Marvel's Spider-Man 2

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Marvel's Spider-Man 2
Be Greater. Together.
Protagonist(s): Peter Parker Miles Morales Mary Jane Watson Genre(s): Action Adventure Platform(s): PlayStation 5 Release: October 20, 2023 Developer(s): Insomniac Games Publisher(s): Sony Interactive Entertainment Country: United States Series: Spider-Man Predecessor: Marvel's Spider-Man

Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is a 2023 action-adventure game developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It is based on the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man and features a narrative inspired by its long-running comic book mythology which is also derived from various adaptations in other media. It is the third entry in the Marvel's Spider-Man series, acting as a sequel to Marvel's Spider-Man (2018) and a follow-up to Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales (2020).

Plot

Two years after the events of the first game, Peter and Miles come across new threats such as Kraven the Hunter and a symbiotic alien.

Why It's Going to Heal the World!

1. Solid performances as to be expected from Yuri Lowenthal, Nadji Jeter, Laura Bailey, and new actors such as Graham Phillips, Jim Pirri, and of course Tony Todd.
2. Amazing unlockable suits, many of which make a return from the previous games, along with new suits such as the Across the Spider-Verse suit, the Black Suit, and the Amazing Spider-Man 2 suit.
   • Adding onto that, most of these suits can be customized in any color the game wants you to.
3. City-wide activities have been largely improved.
   • The much-hated Screwball missions are absent, now being replaced by Mysterio's Mysteriums challenge simulators, which are much more forgiving this time around.
   • The EMF experiments offer more diversity and are less repetitive than the research stations in the first game.
   • Prowler Stashes offers tech tokens and will give a heartwarming scene of Aaron Davis retiring his status as the Prowler once you find them all.
   • Marko's Memories offers a backstory to the Sandman as you collect his sand crystals throughout the city.
   • Unidentified Target drones show that Kraven and Chameleon were brothers.
   • Even Brooklyn Visions, Cultural Museums, and The Flame are all hidden sidequests disguised as city-wide activities. There's even a tease at Carnage potentially being introduced.
   • By far the most surprising activity is the "Spider-Bots" collection. Once you find all of them throughout the map, you need to head to an assigned location on the map. A portal opens, which connects this game to Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. IT HAS TO BE SEEN TO BE BELIEVED.
4. Just like its predecessor, spectacular graphics with the PlayStation 5 version make the most of the hardware, taking advantage of the console's increased processing power, dedicated ray-tracing hardware, and custom solid-state drive and NVMe storage while supporting a high dynamic range and an optional "performance mode" that allows the game to run at 4K resolution and 60 frames per second.
5. The plot is just as amazing as the previous game, with Miles and Peter having to deal with Kraven and the Symbiote. The story is also much darker this time around, with instances of the words "damn" and "hell" being used appropriately.
6. Traversal has been greatly expanded upon.
   • You can play as both Peter and Miles, switching between them is as simple as holding a button.
   • Web-Swinging is just as smooth as ever.
   • What's really new is the included Web Wings, which allows both Spider-Men to glide around the city at a much faster rate. You can travel even faster by going through the newly added Wind Tunnels and Slingshot Launchers, allowing for breakneck speed traveling.
   • If you're not a fan of that, the game includes the ability to Fast Travel to any point on the map. Just aim at the location you want to travel to, and both Spider-Men will instantly arrive at that location.
   • The map is much larger. In addition to Manhattan, it also adds Coney Island, Brooklyn, and Queens as explorable areas.
7. Stealth is greatly improved.
   • Web-Lines can allow both Spider-Men to form their own footing between two pillars and allow for much easier takedowns.
   • You can now take out two enemies at once with a perk.
   • On the flip side, Enemy AI has been improved. Enemies will stick together and will even group up after they realize you've been taking out too many enemies.
   • Mary Jane's stealth missions have been improved allowing her to take out enemies and stun them unconscious, even allowing her to take a few hits before getting a game over.
   • Hunter Drones offer an eye in the sky for certain stealth sequences, forcing both Spider-Men to take them out first.
8. Combat is amazing just like in the last two games with new additions.
   • The ability to Parry attacks coming at both Spider-Men when you're subjected to attacks you can't dodge. Likewise, some attacks can't be parried and must be dodged instead.
   • Both Spider-Men have their own Web-Gadgets and Special Abilities. Miles has his Venom powers, but Peter relies on his mechanical Spider-Legs for his attacks, but also has Symbiotic abilities to add as well.
   • New Enemy types are added such as mechanical dogs which can disable your special abilities, Hunter Drones as mentioned, and Flamethrowers from the cult of The Flame.
9. Amazing soundtrack that fits more like a movie soundtrack than anything.
10. The Boss fights are an Amazing Improvement over the Previous Game and they offer both challenging and manageable ways to defeat them.
11. Howard's death at the end of his side quest is very heart-shattering.
12. The post-credits scene introduces Cindy Moon/Silk, who would potentially become a third playable Spider-Man in the near future.
13. "We will heal the world."
14. The ending also teases a possible Norman Osborn and doc Ock team up and also sets up green goblin as the main villain for the next game.

Bad Qualities

1. Despite appearing prominently in the previous game and its DLC, Black Cat/Felicia Hardy only appears once in the story and disappears for the rest of the game.
2. Compared to the first game, the ending is a bit of a letdown. The ending is a basic happy ending in which despite Harry being put in a coma, he still survives his fight against Peter and Miles. Compare this to the bittersweet ending in the first game in which Aunt May dies after Peter makes a tough choice to have the cure for Devil's Breath be used for her or be manufactured for the entire city.
3. While it is great to see Cindy Moon appear, some players wondered why Gwen Stacey isn't introduced in the game, especially if one compares her and Miles's relationship in Across the Spider-Verse.
4. While he is a cool villain, Spider-Man fans have criticized the portrayal of Venom, as he has less depth than his comic counterpart and feels more like a doomsday villain rather than a terrifying and complex rival like he is traditionally portrayed as.
   

Reception

Marvel's Spider-Man 2 received "universal acclaim" from critics, according to review aggregator website Metacritic. It also became the best-selling game on the Playstation 5.

Trivia

• This isn't the first time Harry Osborn is Venom, as a previous incarnation of him exists in the show Ultimate Spider-Man.

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