Review #439: The Amazing Spider-man 2(PS3)

 The Mediocre Spider-man returns.

 The Amazing Spider-man was a pretty average game, it had flaws, but it also had a bunch o' good stuff going for it. Surely, Beenox would improve upon it, in order to deliver an even better product, right? Right?
...Not.

 Well, at least this is the last time I get to say this when it comes to Spider-man, so here it goes: The Amazing Spider-man 2 follows the plot from the movie of the same name. Kinda. A lot of changes were made, more than any other previous Spider-man movie tie-in games, to the point that Gwen Stacy was removed altogether. In her place we get new takes on popular villains: Cletus Cassidy, Kraven and Fisk join the movie versions of Green Goblin and Electro. As for the resulting quality of the script... it's pretty bad. Some things happen out of thin air, like Max Dillon turning into Electro, and the story as a whole is pretty underwhelming, with plenty of loose threads never to be resolved.

 This core gameplay remains the same, which is to say, a Batman Arkham City clone. The game features a sand-box style Manhattan for Spidey to explore before tackling his next objective. Petty crime missions will pop up at every single second, these come in various forms: Rescuing hostages, rescuing people from burning buildings, stopping criminals or stopping gun fights. But they have been made extra annoying this time around. There's a new Hero/Menace gauge, and if you ignore crime for too long the Hero gauge will fall into 'Menace', which means that police will eventually start hunting you down because you're doing nothing. How does that make any sense? This makes collecting stuff in the overworld a pain in the rear, since the gauge will be decreasing at an almost constant rate, unless you engage in side-activities. And not only are they repetitive, every time you decide to tackle on of these, you will have to go through time-wasting cut-scenes before and after you clear it. Why they did it this way is beyond me, since previous Spider-man games integrated these missions seamlessly into the game. And just for kicks, after certain missions the game will automatically put you in Menace level, because why not screw with the player and have him work some more through repetitive missions and have him sit through inane cut-scenes?

 It's not all bad though. Swinging has been tweaked, and while it's still not as good as Treyarch's offerings, they brought a new interesting idea to the table: L2 shoots web with the left arm, and R2 with the right one, which makes swinging fun in a new way. It's still a bit slow for my taste, but I like the ingenuity. On the other hand, stealth has been gimped a bit, you can no longer simply stealth-takedown an enemy from the roof, you have to press L3 in order to perch down through a web-line and get close enough. Double stealth-takedowns are gone as well. But while Stealth is not as useful as before, Spider-man has gotten more durable and can heal at any time by holding down on the D-Pad. It takes a while, but if you can get an opening you're good to go.

 Combat offers more possibilities now as well. Just like before, it takes after Batman Arkham series, so you just mash square to land blows, and triangle to dodge when signs light up over Spider-man's head. New abilities include the Seismic shot, after Spider-man steals Shocker's technology, which is used to tumble heavy foes and allow them to be hit, or to knock down common enemies for a quick take-down. Sometimes two enemies will attack at once, requiring a double tap on the dodge button two, there're new nimble enemies that must be brought down by pulling them towards you, and enemies on gliders that require a similar strategy. All these new enemies and tools make for much more exciting combat, there're new combat challenges if you enjoy it, and clearing all 12 unlocks Superior Spider-man's suit!

 Suits are more prominent in these game, and plentiful. Each suit can be leveled up independently from the others, and each one has different perks. For instance, Spider-man 2099 is better suited for combat thanks to the bonuses on combat damage and resistance, while Scarlet Spider is better suited for side activities, thanks to resistance to blades and fire, as well as increased Hero point rewards.

 Look, The Amazing Spider-man's loading times could get pretty long, but if you're playing the sequel on the Playstation 3, oh boy, get ready to wait. A lot. Loading times can get pretty terrible. So add up to the total waiting time, the game sure loves making the player wait, eh!

 I wish I could say that The Amazing Spider-man 2 is better than the previous game, but I can't. While the combat and the swinging are way better than before, the rest of the design choices are so... poor. The Hero/Menace system is a way to annoy the player and waste his time, as well as having the player endure the 'presentation' and 'result' cut-scenes before and after each side activity, breaking the overall flow of the game. As much as I love having a Superior Spider-man costume, as well as finally having tear and wear reflect on Scarlet Spider's costume.... I'd go with the previous game if I needed an Amazing Spider-man fix.
 5.0 out of 10

Review #438: Spider-man 2(PC)

 Where's your PC master race now?

