by:	July 02, 2004

Spider-Man is without a doubt one of the most popular superheroes of all-time. Since his first comic book appearance in 1962, the witty web-slinger has captivated people of all ages with his numerous comic books, television shows, films and video games. While most other superheroes have struggled in their translation to games, it was usually safe to bet that Spidey’s video game adventures would at least be better than average. Two years ago, Treyarch showed us much of what Spider-Man was capable of with the latest console hardware, but there was a lot of untapped potential. Treyarch’s latest attempt to accurately portray everybody’s favorite tight-wearing teenager comes much closer to hitting the mark than ever before, but a few more months of development could have catapulted Spider-Man 2 to instant-classic status.

Spider-Man 2 follows the storyline of the film, although loosely, pitting the hero against the infamous Doctor Octopus. Several more of Spidey’s nemeses, including Rhino and Mysterio, have been tossed in for good measure, since a single villain wouldn’t have kept the attention of gamers for very long. Along the way, you’ll interact with familiar faces such as Mary Jane Watson and Harry Osborn, each of whom share the likenesses and voice talents of their Hollywood counterparts. The storyline doesn’t appear to be the major focal point for Spider-Man 2, however. Unfortunately, the developers at Treyarch were content with the story taking a backseat, allowing them to spend the majority of their time fine tuning the mechanics of Spider-Man’s incredible mobility. Thankfully, that time was well spent.

Despite the fact that Spider-Man has enjoyed a relatively successful video game career, it’s been understandably difficult for developers to accurately depict the web-slinger’s unique forms of transportation. This time around, the folks at Treyarch hit the nail right on the head, finally allowing fans to experience exactly what it might feel like to swing around a large, metropolitan area. While the player has a choice between the normal swing mode and a simpler one, it’s definitely worth taking the time to become familiar with the normal mode, since it really does allow you the feeling of speeding through New York as the wall-crawler himself. The controls are easy to learn, and before long you’ll feel as if you’ve been watching over the city for years. In all honesty, the main reason this game is so good is because the web-slinging mechanics are so perfect.

Sparking weird, unfounded comparisons to the GTA series, Treyarch decided to focus on an open-ended experience by adding free-roaming gameplay to the superhero formula. Make no mistake, you won’t be stealing any cars or picking up hookers in Spider-Man 2. You will, however, be given the opportunity to explore a massive environment as you see fit. As Spider-Man, you can reach any location that you can see, from the top of the highest skyscraper, down to the city streets and everywhere in between. The densely populated Manhattan allows for countless opportunities to punish criminals and rescue people in distress, and each act of heroism earns Spidey a number of hero points which can be used in stores scattered about the city to purchase new abilities and attack combos. Unfortunately, there are such a small number of “random” heroic experiences to be had in Spider-Man 2 that you’ll have seen them all within your first couple hours of play. You can imagine, then, how repetitive they can become. After your umpteenth time of thwarting an armored car robbery, saving a city worker in danger of falling from a rooftop or getting an injured citizen to the hospital, you’ll wish that there was more substance to the game’s storyline.