Online, people seem to agree: “Spider-Man 2” was a game worth waiting for.
“Marvel’s Spider-Man 2” by Insomniac Games came out on Oct. 20 and people are loving this game. It has an impressive average of 9.1/10 on Metacritic and popular video game sites, such as Polygon, saying that it “toys with Marvel history to be as much fun as possible.”
What’s so amazing about the “Spider-Man” games is the story-telling. When you’re swinging through the city helping out New Yorkers, it feels more alive and real than you would expect from a video game.
“Spider-Man 2” tells its story from the perspective of 2 Spider-Men, Peter Parker and Miles Morales. Both Spider-Men are connected to their city and its people in such a heartfelt way that it’s understandable to shed a few tears while playing. With side quests such as “A New Adventure,” where you reconnect with a character from the first game, it’s hard not to appreciate the emotional effect this game can have on a person.
Switching between Miles and Peter, both in the main story and for their individual side-stories, adds an entire new layer to the game. You get to experience the story from multiple perspectives and see how the events of the game affect them in unique ways.
Thanks to the amazing voice acting from Yuri Lowenthal (Peter Parker), Nadji Jester (Miles Morales) and Laura Bailey (Mary Jane Watson) the emotions of the characters feel genuine. “GamesRadar” lists the voice actors for every major character in “Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 Voice Actors and Cast.” Their voices convey feelings, story, and character development in ways rarely seen in video games.
Not only is the story amazing, but the gameplay is spectacular as well. With the addition of web-wings, a feature that allows the Spider-men to glide through New York City, players online find themselves enjoying traversing the map instead of just fast-traveling [teleporting, essentially] throughout the locations.
The game manages to expand on old aspects of gameplay like the Skill Tree and gadget upgrades without feeling like it’s trying to do too much. With two playable Spider-Men with their own mechanics in their respective games, “Spider-Man 2” manages to find a balance that allows both Spider-Men their individual skills and gadgets without it getting messy and confusing.
In addition to the gameplay improvements for the Spider-Men, Mary Jane Watson [MJ] also has missions. The missions have become more engaging in the story and expanded beyond the first game’s missions of just sneaking around.
With so many different things to do, you would think that the game would be crowded and messy, but “Spider-Man 2” manages to balance the main story, side-stories and city tasks in an impressive way. It doesn’t feel like any parts of the game are competing with another.
Experiencing the story of “Spider-Man 2” is heavily encouraged throughout the game. It has no skippable cutscenes, forcing you to really get involved in the story and enjoy the game on another level. These cutscenes tackle issues like dealing with loss and moving forwards.
“Spider-Man 2” is what sequel games should be. It’s a new story with new elements, but it still retains a lot of the aspects that the community loved about the first game. The game designers knew when to add more and when to keep things the same, as well as how to balance the old with the new. If “Spider-Man 2” wins Game of the Year, it wouldn’t be a surprise, but a well-deserved award.
