The Spider-Man 2 game really nailed what a good Spider-Man game should be by adding in
the one element that made it so special, that being a huge open New York City that you can
just be Spider-Man in.
So for the next Spider-Man game, it was clear what it needed for be.
It should keep the same feel of having an open world that is yours but add in more things
to do in the city and what it means to be Spider-Man.
Ultimate Spider-man strives for this while also bringing in the unique aspects of the
Ultimate series.
One thing this game got right is the look.
The art style of the city is superb, bringing home the highly stylized art style that is
so distinct to the Ultimate comics.
It is great to just web-swing around NYC, taking in the locations and sights and the
crime.
The web-swinging, probably one if not the, most important part of a Spider-Man game,
feels good.
It is easy to navigate and speed along through the streets.
And as you do this, you will notice crimes happening all around you.
You then head down and take out the bad guys, then go back to doing whatever Spidey does
when not fighting crime.
This is where the gameplay loses its greatness, for there really isn’t much to do and everything
quickly becomes repetitive.
The main points of the game are the story missions.
Here you fight against some of the great villains from the comics including Rhino, Electro,
Green Goblin and more.
To unlock the next story mission, you have to do side-missions, which include great fun
things like races and beat ‘em up sections.
The combat has many different moves and combos but it's most effective when just pressing
one button.
So the side-missions really drag on you and make getting to the next fun mission a chore.
Thankfully the game mixes things up by giving some missions where you play as Venom, which
are some of the best parts of the game.
Venom is a bruiser and is all about combat, making use of his strength and tentacles.
The game gets the open concept and art of the game down, with that being the best parts.
But it's the limited combat and repetitive missions that hold the game back.
While Spider-Man 2 was a major leap forward for Spider-Man games, this one is a step to
the side but while wearing really fancy shoes.