You wouldn't admit it, would you? Yet secretly, you do. Sometimes you even let out a yelp of surprise, followed by an embarrassing leap to safety. You loathe spiders and you're not alone. It's the speed that's so terrifying, as they zip across the floor towards you with such purposeful direction.
Interesting then, that for such frighteningly ferocious beasts, their abilities make an esteemed superhero, for it's the web-slinging, skin-crawling skills that make Spider-Man the perfect character for a game. Who could deny the desire to swing from the scintillating skyscrapers of New York whilst wielding webs and battling corrupt foes? Naturally, if the answer to that question is negative, this isn't the game for you.
So Peter Parker is Spider-Man – or more accurately now,
you are Spider-Man.
You were bitten by an arachnid and
you must save the city from the evil Doc Ock and his horde of tyrants. Whilst
Spider-Man 2's clichéd villainous story holds few surprises, it's the strength of playing such an acrobatic and interesting lead that will draw you to the game. Whether it delivers on the promise is another question.
To begin with, you'll need to learn the ropes.
Spider-Man 2 offers several training missions to help you pick up the basics: you control Spidey with the analogue stick and rotate the camera with the D-pad. It's easy enough to pick up, meaning you'll be flying in seconds – bounding across the sky is well-realised and instantly a good deal of fun.
Unfortunately, the training feels a little out of place and would have worked much better if integrated into the story. In addition, it's too unforgiving. Whilst undertaking some simple target practice, if you make a slight error and hit the wrong target, you'll be forced to restart from the beginning. This is particularly gruelling when the training mission in question goes on for far too long, and would have benefited from the insight used in a few of the others, such as being able to practice and then quit when you've had enough. This way you're never restricted and can carry on with the main game as soon as you feel accomplished enough to do so. Fret not, however, as the training isn't compulsory – if you're feeling adventurous you can dive straight into the Story mode.
Fans of the
Spider-Man 2 movie will be happy to see how closely the game fits into the plot – play is interspersed with cut-scenes that run along a similar vein to the film (fortunately for those not interested in seeing these, they're skippable so you to carry on with the levels). But that's where the similarity ends. The game's beginning holds short easy tasks that can quickly become tiresome and repetitive while the level design is never really challenging, and you can become lost in the endless procession of similarly dull looking rooms and corridors. The puzzles, equally, just aren't exciting, amounting to little more than finding a button and activating it in order to progress.
At first, it's fun using your web to disarm the enemies teasingly while you hit them with a combination of sweet punches and kicks. They don't seem to differ in any respect other than appearance, though, and it's a shame that fighting soon becomes boring due to opponents rarely changing from their usual strategy of just charging at you.
Matters aren't helped by a viewpoint which is positioned behind Spider-Man himself. During the indoor levels this often becomes a problem, as the camera struggles to keep up with your twists and turns while you try to navigate the small rooms.
Escape is at hand though, as the outdoor levels offer much more freedom – camera issues are left behind as everything is open and easy to see. It soon becomes obvious that swinging in the skies is the most enjoyable part of the game, and whilst chasing down that helicopter never feels quite as exhilarating as it should, these are definitely the best missions. Spider-Man is smoothly animated and flows nicely as you sway heroically around the city and although the buildings can look a bit bland and flat (this is particularly true indoors), the general look of the game outdoors is open and inviting.
At times,
Spider-Man 2 makes you feel like a superhero, always having the upper hand over your enemies and, once you've mastered the controls, this illusion becomes increasingly accomplished. Overall though, there just isn't much that's appealing about the game. The music may do its best to uplift and immerse you but the abrupt elementary nature of the levels can be frustrating, leading to the conclusion the game would have benefited from much more freedom and less linearity.
Spider-Man 2 is on sale now. 
