Marvel's Spider-Man 2 Feels...UNFINISHED!!!

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Insomia Games has done something absolutely spectacular with Marvel's Spider-Man 2. I've just completed my story playthrough; finishing most of the side content along the way and it was a ride from start to finish. I'm going to try to avoid SPOILERS as much as possible but do forgive me if I do.

By now you've seen the opening set piece for Spider-Man 2 but if you haven't its one hell of an opening. They go big. Insomnia comes out swinging and from there it keeps going up in scale and excitement. It's your classic Spider-Man story with some very familiar villains, some wonderful sequences and some very fun setups for what's to come with an Insomnia twist. I'll forgo talking about the story so we don't spoil anyone so I'll jump into my takeaways from Marvel's Spider-Man 2.

I absolutely love everything about Marvel's Spider-Man 2, even though I could see some of the story points coming a mile away, it was still fun to experience. Jumping between Miles and Peter at set story moments were some of the highlights of the game. Even the returning Mary Jane segments were much more engaging this go around; and OHMYGAWD--the web wings are a brilliant piece of gameplay and a great addition to the games mechanics. Gliding around the city feels so fun, free and exhilarating--they NAILED the experience and you don't even have to wait long to acquire it. Web-swinging is no longer the best way to get around. 

But I'm sure you've heard all of this before so let me be frank.


Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is a game with great set piece moments, great characters and character arcs and side activities that offer a look into the Spidey universe--some more than others. However, it is short game. Surprisingly short and I honestly think that some of the story mission and segments are there only to pad the games runtime. Even some of the boss fights you have to repeat several times with little in ways of change between each depleted life bar. One other thing that I found that makes the game feel weird is how big the city is but how limited we are in terms of side activities. It all starts to feel repetitive fairly quickly event though the game takes some time opening up each side activity. I just wish there was more in terms of variety. YES the city is big and you could fast travel anywhere you want but when there's not much in terms of things to do, the city feels lifeless. Forget that the city has a denser population and traffic, forget that each district is unique and is great representation of New York City. That's not the problem. The problem is the limited number of city crimes that occur. There's no way there are that many Tankers on Fire or Car Chase or Assault or Mugging. 

These crimes, although fun to break up, doesn't off much in terms of substance and realism with such a big city. Where are the city crimes where I get to be more acrobatic and fully use all my Spidey abilities, albeit they're mostly cutscenes. Some of the best moment in the game are when Spider-Man is zipping around the environment doing what he does best. I'm all for a good street brawl but that's not all that Spider-Man is cracked up to be. He's much more acrobatic and I would love to see a few city crimes that display that. Or even a few more where the stakes are a little bigger--think fall crane from Marvel Spider-Man.

On a quick side note: What happened to all the Side-Mission. They were few and far in-between in Marvel's Spider-Man 2. 

Spider-Man 2 is AMAZING but it feels unfinished or like its a PART ONE setting up another part to come later. If that is the case, and that's evident from how the game ends, I hope that whatever comes next turns the volume up just a bit more. The Spidey universe is vast and there's so much to pull from so I'm not worried about the story. Let's focus on making me, the player, feel more like the Amazing Spider-Man. Let's make the city feel like it has more to offer in terms of city crimes and side-missions.

Of course, I should end this by saying that these are my opinions and doesn't take away from how great the game is or your experience.


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Courtesy of Games News Network

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