Alright, this marks the beginning of a series of reviews about my favorite games. For this one, I'm gonna do one that every time I play it, I generally lose a eight hour period from beginning to end. Spider-Man 2, a game that is quite possibly my favorite of the last generation (and last generation was a great one for me).
So jumping in, this was the sequel to the first Spider-Man movie game, which I liked a lot, however, I was displeased with the way the levels broke it up. That's the first good thing about this game, it's entirely sand box and you can go anywhere and do anything, except be a villain (which Bruce Campbell tells you in the first few moments in the game). Oh, I didn't mention that? Bruce Campbell's the narrator to all the Spider-Man movie games. He should narrarate more games.
Most of the controls remain from the first game, and the combat that was fluid there, stays in tact, and is even added to with new aerial combos and web uses. The only major thing lost is the web dome combo, a web shield that exploded incapacitating most villains in the area. Also, rather than running around the area searching for special combos, there are shops where you can buy new abilities for points earned for doing heroic deeds. I've never heard of a store doing something like this, but if there was, no kid would ever lose a balloon again (a common sidetask for points in game).
You get points for a number of things, like completing story lines, helping people with red tasks, or doing purple situational tasks. The tasks range from foiling a bank robbery to saving a falling person to fighting a squadron or mechas (no, seriously, a squadron of mechas). You can also get them by living Peter's life, by taking pictures, delivering pizzas, or dating Mary Jane. These mostly are races from point A to point B and either returning to Point A or moving on to another point in the race. Speaking of races, there are sets of speed races littered around the city. Each of these are a time trial even with an easy time and hard time to beat. Finally, there are tokens to be collected. Similar to the white flags of Assasin's Creed, these are a nightmare to find all of them and there are three distinct types to find all of: landmark, hideout, and secret. I've never collected them all, so I don't know what happens when you find them all. One of these days, I'll find out.
The story, as I said, carries on from where the first game left off while still trying to stick to the movie. It does so with the addition of two other Spider-Man staple characters to add plot. Mysterio, a special effects genius, and cat-burglar extrordinaire and my absolute favorite Marvel character, Black Cat (and yes, I do realize she's a rip off of Catwoman in some regards, but I like her better than Selena Kyle).
Mysterio's origin is played out through the course of a game, in that he challenges Spidey to a duel of wits to test if Spider-Man's a better hero than he is. After his loss, he decides to take his vengeance out on the city, staging an alien invasion. Spider-Man eventually foils him in a convenience store robbery of all things.
Black Cat crosses Spidey's path much like she does in many of her first appearances, as a thief who excites him, pushes him to leave the role of Peter Parker and join her as Spider-Man, and while I love this set up...they never go far with it. The fact that she's been announced as part of the fourth movie makes me happy, but we'll see. Spider-Man does become interested in her, and with M.J. getting married, she's a nice distraction for him. She helps him track and take down Shocker after he escapes due to the actions of Mysterio. Then, as the story gets to the climax, she vanishes completely.
The main story revolves around the events of the movie with Doc Ock's origin playing out like it did in the movie. The Mary Jane subplot is also carried over, and shows up as a series of sidequests throughout the game. There's very little changed between the film and the game, but it actually feels like you're playing it. The sad thing is you can't really fight Doctor Octopus in the final fight. He's just so overpowered, and with his device shooting flares at you, you have to turn it off first.
But that's not the end, there's still more fun to be had. This was the first game I ever played where there were achievements to be gained, and the screen for them is unlocked after you beat the main story quest. The story characters never resurface, but it's nice to let you keep playing the quests.
So, if you've played it, let me know if you liked it, and let me know what I could work on for this segment. Episode 2 will probably be up within a few days (or hours) and it will be on the classic strategy RPG Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Calibre.
-Sara
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