Marvel's Spider-Man 2

The adventure story-driven action game Marvel's Spider-Man 2 continues the thrilling adventures of Marvel's Spider-Man, the DLC Marvel's Spider-Man: The City That Never Sleeps , and the standalone spin-off Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales (the add-on), weaving their stories together. Peter Parker and Miles Morales face new threats and unravel the complexities of their personal lives in the vast world of New York City. In terms of gameplay, Spider-Man 2 is a cautious continuation, borrowing the best solutions from the original with minor improvements and a couple of new mechanics.

The graphics received a minimal upgrade. The landscapes, views, and character models are still breathtaking. Lighting, shadows, and reflections have been reworked to give the game a visual polish. The number of people and car traffic on the streets has increased at the expense of a slight reduction in detail, which is unnoticeable in the dynamics. There are performance and quality graphics modes.

The events of Spider-Man 2 take place 9 months after the finale of Miles Morales — the heroes' life events and development are described in a digital comic released by Insomniac. Peter Parker is tired of "working" as the city's protector and is drowning in the problems of adult life, such as his relationship with Mary Jane and paying Aunt May's debts. He starts working as a teacher at a school, supporting his acquaintance Miles Morales.

With the arrival of Miles, who becomes his student and potential successor, Peter sees hope for a normal future. Miles, on the other hand, struggles to balance teenage life with his heroic activities as Spider-Man and prepares to enter college. Mary Jane gets a job as a reporter at the Daily Bugle, where she encounters mysterious villains and, with the help of friends, overcomes them.

The map has doubled in size: the game’s New York has expanded with Brooklyn and Queens, adding low-rise buildings to the skyscrapers from the original. The area from the first game has also expanded, now featuring the Statue of Liberty, Kennedy Airport, and the New Jersey suburbs. The city in Spider-Man 2 is recreated with high accuracy relative to its real-life counterpart, authentic and full of life, but not much different in appearance from its past self. The authors have preserved the grandeur of New York with its streets, skyscrapers, bustling Times Square, and Central Park.

Elements from other cultures have been added to the urban environment through their local representations. For example, Little Odessa (analogous to the real Brighton Beach) with Slavic inscriptions and the ever-present borscht on the menu. The detail of the environment has increased: graffiti on the streets, clerks inside skyscrapers, and a variety of urban objects. The game encourages exploration with hidden lore details of the Spider-Man universe and its world.

The city's loading time has been sped up, allowing players to switch between heroes in the app or fast travel within a couple of seconds. "Slingshots" and air currents have become new ways to speed up web-swinging, while the wingsuit (available with each costume) allows players to fly around the city without it. The sense of high speed and height during movement has also been improved.

The map is rich in activities, but not overloaded. Towers, costume collection, cache search, time trials, photo sessions, crime fighting, city residents with their quests, and even random events. However, the main task of the city is to be a grand backdrop for the storyline.

The game tells a new story of two Spider-Men, Peter Parker and Miles Morales, who are simultaneously the main characters, having both a common storyline and a fully independent personal one. MJ, Harry Osborn, and Miles' family have returned to their roles. Among the supervillains are Lizard, Mysterio, Sandman, Mister Negative, Chameleon, and others.

After a large-scale prologue that immediately captures attention, the storyline focuses on the confrontation with the antagonist Kraven the Hunter, who wants to destroy all superheroes and supervillains. As the battle with him progresses, the focus of the narrative shifts to Norman Osborn and his son Harry, who is suffering from a mysterious illness. There is also a global threat.

At the center of the storyline are the relationships of the heroes with characters from their surroundings, against the backdrop of typical superhero routine and important social issues. The multi-layered narrative spans a long period of game time, allowing for the inclusion of many events and characters at the expense of their depth of development. However, fans are already familiar with them. The story contains a number of unexpected twists, is very engaging, and boasts of acting, full Russian dubbing, and a high level of scene setting, both cinematic and spectacular. There will also be a heap of impressions from the clashes with supervillains.

The combat system in Marvel's Spider-Man 2 still relies on acrobatic moves and web-shooting for non-lethal stunning of enemies during fights, but it has been expanded and improved. Both heroes have received four active combat skills, which can be chosen from a larger number of possibilities, and the skills from previous games have been retained by the heroes and do not need to be unlocked again. Each hero has been given an ultimate ability, and together they have learned to perform joint finishers.

The number of gadgets has been reduced to five, one of which is web-shooting. The increased dynamics of the battles leave no time to think about what to throw at enemies. Gadgets can be upgraded using special parts obtained in the city or by completing quests. The defense system has been revised, adding the ability to dodge and parry in close combat. Successfully using them during enemy attacks can speed up the recharge of abilities or transition into a counterattack.

Enemy behavior has also been updated, teaching them new moves and basic hero searches on the ceiling, as well as expanding the roster of opponents. Bosses in the game are varied, but battles with them are simple and straightforward, as they are manually assembled into action episodes of fights, flights, and non-annoying QTEs. The transitions between all this look natural.

Miles, possessing the power of electricity, uses skills related to this ability. At the beginning of the game, he even feels stronger than the older Peter. Peter, on the other hand, has acquired metal claw arms, but their effectiveness is lower than Morales' abilities. Peter's combat system changes with the appearance of the symbiote, adding spectacular and dangerous abilities.

Прохождение Spider-Man 2 по-прежнему строится на выполнении заданий сюжетной кампании, исследовании мира и гринда сторонних активностей по желанию игрока. Концепцию обновили тем, что расширили «гражданские» сегменты. Третье-четвертое сюжетное задание, независимо от того, Майлз это или Питер, проходит без супергеройских костюмов, нередко даже в обычной и повседневной жизни.

Это приятно освежает прохождение, так как обоих Пауков можно увидеть не как супергероев и могучих бойцов, а как обычных граждан, выполняющих обыденные задачи. И рассмотреть их эмоции на лицах и мимику в диалогах, обычно прикрытых маской. История Мэри Джейн тоже часть сюжетной кампании и пару миссий игрок пройдет за неё. В паре мест покажут флешбеки из прошлого.

Прогрессию персонажей переработали сильнее всего. Есть скиллы для Питера, скиллы для Майлза и общие способности — и абсолютно всё можно прокачать за одно прохождение. Индивидуальные навыки принесут пользу тому или другому персонажу, а общая ветка усилит обоих. Развитие включает в себя увеличение здоровья, урона, акробатики и скорости восстановления приемов.