Spider-Man 2 (2004 video game): Difference between revisions

Spider-Man 2: The Video Game
Spider-Man 2: The Video Game
	File:Spider-Man 2 Coverart.png
Developer(s)	Treyarch (consoles), The Fizz Factor (PC/Mac), Vicarious Visions (Nintendo DS and PSP), Digital Eclipse (GBA), Backbone Entertainment (N-Gage), Aspyr Media (MAC port)
Publisher(s)	Activision, MacPlay
Designer(s)	Tomo Moriwaki (creative dir.), Akihiro Akaike (lead designer)
Engine	Treyarch proprietary; PC version using Unreal Engine 2.0
Platform(s)	Nintendo GameCube, Xbox, PC, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, N-Gage, Mac OS X
Release	GameCube/PC/PS2/Xbox; NA June 28, 2004; PAL July 9, 2004; Game Boy Advance; June 29, 2004; N-Gage; July 6, 2004; Mac OS X; August, 2004; DS; NA November 16, 2004; JP January 6, 2005; AU February 24, 2005; EU March 11, 2005; PSP; NA March 15, 2005; PAL September 1, 2005; JP October 26, 2006
Genre(s)	Action game ; Sandbox
Mode(s)	Single player

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Spider-Man 2 is the name of several computer and video games based on the Spider-Man universe and particularly the Spider-Man 2 movie. It is a follow up to the game Spider-Man: The Movie. These games were published by Activision for different systems in 2004.

Overview

These games are the official game adaptations of the movie Spider-Man 2. The home console (PS2, GC, Xbox) versions of this game have the feature of allowing the player to swing around Manhattan, Roosevelt, Ellis, and Liberty Islands. The other versions of the game feature more linear side-scrolling and platform sections with less emphasis on the free play experience of the home console versions. The PC version is aimed towards a much younger audience.^[1]

This game's roster of Spider-Man villains includes the Shocker, Rhino, Mysterio, and Doctor Octopus. While street thugs only have handguns, machine guns, crowbars and their fists to protect them, the super-villains and their minions have their various unique powers and weapons that they use to either steal, cause terror or defeat Spider-Man. At the end of the game, it becomes possible to unlock a warehouse in which the player can again fight villains such as Shocker, Rhino, Doctor Octopus, and an additional boss, Calypso, who is not found elsewhere in the game.

Description

The following overview is mainly concerned with the free-roaming console versions of the game.

The player has the ability to choose either to go on with the storyline or swing around the city. The player can explore Manhattan, Roosevelt Island, Ellis Island, Liberty Island, and a mysterious label on the map over the water claiming "Governors Island" with many sidequests for the player to complete. The player can do random tasks to earn "hero points," which must be accumulated to continue with the plot and are spent on upgrading Spidey's skills.

Spider-Man 2 features some of the voices of the original actors in the movie, Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man and Peter Parker, Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane Watson, and Alfred Molina as Doctor Octopus.

In addition to the film's villain, Doctor Octopus, several characters from the Marvel comics appear in the game, including Black Cat and Mysterio.

Plot

It is two years following the events of the first game. Spider-Man is trying to balance his civilian and superhero life, frequently late or absent for school, work, and leisure time with his friends. Following dinner with Mary Jane Watson and Harry Osborn, Peter thwarts an armed looting of a museum, and tracks down an escaped robber, the Black Cat. Soon after this, he thwarts an attack in the streets of Manhattan by The Rhino. Meanwhile, Doctor Otto Octavious attempts to recreate nuclear fusion of that seen in the sun to provide an energy source for Manhattan. To control this fusion, he creates four metal arms which he can mentally control. His fusion creates a strong magnetic field, destroying the lab, killing his wife Rose, and grafting his metal arms to his spine and giving his arms control over him. He blames Spider-Man for the incident.

