Customer Reviews

Spider-Man 2: The Game

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(29)

 

 

I'll start with the "bad" - this game is short. Brutally short. It felt like it took less than four hours to finish, which is a disapointment considering that I've heard the console version is bigger and longer.

The other strike against it is, well, it's not the console version. Apparently, console gamers got the more immersive game that had been advertised. While you can go in multile directions in "Spider-Man 2", you cannot zip off to, say, the Statue of Liberty, mostly because of the game's linear nature.

The "good" about this game is more personal one. As a handicapped gamer, some games can be almost impossible to play with one hand (like the first Spider-Man for the PC). The keyboard/mouse combo made this game accessible to anyone who plays single-handed, and it was refreshing to be able to play without frustration. So there WAS a bit of fun to be had. (Thank you Activision)

This game had potential, and the fact that it's so different than the better console version really has me scratching my head. Why not take advantage of a PC's abilities?

After witnessing the deluge of advertising (including the "Making the Game" special on MTV) and seemingly universal critical praise for the console version of the game, I purchased the PC version expecting to play the same thing.

It's not.

The graphics are horrible (the Unreal engine is capable of ten times more; yet half the cutscenes are prerendered anyway by what seems to be an old, half-broken Nintendo 64), the same five enemy characters are re-used ad nauseam (and use the same taunt dialogue again and again), and the controls are non-standard and generally annoyingly difficult to use.

Most of all, the free-roaming environments and non-linear gaming so touted in the promotional materials ARE NOT PART OF THIS GAME. Even though the structure of the PC version seems designed for a console ("save points" instead of save-anywhere design; only one game can be saved at a time) it lacks any of the special features advertised for the console versions.

The Unreal engine can blow away even the Xbox's best efforts, and it's a shame that its power wasn't harnessed. The biggest shame, however, is that Activision has duped gamers into purchasing a totally linear, almost thoroughly unenjoyable product that is wholly different from the one that has been advertised excessively in the past weeks. I feel disappointed and cheated, and I hope I can get my money back. :-P

The only reason I gave this one star is because the web site made me! I got spiderman2 for pc for my birthday last year and almost smashed the computer because I was so pissed! Everything is controlled by the mouse. The colors look like something from telletubbies and the graphics just suck. There is no "free roam" only "go this way because we are to f@$&ing lazy to make this game for anyone but 3-year-olds roam." If you bought this game take it back. If you are about to DON'T!!!!!! SAVE YOURSELF THE HORRIBLE PAIN THIS GAME CAUSES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Get it away from me!! That's all I can say about this horrible, cheap and stripped down version of Spider-man 2: The Game. After all the wonderful reviews I've read about the console versions (Playstation 2, Gamecube, and XBox), I had to get it on PC, after all, it was only $20. It was very strange that when I opened it, it was only one CD-ROM. 'How could all of virtual New York fit on one CD-ROM?' The answer is very disappointing, it can't.

I was shocked to find that this version was LINEAR in gameplay, and you can't free roam around NY helping out civilians, like in the console versions. You can't even shoot your web and swing where you want, only in specific places. How awful huh? And the attacks are only on one button, which makes for very boring and easy battles. The game itself is very boring and simple, and one of the worst features is the awful camera. It will make you SO dizzy, you'll have to stop and turn away just to rest your eyes.

The point is, just don't get this game on PC! Like other's have said, and I agree, this must be one of the worst games I've ever played. Yes, even playing Spider-man himself! I recommend the first Spider-man game on PC instead of this one. That one was very much fun for adults and children alike. (I'm afraid that game, though, is out of print.) Even though it's priced cheaply, this game is not worth it. It should be worth about $10 less. With all it's flaws, this game might be enjoyable for children 10 and younger, and I think that's who it's made for, young children. Any older than that, and you'll be wishing you hadn't had opened the packaging.

In one word . . . "LAME!" The absolute worst spiderman game ever made for PC, what a horrendous embarrassment for Activision. Thankfully I bought it used for cheap, otherwise I would have had to sue Activision for false advertising. I am surprised somebody has not sued them already. I won't be looking forward to any spiderman games made by Activision in the future. In fact after this I avoid Activision games altogether. "This time there's nowhere you can't go." NOT TRUE on the PC... The truth is this time there's nowhere you can go and nothing you can do... Customer Support is non-existent... LAME!!!

I've had an account with Amazon.com for at least 4 years. This is the only review I have ever written here. I am doing so because I felt aboslutely cheated by Activision with this game. They are marketing it as the same game as that on the consoles; they do not make any attempt at all to tell you that this is not the same game. I've played the game on a PS2, and it is brilliant. The version for the PC, however, is quite possibly the worst big-title game I have ever played. It is definately the worst Spider-Man game I have ever played, and I have played a lot of them (going as far back as the Sega Genesis version, which is still better than this garbage). This PC game is obviously marketed towards young children. The control scheme is VERY elementary; you use ONE button for punching, kicking, swinging, and webbing, depending on the situation. Unfortunately, this can quickly become frustrating if you are not oriented exactly correct for each move. I.E. you will zip to a wall when you meant to punch somebody. The audio is subpar, the graphics are cartoony and dated, the cutscenes play HORRIBLY out of sync and CHOPPY, even on the beefiest PCs. But by far the worst "feature" of this game is that there is no freedom. You can swing ONLY from special web icons located strategically throughout the city. You can zip anywhere on buildings, but you have to be close enough. This is a giant step back from the first game (which was GREAT, even on the PC). I'm not really disappointed at how much this game sucks. However, I'm furious that Activision would try to market it as the same game as the console version. That is just not a classy thing to do. They should make it painfully obvious that the PC version of Spider-Man 2 is an entirely different, kid-oriented game. This might be an OK game for a young kid (under 12). But if you are a serious gamer, you are going to have to play the console version. This is unfortunate, becase these days I am exclusively a PC gamer and will miss out on this great (console) game. It boggles my mind that Activision is pushing such a great game on the consoles, but a kid's toy on the PC. It's too bad the lowest rating is 1 star. Activision should be paying ME to play this game!

