Spider-Man Simulator 2014

In the wide pantheon of superhero games, Spider-Man has had arguably the best track record. The more recent Arkham series may take the title of best superhero games, but over the years Spider-Man games have always provided a sense of open world freedom and made creative use of the web-slinger’s powers. Games like Spider-Man 2 and Ultimate Spider-Man fill most superhero game fans with nostalgia and glee. The newest addition to Spider-Man’s series of games based on the film of the same name: The Amazing Spider-Man 2 gets a few things very right but most things very, very, wrong.

Upon starting up the game, you are immediately greeted with an egregious tutorial level. Re-creating Uncle Ben’s death from the first film by making sure players are capable of walking in a straight line is an extremely puzzling choice. The opening hunt for his killer goes nowhere and barely lets players go past invisible walls or swing from a single web. In the first half hour of the game I was treated to overlong cutscenes with horrible audio syncing, choppy graphics and a constant slew of loading screens. Anyone picking up a Spider-Man game will be eager to suit up and swing around New York, not stalk generic Russian mobsters and progress through Mass Effect-style conversation options. This game feels like a few key elements plucked from very popular series thrown in a pile and covered in a mess of tangled web.

Flying around the city will make you feel like a superhero.

The only part of the game that felt like a Spider-Man game was exploring New York City, but not only did that feel like a Spider-Man game, it felt like the best Spider-Man game. Webs must be anchored to a source to provide momentum for swinging, encouraging players to hang low over the busy streets full of moving cars and shouting civilians. Spider-Man moves in a realistic way and the web swinging mechanics were exhilarating and entertaining. The new Web Rush feature also made exploration manageable and constantly enjoyable. By holding down the shoulder button, Spider-Man’s senses slow down and the player is able to select a specific destination for his next movement. You can stick to walls, perch yourself on a flagpole or vault over a low hanging balcony and it all feels great. All of this combined with a decent free-running and parkour style gives the illusion that Activision really nailed a perfect Spider-Man game.

Players will want to spend most of the time roaming the city collecting comic pages and hidden Spider-Suits, swinging from building to building. The worst thing this game does is limit that in the most frustrating way possible. The Menace system tracks Spider-Man’s heroic acts and if they aren’t at a certain level, Spider-Man will be tracked across the city by annoying drone enemies. Between nearly every mission, players will have to spend more time fighting generic thugs and putting out fires than enjoying free exploration in the open world of New York. This game would have been better served as a $10 download featuring no enemies and no story, just limitless sandbox swinging through the streets.

Kraven The Hunter’s brief story is the most exciting aspect of the game’s plot.

The plot of this game is completely irrelevant to the film, which would not have been a bad thing if the story was halfway interesting. The game makes sure to show off several famous Spider-Man villains, and there are a few decent boss battles such as Black Cat and Kraven the Hunter, but every single mission involves Spider-Man beating on nameless Russian gangsters with no motivation. This gets grating after about the second time an iconic comic book villain appears and runs away, telling you to once again face off against a horde of tracksuit sporting thugs. Combat in this game feels like a cheap rip-off of Arkham City, with the Spider-Sense counters and signature moves featuring animations that may as well have been copied and pasted from Batman. For some reason there are several forced stealth sequences in this game that once again, feel poorly ripped out of a better game.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 provides the perfect experience of swinging around New York City as the iconic hero. Never before has web-slinging felt this real or exciting. However, any time spent not flying around the crowded streets will quickly reveal that this a poor excuse for a Spider-Man game and does not deserve player’s time. This game had the great powers of Spider-Man but lacked the great responsibility of making a full experience.

Reviewer statement: This was based on an Xbox 360 version of the game rented for the purposes of this review.

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