Take an area roughly the size of Manhattan,
make it as vertical as that fabled island then turn the world’s favorite
Wall-crawler loose and what do you have?
Well, you have Spider-Man: The Movie 2, the
sequel to Activision’s 2002 title.
New features in this release include a
free-roaming environment, some new physics for Spidey, and a new mini-map. In
the first Spider-Man outing, Spidey’s webs shot straight up and seemed to stick
to nothing. Not anymore.
The development team spent time on the physics
engine and in particularly how they applied to Spider-Man’s web-slinging. He
will shoot out webs and they will attach to buildings and anchor him there. Webs
attached to a specific point has an impact on the way Spidey swings. If he snags
a helicopter, he will actually go on an aerial tour of the city.
Also, his leaping ability is amazing, and he
can actually run up the sides of buildings, as opposed to always crawling.
The mini-map pops to an overhead view, which
will show the more than 100 challenges and quests awaiting Spider-Man around the
city. Some of the quests are almost akin to set-ups, citizens forced to lure
Spider-Man in for thugs who wish to try to take down this unlikely hero
(unlikely in the sense that Peter Parker is susceptible to the emotions and
frustrations as any person).
The environments, with dynamic lighting, and
special effects in the animation make this game a real joy to look at.
Because this is a game based on the upcoming
release of the Spider-Man motion picture, the storyline does also include
Spidey’s battle with Doc Ock, the deranged scientist with the multiple
mechanical arms.
The view of the latest in the Spider-Man game
franchise was all too brief, but the game looks to be a major step forward in
terms of the mechanics of Spidey’s powers. The combat also takes into account
Spider-Man’s incredible strength and other powers. He is capable of knocking an
enemy into the air, then jumping up and continuing the barrage of blows to the
helpless enemy. All in all, this will add up to great fun. And to see Spidey
take a dive from one of the tallest buildings in the city, hurtle toward the
ground and at the last minute use a web-line to swing up and to safety is
breathtaking. Another word for it would be ‘amazing.’