 I don't know what possessed Activision at the time, but they decided that yet another version of Spider-man 2 was needed, but this time around, one for the kiddies. Yes, Spider-man 2 on the PC is a game for the little ones and as such, is probably one you'll want to avoid.

 You know the drill already, movie tie-in games equals a game that follows the plot from the movie of the same game, and, once again, you should know the drill by now, since it's a Spider-man movie tie-in game, new villains made it into the plot, villains like Rhyno, Puma(So this is where the 3D model used in the GBA version originated from!) and Mysterio. This version's probably the one that took the most liberties with the plot, while other games kept the Doc Ock storyline separate from the other new subplots, this Doc Ock is conspiring with the other villains nearly from the get go. It's also got new scenes, like Puma stealing Mary Jane's car(What?) or Spidey actually failing to stop the train(The movie's best scene ruined!). The presentation is pretty horrible, by the end of the game the developers stopped caring and character models stopped walking during cutscenes, instead being thrusted to and fro one place to the next. And defeated enemies? They disappear in a digitized blue hologram-like fade out. What the f... 

 Spider-man 2 on the PSP was a throwback to previous, linear Spider-man games, while Spider-man 2 on home consoles gave us an open world. On PC, it's a sad mix of both. Some missions let you explore a tiny version of New York, and beating the game lets you explore at will. But you don't have nearly as much freedom as you do on the home console version. There're invisible walls galore, a ton of buildings you can't climb to the very top and you can only swing from a few, designated markers on certain buildings. It's pretty constricting, so the freedom to explore is pretty much an illusion. And why would you want to explore? Hidden goodies that grant you more points that do absolutely nothing! After I cleared a mission I was granted an upgraded life bar, but I don't even know why that happened.

 I will grant it that they came up with a very ingenious(For a kids' game) control scheme. Left click shoots web, attacks, swings or web-zips towards a surface depending on where you aim. It's not perfect, mind you, you need to be precise if you want to shoot web towards turrets instead of zipping in front of them, but it works most of the time. WASD moves you around and right click jumps, while the space bar is used to dodge moves. It's a very simple, easy to grasp set-up that works really well most of the time, and kids will be able to handle it very easily. That said, the game is a bit boring. Combat is dull and repetitive, while the swinging is anything but satisfying, a sin on any Spider-man game.

 There's an 'adrenaline meter' that fills as you hit enemies, and once filled you'll automatically start shining blue and be able to defeat enemies(any of the massive three different types!) in one blow, but it only lasts a little while. Bosses have to be defeated in various different ways... that are detailed before each fight, alongside images illustrating exactly what to do. Lame! They also managed to fit QTEs in here. QTEs are never fun, away with them!

 Spider-man 2 on the PC is very, very boring. It can be a bit clunky, but nothing is broken and the game works as intended, plus, on modern PCs it should run pretty smoothly. The thing is, as boring and plain as it is... I'm pretty sure that, as a game for children, it's probably pretty good. But yeah, anyone older than 5 is better off with the PSP or PS2 versions, because there's nothing for them here.

 3.5 out of 10

Now Playing: Spider-man 2(PC)

 You didn't think we were quite done with Spider-man 2, now did you?

 Yep, there was yet another version of Spider-man 2 released, and I'm not talking about the NGage's beefed up GBA port. While Home Consoles got a then-fantastic, innovative and, quite frankly, a landmark title in the world of movie-tie-in videogames, with Spider-man 2, the PC got a kid-friendly, toned down, crappy and entirely different Spider-man 2.

 There're a few highlights, for instance, taking into account that this is supposed to be a kid's game, a no thrills, no frills kind-of-deal, they manage to craft a very simple and effective control scheme. Swinging, punching, jumping, shoot web and web-zipping is all done with WASD and a mouse. Impressive. This also means that your options are pretty limited, which is true, but for a kids' game? It's commendable! Then there's the fact that this game is old, so it should have no problems running like butter on any modern PC.

