Spider man 2: The gameplay in Spider-Man 2 is
stripped-down to a fault.
In this day and age, most third-party games are
released across multiple platforms. When the game in question is a major
licensed property, like Spider-Man 2, it's almost guaranteed that you're going
to get the same game on several different systems. Activision did this, in
part, by releasing a Treyarch-developed Spider-Man 2 game on the Xbox,
PlayStation 2, and GameCube. But for some reason that game didn't make its way
to the PC. Instead, PC owners are getting a completely different game. Between
the game's overly simplified gameplay mechanics and its weak presentation, this
is definitely a case where "different" doesn't mean
"better."
The PC version of Spider-Man 2 has overly
simplified gameplay.
At its core, the PC version of Spider-Man 2 is
attempting to do the same thing that the console game does. It takes only the
most basic shreds of story from the movie of the same name and inserts them
into an action game. In an attempt to liven things up a bit, the game does more
than merely pit Spider-Man against Dr. Octopus. You'll also face other
villains, like Mysterio, the Puma, and on multiple occasions you'll square off
against Rhino. When you aren't doing that, you're stopping bank robberies and beating
up on other, lesser thugs. Generally speaking, the game doesn't go out of its
way to tell any story at all. You'll get a cutscene here and there, but most of
these cutscenes are ugly. A few of them come from the console versions of the
game, and these look just fine. But the cutscenes that were created
specifically for this version of the game are awful. They run at a choppy frame
rate, and the scenes would probably look better if they were just rendered
in-engine.
The gameplay in Spider-Man 2 is stripped-down to
a fault. The game controls like your standard third-person PC action game, with
the mouse controlling your turning and viewpoint and the keyboard controlling
your actual movement. The left mouse button is a context-sensitive, all-purpose
action button. If you're pointing your targeting crosshairs at an enemy, an
onscreen targeting device will say "attack" or "web" if you
aren't close enough to punch. Pointing at the side of a building or other flat
surface will let you "zip" to that location with a touch of the
button. In some cases, you'll be able to "shoot" web balls at various
targets. And when you're close enough to a swing icon, your targeting device
will light up and say "swing."
Graphically, Spider-Man 2 looks OK. Most of the
game takes place in a city environment, but the rigid, boxlike structure of the
skyscrapers doesn't make you feel as though you have any sort of citylike
freedom. The game's textures are passable, though most of the non-player models
are ugly and animate poorly. When you beat enemies, they blink out of existence
with a static effect that makes you feel as if you're playing some sort of
"Spider-Man in The Matrix" mod. The whole game just looks dull and
unexciting, both technically and artistically.
Each boss battle starts with a diagram that
spells out exactly what you need to do.
Most of the sound effects in the game are good,
but this is offset by some bad voice acting. You'll hear some of the voices
from the movie here, but Tobey Maguire must have used up all his voice-acting
energy on lines for the console version of the game. Here, the script is bad to
begin with, and the line delivery isn't any better. The game has some music,
but it basically just fades into the background and stays there.
Why didn't the PC get the good version of
Spider-Man 2? Who decided to make an entirely different and decidedly mediocre
version of the game specifically for Windows users? We may never know the
answers to these questions, but as for your question about whether or not you
should spend your time and money playing this version of the game, the answer
is definitely no. The gameplay in Spider-Man 2 is
stripped-down to a fault.
In this day and age, most third-party games are
released across multiple platforms. When the game in question is a major
licensed property, like Spider-Man 2, it's almost guaranteed that you're going
to get the same game on several different systems. Activision did this, in
part, by releasing a Treyarch-developed Spider-Man 2 game on the Xbox,
PlayStation 2, and GameCube. But for some reason that game didn't make its way
to the PC. Instead, PC owners are getting a completely different game. Between
the game's overly simplified gameplay mechanics and its weak presentation, this
is definitely a case where "different" doesn't mean
"better."
The PC version of Spider-Man 2 has overly
simplified gameplay.
At its core, the PC version of Spider-Man 2 is
attempting to do the same thing that the console game does. It takes only the
most basic shreds of story from the movie of the same name and inserts them
into an action game. In an attempt to liven things up a bit, the game does more
than merely pit Spider-Man against Dr. Octopus. You'll also face other
villains, like Mysterio, the Puma, and on multiple occasions you'll square off
against Rhino. When you aren't doing that, you're stopping bank robberies and beating
up on other, lesser thugs. Generally speaking, the game doesn't go out of its
way to tell any story at all. You'll get a cutscene here and there, but most of
these cutscenes are ugly. A few of them come from the console versions of the
game, and these look just fine. But the cutscenes that were created
specifically for this version of the game are awful. They run at a choppy frame
rate, and the scenes would probably look better if they were just rendered
in-engine.
The gameplay in Spider-Man 2 is stripped-down to
a fault. The game controls like your standard third-person PC action game, with
the mouse controlling your turning and viewpoint and the keyboard controlling
your actual movement. The left mouse button is a context-sensitive, all-purpose
action button. If you're pointing your targeting crosshairs at an enemy, an
onscreen targeting device will say "attack" or "web" if you
aren't close enough to punch. Pointing at the side of a building or other flat
surface will let you "zip" to that location with a touch of the
button. In some cases, you'll be able to "shoot" web balls at various
targets. And when you're close enough to a swing icon, your targeting device
will light up and say "swing."
Graphically, Spider-Man 2 looks OK. Most of the
game takes place in a city environment, but the rigid, boxlike structure of the
skyscrapers doesn't make you feel as though you have any sort of citylike
freedom. The game's textures are passable, though most of the non-player models
are ugly and animate poorly. When you beat enemies, they blink out of existence
with a static effect that makes you feel as if you're playing some sort of
"Spider-Man in The Matrix" mod. The whole game just looks dull and
unexciting, both technically and artistically.
Each boss battle starts with a diagram that
spells out exactly what you need to do.
Most of the sound effects in the game are good,
but this is offset by some bad voice acting. You'll hear some of the voices
from the movie here, but Tobey Maguire must have used up all his voice-acting
energy on lines for the console version of the game. Here, the script is bad to
begin with, and the line delivery isn't any better. The game has some music,
but it basically just fades into the background and stays there.
Why didn't the PC get the good version of
Spider-Man 2? Who decided to make an entirely different and decidedly mediocre
version of the game specifically for Windows users? We may never know the
answers to these questions, but as for your question about whether or not you
should spend your time and money playing this version of the game, the answer
is definitely no....
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