So, I'm embarassed. I saw the promos, I read the previews, I studied the advertising relentlessly; I knew I had to have Spider-Man 2.

My fingers tingled with excitement as I approached my local video game outlet. A poster filled the window; Spiderman (Tobey Maguire) standing upon a skyscraper, the sun setting before him, his mask in hand, and one word above him: choice.

I was pumped. I somehow got ahold of one of the last two copies, brought it home, removed the cellophane at breakneck speed, and popped open the box.

The first thing that struck me was the size of the actual cd case. Apparently, this game allowed you to travel anywhere within New York, yet there was only once game cd. Strange. But, I shrugged it off. So it wouldn't be as big as, say, Vice City, but it was still goign to be awesome to finally feel like Spiderman!

Reading over the game manual, a few other things struck me. The controls had been made drastically simpler (the reason the game got 2 stars instead of only one). This was, I felt, one of the huge drawbacks of Spidey's former incarnation. The incredibly complex controls prevented one from being truly immersed in the game universe. This was a potentially huge step foward, and it excited me.

The install was over fairly quickly, which kind of struck me as weird. But, I thought, they probably kept most of the info on the game cd intead of installing it onto the hard drive. This would mean larger load times inbetween level areas, but was something that could be forgiven. No worries.

I opened the game, put all of the graphic choices at the absolute highest, and donned my super suit.

The first thing that went through my head was, "When did my Pentium 4 2.6 Ghz computer turn into a Playstation 2?" Bruce Campbell's voiceover comforted me a little, but after playhing through Max Payne 2 for about the billionth time last night, these graphics depressed me. I decided to do a little exploring, and came face-to-face with an invisible wall in the middle of the street. I could see things that I couldn't explore, which wasn't supposed to be the case with this game.

I took a deep sigh, and headed off for my first mission. Closeups of the characters faces were so graphically bad as to be laughable at some points. The voice acting was, of course, very good, excepting whomever did Aunt May and made her sound overly manly. The missions themselves were incredibly simplistic, and the game tells you how to beat boss characters with pop-up screens before each major skirmish. The only time I encountered any difficulty at all was Mysterio's mission, and it was only because of jumping puzzles, which I personally despise because they are a cop-out for game designers to make a "hard" level without exerting any actual effort, or using any thought.

Unless you absolutely love Spiderman, don't buy this game until it's in the clearance section at Wal-Mart. It is easy, boring, campy, predictable, and basically a re-hash of it's predecessor.

I owned a X-Box a for a couple of years and played Spider-Man 2 on it. It was one of the funnest games I've ever played... then I bought the PC version of this Game and realised I had wasted my 20 Dollars. The X-Box and PS2 Versions of this game are totally different games from the PC version! The Graphics were horrible. There was no Statue of Liberty (GASP!), There is only one time in the entire game that you can actually fight some random criminal (one area a lady gets her purse stolen and you chase the guy down) but besides that the "Side Quests" are trying to swing through some stupid hoops. They even changed alot of the story line and things that made it special... saving Aunt May from Doc Ock was just shooting the tires of a robbers van, The final battle with Doc Ock was just you swinging in circles shooting webs at a batterie thing and stunning him with the explosions. All in all...this game was a waste of money. Anyone looking for a fun Spider-Man game should either buy a X-Box and the Spider-Man 2 game for that consolse or go buy the PS1 Spider-Man Enter Electro Game (yes...enter electro was better than this game...)

Something to point out, I got stuck with the PC version of SpiderMan2, which is entirely different from the console version. From all accounts, the console version is a decent game. The PC version is so terrible, Fizz Factor should be run out of town on a rail (or forced to play this mind numbingly dull game until their eyes bleed). The movie tie-in is thin at best. Voice acting is phoned in. Camera controls swing around wildly. The dynamic 'free roaming city' the console game boasts is stripped down and completely run on a different 'swing engine' than the console. In this version, you have to find 'hot spots' on the walls to websling, or even more insulting, hit these random, floating webs that just hang in the air, but allow you to swing around corners and gain height. But they make no sense. 'Side missions' are tedious and unchallenging with the punch / kick combat that takes no skill whatsoever. And Fizz Factor actually thought making a 'speed course' to swing through (a rip on GTA speed courses, complete with glowing blue circles as checkpoints) would be fun. They are not. The only area that might have presented any kind of challenge would be the weak-ass bosses. But this game is so dumbed down, they show you, in a step by step diagram, exactly how to defeat the boss right before you fight them. Why don't you guys just play the game for me as well? I beat this in about 6 hours, and that's with liberal goofing off because the actual game got boring real quick. Check out the console or skip this all together.

Seriously, the whole movie to game franchise tie-in concept is always on shaky ground, you don't need crap factories like Fizz Factor bringing the genre down this much more.

I was totally unimpressed by this game. The fighting was way to easy (just click a mouse button) The part where you could swing around in the city was cool, yet there was not that much to do besides swinging through hoops and collecting little things. Long story short I am selling the game and I wish that it was just like the X-Box one.