 As for the bad... the game is too simple, heck, Rhyno came with a guide as to how to defeat him. You can only swing from specific markers on buildings too, which is all kinds of lame. And that's the game in a nutshell: All kinds of lame.

Review #437: Spider-man 2(PSP)

 The PSP gets some love.

 I think that we can safely say that Spider-man 1 on the PS2 was a mess, regardless, Vicarious Visions went with that vision for the PSP version of Spider-man 2. What this means, essentially, is that Spider-man 2 on the PSP trades the free-roaming gameplay from the PS2 version for a more linear, stage-based design, not unlike previous Spider-man games, and, unlike what the previous game of its ilk would lead you to believe, is actually pretty decent.

 I'm tired of having written the same damn thing over 30 times already, but here it goes: Spider-man 2 on the PSP follows the plot from the movie of the same name, in which Doctor Octopus becomes somewhat of a tragic figure, but Spider-man must stop him from doing more evil. This game probably has the most accurate translation of said plot, it has the most similar train scene anyways! There're also a few new baddies added to make for a more fun game, like Shocker, Rhyno and the Vulture. The game has about 20 different stages, and it should last you about 3 hours total.

 Square is punch, circle is kick, triangle shoots web, R swings from web and L is your targeting reticule, y'know, if you've played the PS1 games or even Spider-man on the PS2, you'll be right at home. It might take a while before you get a hang of how to swing, y'see, this time around you tap R once and Spider-man will swing until he hits a wall. Holding R will make him go faster, holding up or down on the analog stick will raise or lower Spidey's altitude, and don't worry, Spidey's web sticks to thin air. The controls work well, but it's the camera that'll wrestle with you. There's no way to snap the camera back behind the webhead's back, and while you can turn it around with the directional pad, even if you use the claw grip, the game won't let you turn the camera as Spider-man moves, which is rather annoying.

 Stages are varied, and quite short which serves a handheld well. While the brunt of the game has you defeating all manners of thugs, there's the occasional mission that sees Spidey saving hostages or policemen. Clearing stages, defeating enemies and finding the elusive Golden Spiders will grant you points that can be spent to enhance Spider-man: Turn his 3 hit punch or kick strings into 4 hit strings, more health, more webbing or more strength. It works well, although they could've added a few more upgrades, since you'll be maxed out 3/4ths into the game.

 Spider-man 2 on the PSP is a game not to be underestimated! While the camera issues can sometimes get in the way of your enjoyment, it's a competent game that makes good use of the license.
 6.5 out of 10

Now Playing: The Amazing Spider-man 2(Playstation 3)

 Loading witty sentence.

 Alright, so I heard that the game had horrid loading times, but boy, I wasn't expecting them to be THIS bad. Well, the rest of the game is pretty much exactly the same as Amazing Spider-man 1, not that I played all that much.

 They did something different, and interesting, with the swinging mechanics... now R2 governs the right hand and L2 the left hand, which is something I've thought about, and it's an interesting, but unnecessary, change. I was about to complain that it was still slow, but I just unlocked the boost mechanics, so crisis averted.

 The combat has been refined too, now you get to avoid multiple enemies on one dodge, disarming mechanics and the Spider-Sense signs are a bright red, which makes it easier to spot. It's not a HUGE improvement, but the added variety and polish is welcome.

 Yeah, Amazing Spider-man 2 is shaping up to be another good, but unimpressive, Spider-man game. It's a bit disappointing to end Spider-man's run on the PS3 with such a tame game, but I guess it's what it deserves. And boy, was it interesting to go all the way from the very first 3-D Spider-man game on the PS1 to the very last, at the moment, 3-D Spider-man game on the PS3. It was filled with very low lows, a ton of decent games and few highs every now and then. Few franchises can say that they had horrible, mediocre, good and the occasional great game! Although whether that's a good thing or a bad thing is better left for another day.

Review #436: The Amazing Spider-man(Playstation 3)

 The not so Amazing Spider-man

 With 2 Spider-man games under their belt, Beenox finally felt confident to develop what fans wanted: Another open world Spider-man game, and thus The Amazing Spider-man was released.

