I just completed the main campaign of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 a couple of days ago and wow! What a game. Insomniac Games’ first Spider-Man outing on PS4 in 2016 set a pretty high bar for superhero games. But Spider-Man 2 hasn’t just raised the bar, it’s sent it into outer space.
From a gripping story, flawless and thrilling combat and traversal mechanics that are just so good, Spider-Man 2 has set the standard by which all superhero games in its genre should aspire to be.
Spider-Man 2 – what a game!
The opening sequence of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 sets the stage for what you will experience throughout the entire game. Peter Parker and Miles Morales team up to take on Sandman in the opening fight. As the web-slinging duo race to take down the enemy larger than a building, it gives you a sense of what’s to come.
The rest of the main story has action sequences and big cinematic pieces. As well as parts that take you into the open world to experience Insomniac’s incredible imagining of New York. The story itself is gripping and sees the Spider-Men taking on Kraven the Hunter as well as a host of other enemies.
Just like Insomniac’s first Spider-Man game and Spider-Man Miles Morales, the story keeps you engaged. Couple that with action sequences and the fantastic combat moves, it makes you feel like you are playing a big-budget Spider-Man movie.
Gameplay
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 gameplay is quite simply second to none. The vast array of moves you can pull off is quite something. Spider-Man 2 introduces a few new things to the game in terms of gameplay mechanics. There are new gadgets, new suit tech and new powers and abilities to play around with.
Some of the coolest new abilities come when Peter Parker dons the new black suit. Spider-Man’s Venom abilities add nicely to the returning and new combat moves that Spider-Man can accomplish. It’s not just Peter Parker’s Spider-Man that has an array of really cool combat moves though, Miles Morales has also been given a plethora of new abilities and skills that makes combat in Spider-Man 2 one of the most fun experiences in a video game.
While playing as both Spider-Men is enthralling, Insomniac also added in some missions where we got to play as MJ. At first, I wasn’t too sure why Insomniac added MJ as a playable character, I mean it is a Spider-Man game after all. But the MJ parts of the game were also fantastic and in some respects felt like an entirely different game.
The Mary Jane sections added another layer of stealth gameplay and turned out to be pretty good in their own right. I can totally see a spin-off game starring MJ as the protagonist.
Look ma I can fly
What makes Spider-Man 2 such an amazing game is that it pretty much does everything really, really well. Aside from the fast and furious combat, another gameplay element that deserves recognition is the traversal.; With Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 Insomniac added a new way for the Spider-Men to get around Marvel’s New York – The WIngsuit.
Flying around in the Wingsuit, soaring through the sky like a bird or a spider with wings was quite simply incredible. I found myself not even using fast travel that much but rather opting to travel by air, taking advantage of the updrafts and tailwinds for an extra height and speed boost.
Couple this with the fantastic web-swinging mechanics we have grown to love from the previous INsomniuac Spider-Man games and getting around town was just as fun as beating up groups of baddies.
Spider-Man 2 – pretty much the perfect game
In my opinion, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is pretty much the perfect game. It does so many things well that it is easy to forgive any minor flaws, of which there are not many. It is everything you would expect from a PlayStation Studios first-party game – a great narrative, superb mechanics and amazing gameplay. My only gripe with the game is that it was perhaps a bit short, not overly short but I would have loved to have kept playing for a lot longer. But, I guess that’s what DLC is for.
Marvel's Spider-Man 2 - The PSF Verdict
Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is pretty much the perfect game. It does so many things well that it is easy to forgive any minor flaws, of which there are not many. It is everything you would expect from a PlayStation Studios first-party game - a great narrative, superb mechanics and amazing gameplay. Spider-Man 2 is that bar by which all other games should be measured.
