Marvel's Spider-Man (2018) is my favorite game of all time. So needless to say, I had very high expectations for the sequel and was beyond hyped. But even with my expectations as high as they were, Insomniac managed to subvert them numerous times throughout the game. I would even go so far as to say that they completely obliterated my expectations.
As far as my criticisms go, I think the last chunk of story isn't quite as strong or emotional as the first game's, but I still think it's amazing. These problems could've probably been solved with a longer runtime. Miles also isn't given much to do early on in the story. If there was anything that the first game does better, it would probably be the story.
While I do think the spider arm abilities are fun, I have always been kind of against them since they showed the initial trailer for the game. I prefer my Peter to not be tech'd out the wazoo and I've never been a fan of the spider arms in general. The gadgets in this game are also the least Spider-Man like gadgets from the first game. I was disappointed to see that they left out the likes of the impact web and web bomb but kept the concussion blast and knock-up gadget. Both things are fun to use but feel very unlike something Spider-Man typically uses, and I almost never used them in the first game because of that. Since Miles and Peter both have abilities that do the same thing as the knock-up gadget, it felt like a wasted slot. I understand that the concussion blast serves a narrative purpose later on, but they could've saved it for that point in the game and let us swap gadgets in and out like we can with the abilities. In the grand scheme of things, these are very minor issues and mostly come down to personal preference, I guess.
There are small features missing that are present in the previous games that I wish were here. Character bios, replaying podcasts, changing time of day. All aren't super important but it's a shame they aren't here this time around.
Miles' new suit is pretty bad. Insomniac needs to take that shit back to the drawing board.
Even with the small issues I have with Spider-Man 2, I'm in awe at what Insomniac managed to pull off here. To me, this game is nothing short of a masterpiece, and it may have even taken the title of "Favorite Game of All Time" from its predecessor. Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is truly spectacular.
It also has one of the greatest game intros, hands down.
As far as my criticisms go, I think the last chunk of story isn't quite as strong or emotional as the first game's, but I still think it's amazing. These problems could've probably been solved with a longer runtime. Miles also isn't given much to do early on in the story. If there was anything that the first game does better, it would probably be the story.
While I do think the spider arm abilities are fun, I have always been kind of against them since they showed the initial trailer for the game. I prefer my Peter to not be tech'd out the wazoo and I've never been a fan of the spider arms in general. The gadgets in this game are also the least Spider-Man like gadgets from the first game. I was disappointed to see that they left out the likes of the impact web and web bomb but kept the concussion blast and knock-up gadget. Both things are fun to use but feel very unlike something Spider-Man typically uses, and I almost never used them in the first game because of that. Since Miles and Peter both have abilities that do the same thing as the knock-up gadget, it felt like a wasted slot. I understand that the concussion blast serves a narrative purpose later on, but they could've saved it for that point in the game and let us swap gadgets in and out like we can with the abilities. In the grand scheme of things, these are very minor issues and mostly come down to personal preference, I guess.
There are small features missing that are present in the previous games that I wish were here. Character bios, replaying podcasts, changing time of day. All aren't super important but it's a shame they aren't here this time around.
Miles' new suit is pretty bad. Insomniac needs to take that shit back to the drawing board.
Even with the small issues I have with Spider-Man 2, I'm in awe at what Insomniac managed to pull off here. To me, this game is nothing short of a masterpiece, and it may have even taken the title of "Favorite Game of All Time" from its predecessor. Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is truly spectacular.
It also has one of the greatest game intros, hands down.