Web-slinging Back to My Roots with Spider-Man 2
By Features Editor Chloe Barrett
I am a normal person with completely average interests. I do things in healthy moderation to preserve my sanity and to guarantee my optimum functioning in society. Am I sounding like a Patrick Bateman monologue? Ha, I would not dare. As the utterly standard version of a human that I pride myself in being, I 100 per cent completed Insomniac's Spider-Man 2 mere days after its release.
No, no, YOU do not get it, this is absolutely normal, and I am in my PRIME, I will have you know. Thank you for your well-intentioned concern, but it is unnecessary! What does it matter that I am suffering from a “severe” form of insomnia?
Moving on, if anyone out there remembers when I held the esteemed title of Gaming Editor a couple of years ago for this very paper, this piece is me returning to my roots a little. I have been playing games for most of my life, and alongside reading too many books, it is one of my main hobbies. Coincidentally, I am also a big Spider-Man fan in general. The Amazing Spider-Man movies are my favourites, and I was made fun of for far too long in my youth for loving them! If nobody got me, I know Andrew Garfield got me. Let me fangirl a little about a game that I recently spent way too much time on.
Prepare for any guilt that I previously had for gaming too much to evaporate before your very eyes, because it counts as work for this piece! By the way, the wonderful Bonny now holds the position and writes genuinely awesome and interesting articles. If you have not checked them out yet, what have you been doing?!
Before I write about the game, I want to briefly discuss what the 100 per cent completion status means, alongside its companion trophies. In the world of PlayStation, each game has a set of awards that you can obtain, which then translate into trophies that are proudly displayed on your profile. To gain these elusive awards, each game is made with a set of predetermined challenges in mind.
While checking your profile, you might discover some completely random trophies that you do not even remember earning, and that is because most games have a certain set of easily achievable ones. These consist of major storyline points that you automatically advance through while you play, with other easier ones having the simplistic goal of “changing your character’s outfit” or “upgrading your first skill”. These are often overlooked by people who are focusing on the harder tasks, such as collecting everything you can in a certain area or performing an elaborate amount of tricks in a specific order. If you manage to grind enough and get every single trophy in a game, for example, forty of them, you then unlock the special “platinum” achievement.
In short, the more trophies you have, the more you can brag about being a “gamer” to your employed and mentally well friends. There is no real reward for them, just the experience and the fleeting emotion of joy that you might feel upon competition. I have never been that interested in getting the completion status unless they are easily achievable and not rage-inducing. Spider-Man 2, however, was an exception. I was glued to my screen as events unfolded and wanted to explore everything that it offered. No boredom eclipsed me as I gamed and tried to do some sick aerial air tricks.
The previous two instalments of the series, Spider-Man and Spider-Man: Miles Morales, respectively were both amazing games, with the latter personally being more enjoyable for me. The original first game was great, do not get me wrong, but the tedious side quests that you had to complete in order to obtain the platinum trophy were, at their best, repetitive. Honestly, I just did not have it in me to devote dozens of hours to fighting the same enemies over and over and over again.
Miles Morales was an improvement, but the story mode itself was shorter, lending itself to be known as a “spin-off” due to its lack of content. I do want to revisit it though and grind for more trophies. It was one of the first games that I got when I bought my PlayStation 5, so after I completed the story mode, it unfortunately got buried beneath my game library. It did, however, feature a wintery New York City, which is my favourite setting, and the web-swinging style that the developers bestowed upon Miles felt fresh and reinvented, which then paved the path for Spider-Man 2’s incredible transversal system. Players online have declared that they do not think revisiting the first game is an option anymore after experiencing the new swinging style. It is genuinely just so much fun to play and to get lost in. Who does not want to be a superhero for a while?
The game itself introduces some amazing villains, such as Kraven and Venom, and it is perhaps the best we have ever seen them, specifically this version of Venom. Its story also seems miles above its predecessors, which is helped due to having two playable main characters this time around, allowing the gameplay to feel less monotonous. I am a big fan of the action-packed MJ missions too, as are the game developers, so do not come for me! She is the ultimate girl boss. The character of Harry Osborn was a wonderful addition too, and I think, so far, that he is my favourite version that has been adapted. I wanted to give him a big hug for most of the game. Insomniac knows how to excellently write characters, and the game itself is filled with significant developments for its main cast.
Insomniac is setting the standard for Marvel hero-type games. With an upcoming Wolverine release, and perhaps the final Spider-Man addition, they are doing something very right. Even their Spider-Man was featured in Across the Spider-Verse, and there have been heavy references to the multiverse existing within the latest games, alongside some other Marvel name drops. Their success has come at an intriguing time, as the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is facing difficulties of its own. Millions across the globe claim that they are experiencing fatigue from the constant onslaught of new movies and series, many of which are being presented at a lower quality than what we, as viewers, have come to expect. Even the other week a leak suggested that the MCU are perhaps considering a massive character resurrection, bringing back old faces such as Iron Man and Black Widow. The company seems to be immensely struggling, to say the least. Maybe Marvel should outsource their adaptations to gaming companies in the future, considering how much freedom can be allocated to each individual game.
If you have been on the fence for whatever reason about picking up Spider-Man 2, or even starting the series itself, please go for it! It is such a memorable experience, and well worth devoting the hours to. No prior knowledge of the MCU films is necessary, you can safely dive in and enjoy the game with no previous lore needed. Simply start swinging and enjoy the ride. Now, if you will excuse me, I am going to hop on Fortnite for my first proper game in years. If you do not hear from me in the next few days, I am desperately trying to get a victory royale.