Octavius, now known as Dr. Octopus, kidnaps Aunt May, but she is saved by Spider-Man. In the time following, special effects artist Quentin Beck tries to prove that Spider-Man is a fraud by challenging Peter in a series of "games". Spider-Man emerges successful. Consequently, Beck tries to kill Spider-Man, but is thwarted. The embarrassment causes Beck to assume the identity of Mysterio, attacking journalists attending his press conference, and commands his "UFOs" to "invade" the Statue of Liberty. Both of these attacks are thwarted by Spider-Man's efforts, with no casualties. Spider-Man eventually teams up with Black Cat, who leads him to the Shocker, who escaped during Beck's initial competition with Spider-Man. Shocker is apprehended in a warehouse after attempting to use an experimental propulsion system to enhance his powers, while Mysterio is knocked out with one punch from Spider-Man while trying to rob a Speedy Mart. Black Cat then leads Spider-Man to an illegal weapons trade, where she tries to convince him to permanently become Spider-Man, but he rejects the idea, saying that he cannot stop being either Spider-Man or who he is.

Dr. Octopus kidnaps Mary Jane Watson and steals tritium from Harry Osborn to repower his nuclear fusion in exchange for Spider-Man. A long battle on top of a bridge leads to Peter being delivered to Harry. Peter reveals his identity to Harry, and sets off to defeat Dr. Octopus a final time. The fusion reactor is shut down, and Dr. Octopus regains control over his mind, and sacrifices his life to permanently destroy his fusion reactor.

The next day, Peter gets a surprise visit from Mary Jane, who tells Peter that she cannot live without him, and wants to offer her full support to his life as Spider-Man. With his confidence renewed, Spider-Man continues to defend the city from evil.

Gameplay

Players can now perform many moves and use many skills as seen in the film, including:

Wall Sprint: Spidey can run along vertical walls and even straight up the side of a building. If this skill has been upgraded, the wall running speed will be increased
Spider Reflexes: Spidey can use his Spider reflexes during times of danger. When his Spidey reflexes are activated, the rest of the game world slows down, granting Spidey more speed and agility to dodge and attack, his attacks become much stronger and varied, and enemy attacks are easier to spot.
Charged Jumps: Spider-Man can jump higher than before. To activate, the player holds down the jump button to charge and releases it to jump. Jumps can be charged to different levels.

The zoom map provides a top-down view of the city centered on Spider-Man, but if Spider-Man reaches a high enough elevation and the zoom map is brought up, it will flip upside down to display the sky.

Critical reception

The home console game was released to generally positive reviews. The most popular aspect of the game was the web-swinging mechanic, where Spider-Man had to shoot webbing at an actual building, unlike previous games where he shot webbing up into the sky. However, parts of the game were highly criticized, such as the dullness of the side missions and the linearity of the story objectives (which many saw to be contrary to the developer's idea of creating a free-form game).

The other versions of the game also received generally positive reviews with the exception of the PC/Mac version, which was "dumbed down" for a young audience and thus featured more simplistic and less challenging gameplay. Many reviewers argued that the PC version should have received a port of the console versions instead.^{[citation needed]}

The PSP version received moderate reviews. Gameplay and graphics were praised, while the bad camera angle and the length of the game were criticized.

It may be one of Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw's favorite games ever. In an episode of his series "Zero Punctuation, a pixalated version of the cover appears on his list of the top 5 best games ever.

Characters

Peter Parker/Spider-Man (voiced by Tobey Maguire)
Dr. Otto Octavius/Dr. Octopus (voiced by Alfred Molina)
Black Cat (voiced by Holly Fields)
Rhino (voiced by John DiMaggio)
Shocker/Herman Schultz (voiced by Michael Beattie)
Mysterio/Quentin Beck (voiced by James Arnold Taylor)
Calypso (voiced by Angela V. Shelton)
Mary Jane Watson (voiced by Kirsten Dunst)
Harry Osborn (voiced by Josh Keaton)
J. Jonah Jameson (voiced by Jay Gordon)
Aunt May (voiced by Mindy Sterling)
Betty Brant (voiced by Bethany Rhoades)
Robbie Robertson (voiced by Jeff Coopwood)
Dr. Curt Connors (voiced by Joe Alaskey)
Puma (Exclusive to the PC and GBA version of the game, voiced by Dee Bradley Baker)
Also features the voice of Bruce Campbell as the tour guide.

References

^ [1]

External links

[1] [1]

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