My expectations have raised over the years subconsciously for action-adventure games considering the increasing healthy competition amongst the multitude of gaming studios, big or small. Regardless of how the game is, my first priority or how I rate the game solely depends upon one important factor.
‘How Immersive is the game?’
When I engage myself in video games, It is important for me to feel one with the game and not just a deity having control over some helpless protagonist. The game should feel immersive and not just directed, where we are puppeteered from the get-go to follow the main objective. Spider-man 2 flawlessly meets this very expectation.
One of the many instances would be the freedom to swing from any direction of your choice, with the game correctly mapping your position to throw obstacles at your path. Another instance are the variety of NPC’s present throughout the game, always acknowleging the fact that a super hero is walking in their midst. Be it the samll gestures like taking our picture, waving at us or just shouting words of praise. We get the feeling of inclusion which indirectly makes this massive isolated world feel alive.
This game is not just about spiderman saving the day. It is also an important storyline for Peter Parker and Miles Morales. The narrative shows just how difficult the life of two kids juggling their private and superhero life could be. This also helps us delve much deeper into the actual characters deeper needs and wants with respect to what they wish to do for themselves and not just for New York.
The side quests have a much deeper resolve compared to the previous edition. You don’t simply chase some of the side quests solely for hunting trophies. You feel more motivated to perform these quests as it benefits in-game characters, making these quests feel more like a moral obligation. For instance embarking on a heroic quest to find out what exactly drove Sandman to go berserk by collecting shards of his memory, which are of course guarded by mini sandmen, who yet look at spiderman as an enemy due to sandman's subconscious lock. This led to one beautifully crafted side story mission line where we get to hear mini monologues explaining the happenings behind his menacing turn. The other ones such as collecting spider-bots treated the fans to an exclusive easter egg connecting dots to the spider-verse.
This can’t be however stated for all the side quests as we are yet required to constantly fight the numerous number of enemies to attain certain trophies. The fact that the game locks a lot of your skills till the end of the game helps keep the style of fighting unique through the progression of the game, but never-the-less, it begins to feel a bit repeated.
Spider-Man, y-y-you can fly? Ahh, yes he can! Spidey soars through the rich blue sky with the assistance of his protocol gliders. It’s a fun way to travel across the massive city apart from the signature mode of transport Spidey usually uses. (Still don’t understand just how the near-to-death NPC’s, Spiderman gracefully carries on his shoulders, don’t end up puking by the unorthodox method of swing transport.) But gliding is fun, and there are multiple streams of wind, either giving Spidey a push to the sky, or giving him a wind flow to reach his destination without having the need to rely on swinging. But hey, if you’re tired of swinging as well as gliding, don’t fret one bit. The fast travel in this game is just mind-blowingly seamless and quick. Holding down the fast travel button on any location of the map you have unlocked it in for a mere 1.33 seconds renders a smooth transition of Spiderman swinging to that area.
The game mechanics are fluid with a few bugs here and there, a crash at one instance, but nothing game breaking. The stealth game play has been reduced a bit to give more prominence to what makes Spidey famous. His combat and web slinging action. And it’s always a treat to hear JJJ’s non-stop banter on Spider-Man