculous well guys can we take this outside there are exceptions to the rule however there are a couple of more involved quest lines that are much more nourishing almost to the point of being a series of mini main plot missions my favorite was the flame quest line which begins with simply helping out the fire brigade but quickly spins a layered and mysterious web it's full of twists turns and surprises like a great short comic book run that separates itself from the rest of Spider-Man 2's optional time trials and simple puzzle mini gamess all of this contributes to fighting back against Crime in each district of New York a city now twice the size of what we've seen before there are 14 unique districts each with its own set of objectives to complete before you can unlock fast travel to that part of the map not making Fast Travel readily available is smart and truthfully I barely used it anyway as swinging and gliding around the city is so much more fun gliding is especially great for crossing long distances thanks to the numerous wind tunnels that carve their way through New York's seamlessly endless grid of streets flanked by Art Deco architecture and modern miror miror like skyscrapers of course if you're going to be catching a reflection in that glass so often you'll want to look your best looking fresh thanks you too fear not there are dozens and dozens of suits to unlock with Myriad colorful skins to pick from on each of them from modern interpretations of Classics to returning fan favorites there are treats waiting for Spider-Man fans of all generations in keeping with insomniac's track record the music behind it all is Stellar with Miles and Peter's respective signature Tunes playing depending on who you're controlling a highlight though is the theme that follows in Craven's footsteps which Bears more than a passing resemblance to Howard ches urai War March from The Lord of the Rings score it soundtracks a world that looks stunning even when played in performance mode at a very stable 60 FPS as I did for almost all of my playthrough in fact Spider-Man 2 is a technical Marvel as a whole I can't say I noticed one drop frame in my dozens of hours of playing this allows Spider-Man 2 to shine in its most jaw-dropping moments of which the story offers many as explosive action sparkling electrical effects and fittingly slimy symbiote gloop filled the screen so what do you think as a sequel in a spectacular series Marvel Spider-Man 2 is both blessed and cursed its story of two Spider-Man is a great time and a spidey Fan's dream to play through as comic book pages are brought to life elegantly walking the tight rope between light humor and heavier themes meanwhile Insomniac finds a successful formula of combat and web swinging without revolutionizing either in major ways making them comfy and familiar with just enough new tweaks and abilities to elevate them to fun new heights is all this just a game to him the part that feels like it actually needed a radical rethinking is the open world of New York City which has been made bigger but not better with an exhausting check list of mostly repetitive side activities but it's safe to call this another thrilling Spider-Man Adventure that delivers insomniac's best taale yet and despite its open world falling short it is a reliably fun superhero power trip and you know what screw it it really did make me feel like Spider-Man 2 for more open world game reviews why not check out our review of cyberpunk 277 Phantom Liberty or Assassin's Creed Mirage and for everything else Spider-Man 2 stick with IGM well that didn't work

Channel: IGN

Views: 1,818,672

Keywords: Insomniac Games, Marvel, PlayStation 5, Sony Interactive Entertainment, Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2, Venom, spiderman, spiderman 2 review, spider-man 2 review, ps5, ps5 review, spider-man 2 ps5 review, spider-man ps5, peter parker, miles morales, ign, ign review, ign spider-man review, ign spider-man 2 review, spider-man 2 game, spider-man 2 game review, marvel's spider-man, marvel's spider-man 2 review

Id: 3BTgzT3Qn5o

Length: 14min 40sec (880 seconds)

Published: Mon Oct 16 2023