 While it's a movie tie-in, instead of retelling the movie's plot, this game acts as a pseudo-sequel of sorts. After Dr. Connors' fiasco, Alistair Smith takes over his research to 'fix' what Connors did... but it soon goes awry, with the entire Oscorp building turning into an infected zone, filled with contagious cross-species mutants. Spider-man breaks out Connors out of the mental instituted in order to help him create a cure and save Manhattan. It's an alright story for a movie tie-in game, and probably a better idea than tackling the movie's plot. This game also features very new takes on popular villains like Alistaire Smith, Rhyno and the Scorpion.

 There's two different elements to the game: Outdoors and indoors. Most of the game takes place in-doors, which is were missions take place. Basically, during these parts the game plays like a Batman: Arkham clone, with one-button, free flowing combat, and once signs appear over Spidey's head you must press a different button to dodge. It's fun and fast, but it lacks some of Batman's grace. But hand-to-hand combat isn't always the best road to take, y'see, even when fully upgraded Spider-man can't take much punishment, so it's in your best interest to crawl on walls and ceilings, finding vantage points to stealthily do away with enemies. It's very easy to exploit the stealth system, once found just web-rush from corner to corner until they forget about you, then take out a few more enemies, rinse and repeat.

 Web-Rush is the game's main gimmick, by holding R1 time will slow down to a crawl, shifting to a first person camera. From here you can pick a surface to web-zip to, an enemy to web-strike or an object to interact with. It works fine, and seeing how the automatic lock on for tapping R1 kinda sucks, this'll be the safest way to interact with an object in the midst of a battle. They finally had the bright idea to change how web-swinging works outdoors and indoors, in these indoor segments R2 will make Spider-man swing automatically from web to web, and holding L2 will make him increase his altitude as he swings.

 But when not undertaking missions you'll be exploring the sandbox city of Manhattan. While you can go towards your next mission at any time, there's a substantial, but needlessly repetitive, amount of side-missions to undertake. Secret Labs to take down, muggings to stop, car chases and a few others. While these are not random, unlike previous games, there's a large amount of each, so you'll be quite busy... if you do engage in them. I did a few, but quickly grew bored. You can also find hidden comic book pages that unlock entire high quality Spider-man comics. Pretty neat! There're also a fair amount of costumes to unlock, including my favorite Marvel character's costume: Kaine's Scarlet Spider.

 But as filled to the brim with excess fat as the overworld is, there's one big, fatal flaw: They messed up the swinging. Previous Spider-man games had a fantastic timing based system that felt rewarding and gratifying to swing around. In here you just hold R2 until Spider-man lets go of the web and then tap R2 again. No way to do it any faster. And you'll want to be faster, since the swinging is VERY slow. It takes away a lot from the overall game. Web-zip was removed, and while you can use quick taps of Web Rush for an extra boost, it doesn't feel any faster... or any useful for traversing the city. Among all open-world Spider-man games, this one's easily got the worst swinging mechanics of them all.

 The Underwhelming Spider-man would've been a better title. While there's nothing particularly bad about it, except maybe how uninspired the side-activities are, the game doesn't do anything that other games do better. The indoor missions? Batman's got them covered. The open world segments? Pick any other open world Spider-man game. So, yeah, it's not a bad game, but there's a lot of other options to exhaust before you'd feel compelled to give it a go.
 6.0 out of 10

Now Playing: Spider-man 2(PSP)

 At least it's better than Spider-man 1 on the PS2, right?

 Alright, so the PS1 formula of Spider-man games wasn't abandoned quite after Spider-man 1, you see, there was yet another version of Spider-man 2, the one on PSP, the one that didn't arrive on time so I had to skip for the Spider-manathon but since I'm out of handheld Spider-man games, it's right on time.

 Well, it's quite alright. Seems like a slightly, and only slightly more polished take on the Spider-man 1(PS2) game. I spent way more time than I'd like to admit trying to catch up to the helicopter on the first stage, and the second stage was a very mundane beat'em up thingie that was just, well, mediocre. So... we'll see, maybe, as a whole, the game ends up being good.