Spider-Man 2 review

As a criticism relative to its predecessor this is, we feel, pretty valid. The interior sections are pretty weak and insubstantial, and can't even match up to levels like the burning clock-tower and battles in the subway-station in the previous game - the interior bouts take little more than five to ten minutes to complete once you know what you have to do. Even more disappointingly, interior missions aren't really much different to play than those tasks that take place outside - with objectives sticking to the 'kill, destroy, swing or rescue' formula.

SET TO RIGHTS
Despite its visual flaws and the rather 'samey' physical experience of playing, we feel that to dwell on these points is unfair. Many of the criticisms we made of the original game have been answered here. To start with, the horrible camera issues that plagued Spider-Man 1 have disappeared, mainly because the interior locations aren't as complicated. Also, the rubbish fighting system has been vastly improved. True, you can still get away with some thoughtless button mashing, but the wealth of combos, counters and special attacks available is extremely enjoyable to use and well worth taking the time to master.

What's more, Treyarch have gone that extra mile and really worked hard to put some clever bonus elements into the game - most notably in the way the game insists on throwing distractions from the 'main mission' at you. There's absolutely stacks of stuff to see and do. Hidden away in the city are secret tokens to collect, time-trialesque swinging missions, enemy hideaways to find and Skyscraper Tokens to seek out - all of which provide substantial entertainment in their own right.

True, locating all of these once again involves countless hours of just swinging around the city, but, as we explained earlier, the pendulum-like physics of the game have been so well implemented that it's never a chore. The system actually has a great deal of hidden depth, with tricks to pull off (you can buy these in the game's shops), techniques that need to be refined and speed-boosting upgrades for you to exploit.

HAND IT TO SPIDEY
Your hands are always busy - so much so that, after one six-hour-long finger-numbing session, we were acutely aware that our Wavebird was starting to wear the skin off our palms and our hands were in danger of gnarling into tight, arthritic claws. We'd got so caught up in all the action that we'd gripped the pad for rather too long. (Don't try it at home. Repetitive Strain Injury hurts, and can last a very long time.) But that just proves the game really is that involving, and the sheer, unbridled joy of swooping through the city so delightful that any shortcomings can, for the most part, easily be forgiven.

SPIDER-FAN
So, we're actually quite chuffed with the way this has turned out. We knew it was going to be a vast improvement on what has gone before, but we didn't for one minute believe that it would turn out to be this accomplished and this enjoyable. All too often, in our experience, a good license that's guaranteed to sell gets treated as an excuse for a lazy game. That's not the case here. We admit, the graphics aren't as polished and slick as they could be. Yes, we do wish a little more imagination had been put into some of the quests and, yes, more variety in the tasks on offer would have been ideal (and these things are all reflected in its final score), but at the end of the day Spider-Man 2 succeeds in the one area that it really needs to - it makes you feel like Spider-Man.

It portrays that stomach-churning, rollercoaster ride through city streets with amazing confidence, the ability to whizz around a sprawling city helping those in need gives a marvellous sense of scope never seen in a licensed game like this and, even though it's often frustrating, you'll always find yourself coming back for more, even if it's just to swing around the city for a few minutes.

No other game based on a comic-book character has ever come this close to doing justice to its hero, and for that reason alone the result is remarkable.

Your spider-senses should be telling you that Spider-Man 2 is in the shops right now