This is one of those games where I understand discrepancies people have with it, but I still had a blast 90% of the time playing. I think a lot of the criticisms are valid, but also some are way too harsh. Spider-Man 2 is a great game. One I enjoyed all the way through. However, it felt like the story went by way too quickly and there wasn’t as much innovation like I would have wanted.

The first Spider-Man game Insomniac made wasn’t really that innovative to begin with if I’m being fully honest. There was a lot of inspiration taken from the Batman Arkham games and previous Spider-Man games - which isn’t surprising or even a bad thing. The former revolutionized action/adventure games with its fun, rhythmic combat mechanics and also changed how superhero games should be made and viewed. The ladder… I mean come on, how can you make a Spider-Man game without taking influence from the ones that came before? Spider-Man 2 (2004) was the basis for every Spidey game afterwards. The Insomniac games are no exception.

So, the wheel wasn’t reinvented but it was refined and damn near perfected by Insomniac. I wasn’t expecting Spider-Man 2 to be a completely new experience compared to its predecessor, but I wouldn’t liked more from it. Yes, the map is bigger and the web wings make traversal fun, but the overall game design feels dated. I understand tho - if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. But it’s just kinda repetitive and tedious. All the side activities blend in or even feel like a chore to complete (the missing persons chases and certain “nests” come to mind). The regular story missions feel like they’re simultaneously lacking some wow factor, or go too overboard with it. There isn’t enough breathing room. It all wraps up too quickly and doesn’t feel as satisfying as it should. But when it is satisfying… lemme tell ya.

I’ve been a little harsh for a 4 star rating but let me get to the good stuff. Starting with the black suit. It’s awesome. Plain and simple. Insomniacs version of the cosmic symbiote feels textbook alien. The design is great, the combat, the tendons flailing about… it’s all great. I wish there were more black suits to wear (there was a rumor that every suit would have it’s own symbiote variant and I’m sad that wasn’t true) but once you get the Raimi suit, it’s a blast. Miles was also fun to play as and has some great powers. It’s the combat that makes the repetitiveness feel less evident. It’s just so good and fluid and addictive. Same with the web swinging. This is a game that’s hard to put down, even when I’m annoyed by certain activities.

I also enjoyed the story a lot, despite the pacing being weird. I thought it made sense for the world Insomniac built and I can see what comics influenced their game this time around. I just really think Harry and Peter should’ve had more time to rebuild their friendship. Everything went by way too quickly and I hope there’s some kind of dlc or something on the horizon… and here I am acting as if Insomniac’s entire list of projects wasn’t just leaked.

Anyway, I had fun with it and it’s well made. Just felt like there should’ve been more, especially after a 5 year wait since the last main entry. Looking forward to NG+ and other little additions to make me come back to it.

Issa good game jimmy