The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Game Review: A Not So Friendly Neighbourhood

Another Spider-Man movie in theatres another movie tie-in game. But while most movie tie-in games are shallow cash grabbing bad experiences there are some titles that do the movie tie-in genre proud such as 2011’s Captain America: Super Soldier and in fact the whole line of Spider-Man movie games. Especially 2012’s Amazing Spider-Man game which presented a clever, interesting and well realised story that followed on from the movie of the same name. So with a good history and the fact that Spider-Man is my favourite superhero I went into this game with excitement but sadly left less than impressed.

The story takes place before and within the Amazing Spider-Man 2 movie’s plot. The game starts with Spider-Man still trying to hunt down his Uncle Ben’s killer and from here events escalate to the backdrop of a gang war which brings in many iconic villains for young Spidey to go up against and protect his beloved city from.

While in the first few missions of the game the story is well paced and executed rather well towards the end the game gets so obsessed with fitting in the movies plot points, but in their own way, the game becomes confused and over crowded with plot points and every encounter feels forced or shoe-horned in. This problem also diminishes the original story Beenox has tried to craft into the game as it gets no real satisfying conclusion as it is rushed to fruition for the sake of Electro randomly popping up for a boss battle with no real explanation, outside of the collectible audio logs which still don’t give a believable background to the situation, because Electro has to be there because he is a main villain in the movie.

Thankfully though a factor that strengthens the story in the beginning and makes it bearable towards the end is the overall great voice acting on show with only a few blips such as the heavy breathing Wilson Fisk who failed to intimidate the way the Kingpin of Crime should. Sam Riegel, who reprises his role from the first game, on the other hand fits the role of Spider-Man perfectly and delivers the various Spidey quips amazingly, making me crack a smile even after I’ve heard it for the 50^th time. Another great addition is Kevin Dorman as Harry Osborne and Green Goblin, who really gave an interesting depth to a more serious Harry and a terrifying streak to the mad and vicious cackles of Gobbie.

But for every good point in this game there seems to be an equally bad one to counteract the games strive for greatness. The graphics for this game aren’t pretty at all and to be honest the first games presentation was actually better; this is cruelly highlighted by the inclusion of the first games suit which when worn is the best Spidey looks  in the whole game. While the main character models and designs are good, animations in cut scenes seem awkward and the rest of the landscape of the game is dull, flat and bland. From the droves of the same 5 or 6 people on the streets to the city which on the whole is uninteresting outside of the mammoth skyscrapers such as the unsettling twisted spire of the Oscorp building corrupting the rest which acts as the centre piece to this games version of New York City.

To the games benefit this factor is helpfully swept away when swinging through the streets at break-neck speeds as you simply haven’t go the time to focus in on the blemishes of the presentation; which by the way is an exhilarating and addictive activity and is the strength of this game. This is the one aspect this sequel has improved upon from the first; the already fun web swinging that is quintessential to any Spider-Man game. Instead of webbing off of magical clouds you now attach to buildings, as a Spider-Man does, and can control which hand you web shoot from as each hand is controlled by its corresponding left or right trigger on your control. This gives you more control over the movements of Spider-Man and really makes you feel like the web-head, immersing you into the unique style and fashion of traversing the city.

An element that has relatively stayed the same since this games predecessor is the combat of the Amazing Spider-Man. Personally I enjoyed, and still do, the Arkham-esque fighting style brought to Spider-Man, making him feel like a real force to be reckoned with; acrobatically moving from enemy to enemy with swift kicks, punches and flips to take them down, using his spider sense to counter his enemies, and interestingly incorporating his webbing into his take down moves. All this makes for some great animations to be seen in the heat of combat that keeps the many combat sequences from becoming stale.

Also adding to this is the continuation of the stealth mechanics. The inclusion of the option of a stealth approach gives you flexibility to how you approach a situation. This also allows you to fully explore and master an aspect of Spidey’s powers that are not as used, being able to scale walls. This power set gives you the power to use the whole environment to your advantage, swooping from the ceiling to an unexpected thug for a take down or web them to the wall, there are a vast and fun variety of ways to deal justice on the criminals of New York City.

However even though the combat is fun when it ramps up into a boss fight the game becomes boring, repetitive and uninventive as they all just come down to waiting for an obviously telegraphed opening, punching them for a few seconds and going back to wait for another opening. This all culminates in creating the most monotonous sections of the game where really they should be the most exciting as you are finally going face to face to an iconic member of Spider-Mans rouges gallery. 

But when out of these restrictive encounters and in free roam there is a plethora of things to do. Outside of the sometimes disappointing story missions there is always something new being presented on your mini-map. From collecting all the comics in the city, or completing all the arena challenges in the Comic Stan(d), to stopping a variety of crimes going off in the city at any time, this game can keep you occupied for quite a while after the stories completion; and after the shackles of the story had been released and you become free to become Spider-Man, using the fantastic gameplay at your disposal, this game can really shine.

The game outside of the story show’s real potential to be something truly amazing and what I wish most is that this game was given more time and allowed to create its own continuity instead of being forced to the new movie franchises’. Developer Beenox has shown great passion and success with the Spider-Man mantel in recent years with titles such as Shattered Dimensions. This history brings me even less solace in how this entry into the catalogue of Spider-Man games turned out. Now I’m left only being able to hope that the next time Beenox can take more time and have more freedom on the project.

While this games aesthetics and story are grievously subpar the gameplay on show here is really fun and lets you really feel like the iconic hero himself. But sadly the games pro’s do not out way its con’s overall creating a very disappointing experience.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Game = 6.5/10

 

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