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Everyone's favorite webheaded hero comes to the PSP in Spiderman 2, but is is a blockbuster like the film?
April 4, 2005 | 7:16 PM PSTby: Matt Kane
“With great power comes great responsibility.” That is the catch phrase for the blockbuster film Spiderman. Spiderman’s first revolution came about to the Nintendo 64 and the Sony Playstation when Spiderman entered the 3D arena. Gamers were able to see Spiderman web-sling and wall crawl around a 3D environment of New York. The second revolution has recently been seen by the release of Spiderman 2 for Sony’s Playstation 2, Nintendo’s Gamecube, and Microsoft’s X-box; which you, the gamer, are able to take complete control of Spiderman and fight crime all around New York. Sony has created a revolution of it’s own by releasing the PSP but do developers continue the revolution to the handheld market?
Features
Gameplay
Since Spiderman titles have been on the consoles their stories have been linear and have restricted the audience to limited gameplay experience, until the release of this generation’s consoles. Although the PSP creates incredible 3D environments, Spiderman 2 falls short in applying the free roam, “Grand Theft Auto 3” freedom that should now be expected in 3D gaming. Spiderman 2 delivers a 3D gaming experience but limits itself to the linear story of classic Spiderman titles.
As Spiderman, you play through the movie of Spiderman 2 but as with past titles, there is some deviation. You play as everyone’s favorite hero, Peter Parker/Spiderman. You control Spiderman and race through chapters to defeat Doc. Ock. As expected for games based off of movies, there has to be some diversion. The story slightly trails away from the main focus of defeating Doc. Ock but don’t worry, Spiderman will save the day that is if you can get through it.
Controlling our web-headed hero is something of an adventure. The directional pad can is used to control the third person camera, while the joystick is used to move Spiderman around in his linear world. Web-slinging can be done by first pressing “X” and then pressing and holding the “R” trigger and you control his direction via the joystick. Pushing the joystick away form you, makes Spiderman swing high, while bringing it back makes Spiderman swing lower. While you are scaling a wall, holding the “L” trigger makes Spiderman climb faster, kind of like a sprint.
When in a fighting situation, pressing the “L” trigger locks onto an enemy which allows you to create punch and kick combos. Punch and kick combos can be done by pressing the “Square” and the “Circle” buttons. Spiderman wouldn’t be complete without his use of his webbing. Webbing can be used by pressing the “Triangle”. One fun trick is taking away an armed enemy’s gun with your web, and then beating him up or tying him. Taking an armed enemy’s weapon away can be done by pressing the “Triangle” and bringing the joystick towards you. Tying an enemy up can be done by just holding the “Triangle” button until the enemy is completely covered in webbing.
Visuals
The environment that Activision creates is impressive and accurately reflects the Spiderman 2 world. The combat is in real time and the graphics and frame rate do not drop or lag behind. The world of Spiderman 2 would not be complete with out cinematic scenes and Activision did an incredible job at not only syncing the voices with the scenes, but also with the character models. The character models do not resemble the actors of Spiderman 2 but their qualities are quite human.
Audio
There is a great separation between the audio sections of this game. The gameplay audio is full of easily annoying quips as well as some monotonous music. The game is played like a chase, and the music won’t keep you motivated, then the sappy dialogue won’t either. The dialogue during gameplay seems to be forced and sounds cheap. Audio during the cinematic scenes is the best in the game. The only thing that detracts from the cinematic experience is that the voices lack emotion. Otherwise the overall sound during the cinematic scenes is well done.
Closing Comments
As Spiderman 2 swings onto the PSP and promises what it advertises, the game gives you the chance to play through the adventure that stunned the box office. Spiderman 2 creates a 3D world but doesn’t allow you to roam around and give you a chance to explore the impressive world that could be laid out before you.
Features
- Impressive 3D environments
- Seamless voice acting including Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst
- Great visual cut scenes that stay true to the Spiderman 2 storyline
Gameplay
Since Spiderman titles have been on the consoles their stories have been linear and have restricted the audience to limited gameplay experience, until the release of this generation’s consoles. Although the PSP creates incredible 3D environments, Spiderman 2 falls short in applying the free roam, “Grand Theft Auto 3” freedom that should now be expected in 3D gaming. Spiderman 2 delivers a 3D gaming experience but limits itself to the linear story of classic Spiderman titles.
As Spiderman, you play through the movie of Spiderman 2 but as with past titles, there is some deviation. You play as everyone’s favorite hero, Peter Parker/Spiderman. You control Spiderman and race through chapters to defeat Doc. Ock. As expected for games based off of movies, there has to be some diversion. The story slightly trails away from the main focus of defeating Doc. Ock but don’t worry, Spiderman will save the day that is if you can get through it.
Controlling our web-headed hero is something of an adventure. The directional pad can is used to control the third person camera, while the joystick is used to move Spiderman around in his linear world. Web-slinging can be done by first pressing “X” and then pressing and holding the “R” trigger and you control his direction via the joystick. Pushing the joystick away form you, makes Spiderman swing high, while bringing it back makes Spiderman swing lower. While you are scaling a wall, holding the “L” trigger makes Spiderman climb faster, kind of like a sprint.
When in a fighting situation, pressing the “L” trigger locks onto an enemy which allows you to create punch and kick combos. Punch and kick combos can be done by pressing the “Square” and the “Circle” buttons. Spiderman wouldn’t be complete without his use of his webbing. Webbing can be used by pressing the “Triangle”. One fun trick is taking away an armed enemy’s gun with your web, and then beating him up or tying him. Taking an armed enemy’s weapon away can be done by pressing the “Triangle” and bringing the joystick towards you. Tying an enemy up can be done by just holding the “Triangle” button until the enemy is completely covered in webbing.
Visuals
The environment that Activision creates is impressive and accurately reflects the Spiderman 2 world. The combat is in real time and the graphics and frame rate do not drop or lag behind. The world of Spiderman 2 would not be complete with out cinematic scenes and Activision did an incredible job at not only syncing the voices with the scenes, but also with the character models. The character models do not resemble the actors of Spiderman 2 but their qualities are quite human.
Audio
There is a great separation between the audio sections of this game. The gameplay audio is full of easily annoying quips as well as some monotonous music. The game is played like a chase, and the music won’t keep you motivated, then the sappy dialogue won’t either. The dialogue during gameplay seems to be forced and sounds cheap. Audio during the cinematic scenes is the best in the game. The only thing that detracts from the cinematic experience is that the voices lack emotion. Otherwise the overall sound during the cinematic scenes is well done.
Closing Comments
As Spiderman 2 swings onto the PSP and promises what it advertises, the game gives you the chance to play through the adventure that stunned the box office. Spiderman 2 creates a 3D world but doesn’t allow you to roam around and give you a chance to explore the impressive world that could be laid out before you.
November 20, 2009
