Spider-Man 2 (X-Box)
Developed by: Treyarch
Published by: Activision

The draw of any superhero game has always been the potential thrill of putting yourself in the role of the hero and experiencing a glimpse of what life might be like if you really had superpowers. Imagine flying over a city scouting for trouble with your x-ray vision, or wiping the floor with a bunch of thugs using your lightning-quick reflexes and super strength. Nothing could be more fun than that. The problem is, very few video games have ever managed to successfully convey such an experience. No doubt one big obstacle over the years is that the technology has been pretty limited. However, the real reason is probably just that licensed video games based on comics, TV shows and/or movies are usually little more than half-baked cash grabs.

This is where Treyarch have broken new ground. Their Spider-Man 2 game, while clearly created as a mass market movie tie-in, was not left to sell itself based on name alone. They gave a lot of thought as to how they could make the player truly feel like they were in Spider-Man’s tights and it paid off. The end product is an extremely fun and endlessly replayable open-ended gaming experience.

Think Grand Theft Auto and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater but instead of driving cars or riding a skateboard around the city you swing around on lines of webbing, climb walls and leap across rooftops. You can go wherever you want, whenever you want, and indeed the most impressive and addictive aspect of the game is simply soaring among the skyscrapers of Manhattan from Spider-Man’s POV. They have recreated all of Manhattan with many actual landmarks like the Statue of Liberty and Central Park (not to mention the two beams of light where the World Trade Center once stood). The physics feel realistic, and the speed and fluidity with which you can maneuver are exhilirating — especially once Spider-Man’s attributes start to max out.

Taking their knowledge and experience from the Tony Hawk series, Treyarch have incorporated upgradeable skills and abilities for Spidey along with a staggering number of combat moves and combos that allow your creativity to dictate your enjoyment of the game. From Spider Reflexes (bullet-time slow mo), to the ability to entangle enemies in webbing or yank them over to your fist, to a Web zip line, to any number of different punches and kicks, your choices are virtually unlimited. You can even attach webbing to two buildings at once and then slingshot yourself with it. How cool is that? The designers have also placed a number of obstacle course style races and challenges throughout the city, and while they may seem a little out of context they allow you to constantly test and improve your gameplay skills. This really is a game, much like the THPS games, that you will want to turn on just to fool around in the world without even trying to accomplish anything specific.

The game progresses in a mission-based format, with a checklist of missions required to move on to the next chapter of the story that can be completed in any order you desire. What’s more, along the way you will encounter an endless supply of optional tasks that will earn you the “Hero Points” that are used to buy upgrades. These include stopping bank robberies, catching and punishing car thiefs, or even (the true test of courage) rescuing some kid’s balloon. Although the variety in these side missions is somewhat lacking, they never really get old due to the flexibility of the core gameplay mechanics. The main chapter objectives provide other fun and different activities that bring you into contact with all the characters from the movie and others from the comic book. Whether it be taking some photographs for The Daily Bugle, delivering pizzas for Mr. Aziz, or battling against classic Spider-Man enemies like Rhino, Mysterio, or eventually Doc Ock, all aspects of Peter Parker’s life are integrated into the story.

Spider-Man 2 does have its flaws. In order to pull off the super cool web-slinging feature, the developers had to make some concessions along the way. In particular, this is not the best looking game you are likely to see as it would be impossible to maintain highly-detailed reproductions of everything in Manhattan with no load times as you hurtle through the city at super speeds. As a result the environments look pretty bland and the NPC characters look like 3D relics from the past with a simple flat bitmap representing their face and no lip synch whatsoever. The cinematics also mostly look like ass, with odd jerky animation and lacklustre models.

The voice acting is mediocre to sub-par. While the main stars do lend their voices (Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, and Alfred Molina), many of the other peripheral characters are obviously not done by their real-life counterparts. Tobey Maguire’s deadpan voice did amuse me at times (”Hey Spidey, you da man!” “No… you da man.”), but mostly he sounded like he couldn’t care less (and I’m sure he couldn’t). The surprise star of the game however is Bruce Campbell, who provides his voice for narration and instructional purposes throughout. His sarcastic comments made me laugh from the get-go, and made for an especially fun way to learn the ropes.

The toughest flaw to get past is the fact that Spider-Man 2 is noticeably buggy, as can be expected from any game that has an inflexible release date that coincides with a movie. While I personally have seen the game lock up, I’ve also read about a particularly nasty glitch that prevents the game from progressing past chapter 9 under certain circumstances. This is the kind of thing that can really ruin a game, and it’s a roll of the dice whether or not you will encounter any major problems.

Still, with all these strikes against it, Spider-Man 2 is a very fun game. It’s a notable accomplishment that’s definitely worth a rental. The excellent replay value also makes this a promising title for anyone looking to stave off summer boredom. If you’re a big Spidey fan however, you’re going to want to run out and buy this immediately. Believe me when I say it’s the closest you’ll get to the world of Spider-Man without actually getting bit by one of those radioactive little buggers. — Sean