In keeping with the film, Activision and Beenox have released The Amazing Spider-Man 2 around the same time frame; despite the game having little to nothing in common with the movie, could it be a welcome tie-in, or will it succumb to the fate of most super hero games?
I would say that the first thing you’ll notice is the interesting starting point for our new adventure, however that would be wrong. The first thing I actually noticed, was a surprisingly long load screen, followed by a display of distinctly meagre graphics, not something I’ve come to expect of my PS4! Despite this, the game starts off with a flashback to Uncle Ben’s murder; if you didn’t know this after a multitude of films and games, you’re once again welcome to another viewing of what turns Spider-Man into what he is today.
Jumping forward in time, thankfully skipping the origin story entirely, we find ourselves smack in the middle of New York City, Spidey’s realm, in search of Ben’s killer. Priorities soon change however upon the formation of a joint venture between OsCorp and Wilson Fisk, along with the discovery of several vicious murders in and around town. The only consistent clue being a calling card of sorts, the letters CK scrawled into the wall, presumably in blood. With the media quickly coining the initials as the ‘The Carnage Killer’, fans will be left in no doubt to whom the overarching villain is.
The narrative, whilst essentially laid out in part at the beginning, soon becomes disjointed as super villains are thrown around with no regard to exposition or their origins. Whereas in the film, the two main villains are given plenty of screen time, both before and after becoming their evil counterparts. In the game however, people just seem to show up for a rumble and once defeated, are never seen again. What makes this all the more confusing, is the chosen timeline, which appears to be the same as the film, yet misses out key characters such as Gwen Stacey and adds many in their place as filler. Not to mention adding the inevitable, classic totalitarian police state, of which New York eventually succumbs to, with Fisk’s and OsCorp venture creating a city wide blanketing task force to ‘help’ the city’s crime spree.
This helps lead me on to one of the most bewildering gameplay design inclusions I’ve seen in a long time. The hero bar, which fills up upon completing the timed and somewhat procedurally random events that occur around town, whether that be rescuing a civilian or simply thumping some thugs into submission. When the bar’s even vaguely filled, everything’s all fine and dandy, when it drops below the midway point, which it will, the task force start to envelop the city, creating new threats for Spidey to overcome. It may sound good in theory; whilst I do understand that it’s supposed to give the feeling of an overwhelming sense of futility in looking after the city, in a gameplay sense, timed diversions are only ever irritating.
Half of the problem with completing these diversions, are the poorly disguised and completely unnecessary load times bookending each one. To have a 30 second fight with a small group of enemies for example, it first shows you what these miscreants are up to, usually breaking and entering, then teleports you right next to them in a small alleyway. Following the quick beatdown, it then brings up a news report video with a pat on the back, before teleporting you somewhere else afterwards. Why these are not simply integrated within the game itself I don’t know, it must be the lack of hardware resources available…
With the incredible job Rocksteady have done with the Batman franchise, it’s of no surprise to see some influenced or borrowed techniques appear in other super hero games. Amazing Spider-Man 2, however, can border on the unbelievable. The combat system is fairly reminiscent, with you using an attack (a lot), a counter that can also now deal with multiple foes, a ranged stunning attack and a Mortal Kombat, Scorpion ‘get over here’ move. The real borrowing however, comes in the form of the stealth orientated rooms, where you can perch, use spider sense, perform silent takedowns and not at any point be reminded of recent Batman outings.
That’s not to say it’s all bad however, there are moments where The Amazing Spider-Man 2 really shines and brings a smile to your face; namely doing what Spider-Man does best, swinging through the city. With each trigger associated with its corresponding web-slinging hand, it can be great fun to navigate New York. Taking optimal routes and tickling the apex of a building is as endearing as it is difficult. Spider-Man can no longer attach to thin air and making tight, high turns is made intentionally difficult. As one of the more unique super hero traversal methods, as you might expect, it translates beautifully to the game; it’s the only place where you’ll truly see so many unique and distinctly Spider-Man-esque animations; it’s definitely the highlight of the game.
Despite the main missions not taking a huge amount of time to complete, there is generally plenty to do in and around New York, collectible comic book pages flutter tantalisingly close by, combat rooms are ready for testing, there’s always plenty of lore to read up on in Stan’s Comic Stand and new suits are waiting to be unlocked. Whilst the game does have a level up mechanic, the upgrades available are a little disappointing, serving little purpose other than to keep you competitive with the increases in threat such as a seismic blast to deal with some of the large foes. The suits on the other hand work a little differently; each have a set of bonuses which can influence things like damage reduction, healing rate and threat detection, each of which get arbitrarily increased upon the suit levelling up.
It’s not only the derivative side missions where the game takes a technical swing and a miss however, as along with the uninspiring fidelity and detail adorning everything but a few select Spider-Man costumes, enemy models are repeated constantly, with only a couple for each sub type. Couple this with the occasionally funny, but ultimately repetitive quips; you’ve got a game draped in monotony. The camera too, as per usual, can have its iffy moments to spoil the web-slinging sensation, not only is it slightly too zoomed in during the constant mashing of square during combat, but the inevitable happens when a misplaced swing around a building doesn’t quite go your way too. Considering the hardware available from the PS4 and Xbox One, it’s hardly a looker; even if it was, the loading times would still be far to frequent and overly long to not cause issues.
From the start to the rather odd ending involving Peter Parker and Stan Lee, Amazing Spider-Man 2 screams of wasted potential. It’s a shame to have such an iconic character, possessing so rich a tapestry of talents and abilities that could be so easily translatable to our medium, once again, fall so hard.
