Spider-Man 2
Score: 95% ESRB: Teen Publisher: Activision Developer: Vicarious Visions Media: UMD/1 Players: 1 Player Genre: Action/ Adventure
Graphics & Sound: Spider-Man 2 looks pretty good on the PSP. It's not movie-quality imagery, but it's pretty darn good for a video game, especially for a handheld system. Spidey is recognizable, as are J. Jonah Jameson, Doc Ock and others. Surprisingly, I found that Peter Parker didn't look quite right, but that could be just my opinion. The cityscape and the environments in general are nicely (but not overly) designed, so that they are ornate enough to be believable without taxing the PSP's resources and slowing down gameplay. The music in Spider-Man 2 is very theatrical, and has a familiar Marvel sense of heightened drama to it that is reminiscent of the Spider-Man 2 movie. Having Tobey Maguire, Alfred Molina and Kirsten Dunst reprise their roles as vocal talent in Spider-Man 2 also helps to reinforce the ties to the movie.
Gameplay: While Spider-Man 2 is based on the Spider-Man 2 license, it doesn't stick doggedly to the movie's plot. It doesn't contradict the plot, mind you, but it seems to cover plausible side stories that could fit into the time line of the movie. There are some recreated scenes from the movie that help you follow along with the plot progression, but the 'scenes' you actually play aren't taken directly from the film. I think this is a nice approach, as it helps to sidestep the ultimate difference between movies and videogames - interactivity. If a game follows the plot of a movie exactly, you (assumedly) know what to expect and you either succeed and move on to the next part of the movie or you fail, which is contradictory to the story's expected outcome. By using side-stories, Spider-Man 2's plot is familiar but new and engaging. As your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, you'll get to wall-crawl, swing, jump (and super-jump) your way into, out of and around danger. You'll get to use your webbing for transportation, fixing things and keeping baddies occupied until you can better deal with them. But, just like Spider-Man, you'll need to bring your wits with you, because there's things to find, puzzles to solve, and obstacles to circumvent. I found that the artificial intelligence in Spider-Man 2 was pretty decent; not unbeatable, but at least predictable and reasonable. Also, enemy fire and environmental hazards can injure your enemies, so you can outwit them and trick them into hurting themselves. (If you're a fan of Spidey, you know he's a thinking-man's superhero.)
Difficulty: There is a training mode. I will state that in the beginning. It's a tutorial, of sorts, and feels more like learning and less like fun, but it shows you the ropes, or the webs, as the case may be. Spider-Man 2 presents some decent challenges in spots, and can be a bit frustrating in places until you figure out what you're doing wrong. Luckily, you can view your mission objectives to get you headed in the right direction and you also get some hints for each level. Spider-Man 2 features the option to upgrade your abilities and develop your character as you play, much like a role-playing game. You gain "hero points" during your missions and you can spend them in a "store" menu to purchase upgraded health, webbing and attacks. In addition, you can also purchase extras, such as art work, in this "store". If you find that the game is a bit difficult, I suggest using your hero points to upgrade your abilities, rather than purchasing the artsy stuff. (If you really need to upgrade, you'll be happy to know that the "store" is accessible from the pause menu during missions!)
Game Mechanics: Comparing Spider-Man 2 for the PSP with the PS2 version shows some marked differences. While both look good, the PS2 version looks better, being more detailed. Also, the PSP version doesn't allow for the open-ended wandering around New York that the PS2 version did. The PSP version is a linear progression through 19 well-designed missions that were created exclusively for the PSP. Possibly due to the linear nature of the PSP version and the restricted set of controls on the PSP as compared to the PS2, the web-slinging swinging system that garnered so much acclaim for the PS2 version is not to be found on the PSP. Instead, a much simpler swinging system is implemented. (The old, "swinging from nothing whatsoever in between two buildings" that has historically been used in Spider-Man titles is back again.) Accepting that there are some limitations to the PSP version of Spider-Man, the game is still a good bit of fun to play. Especially if you try to find ways to outwit your opponents rather than simply knocking their lights out. (Which is also fun, mind you...)
-Geck0, GameVortex Communications AKA Robert Perkins
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