I completed the main story and did a few of the side missions. I completed Marvel's Spider-Man and Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales main story as well.
Hey, Hey and Welcome back! Let me first give you the general low-down of the the Marvel’s Spider-Man gaming franchise on the PlayStation platform. The first game in the series Marvel’s Spider-Man was release on the PlayStation 4 game console in 2018 by game developer Insomniac Games. They have created other games such as the Ratchet and Clank game series on the PlayStation. You play as a young Peter Parker who is already the comic book hero Spider-Man for a few years already in the city of New York. The second game in the series – Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales was release on the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 game consoles in 2020. In this game, you play a different Spider-Man – Miles Morales – a young teenager learning how to use his powers as he becomes his own Spider-Man. The third Spider-Man game in the series- Marvel’s Spider Man 2 – was released in Oct 2023 exclusively on the PlayStation 5 game console. You play as Peter and Miles as they continue their adventure in New York City.
Here are Peter Parker and Miles Morales on the bridge taking in the view.
All the Spider-Man games take place in the New York City. In Spider-Man 2, there are more boroughs in the city to explore like Brooklyn and Queens. All the games in this series feature a main story for the two Spider-Man’s and side missions for the player to discover in the city.
In Spider-Man 2, there are very few, if any loading times on the PS5. The Graphics and Performance Modes can be chosen by the user to either increase the fidelity of the graphics or increase the frame rate of the game. The Graphics can include “ray tracing” which can make the lighting in the game more realistic.
Here you can see the nice lighting from the Sun on New York City.
The trigger buttons on Dual Sense controllers are pressure sensitive and are used in specific moments of the game. You can take screenshot and stream gameplay footage from the game to your Youtube/Twitch’ account on the PS5.
There are more accessibility options for the player to choose from. You can enable comic book sounds and visual queues to enhance the experience.
Unraveling the Story: A Narrative Comparison
The story of the Spider-Man games is what gives the players, including me, motivation to play, explore, and finish the game. It is loosely based on the Marvel comic-books stories. Most people are familiar with the many Spider-Man story lines from other media like comic-books, television, and the live-action movies. The developers wanted create a unique story that does not follow the comic book stories and this helps the game stand out from the other mediums. When we experience the story through playing as the characters and the challenges that they face throughout their journey, we feel engaged and can better relate to their stories.
The main plot revolves around the two main Spider-Men, Peter Parker and Miles Morales, trying to live normal lives while being superheros. Both characters will face personal challenges and will need to work to stop outside enemies like Kraven from destroying New York City. The main difference in this game is that there are two Spider-Man in the city.
I think the story in this game is generally better than the first game, but it can be messy trying to tell the story of two Spider-Men. The main villain, Kraven, is a developed as a credible threat to our heroes and to the city, but I feel the story did not spend enough time to develop his character.
Kraven the Hunter
You discover some details of his past from searching his hideouts for information with Mary Jane (Peter’s girlfriend in this game) providing some research into Kraven’s background as well. There is another main villain in the game, but I do not want to provide any spoilers. This villain was more developed and had a more personal effect on the main characters in the story. If you enjoyed the story in the first Spider-Man game, you will enjoy the story in this game as well.
Visual Spectacle: The Graphical Innovation in Spider-Man 2
The game is rendered in 4K with support for HDR and ray-tracing for lighting effects. You can see accurate reflections of the characters when you are swinging across city buildings and crawling on the reflecting windows. You can see more of the city when you are perched on the rooftops. The improved graphics helps you become more immersed in the environment. When you walk around an amusement park during the story, you can see a lot of people and detailed lighting and reflections from the people and environment.
Swinging into Action: Evaluating the Gameplay Evolution
The gameplay in Spider-Man 2 is generally very similar to the Spider Man PS4 game. You swing around city as Spider-Man doing main story activities and side quests. You start out with the same combat and explore abilities from previous games as well as new abilities in this game as well.
Here are some skills just for Miles.
Some new moves include a parry system where you can parry an attack and it will stagger an enemy. You can customize/select different special combat moves for each Spider-Man. As the progresses through the story, you will gain new abilities and moves for each Spider-Man. The frame-rate is stable which keeps the combat/action scenes flowing smoothly.
Conclusion
I think it’s a pretty good game with good action and a great story. The story telling could be a bit messy and one the villains is not developed well enough. The side quests are alright. If you liked the first two games, you will like this one as well. If you are a fan of the comics, you will enjoy Insomniac’s new take on the story. I would recommend this game to anyone who enjoys the Spider-Man comic book stories or enjoys playing action adventure, open world game.