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by
Ted Kritsonis
Faze
Video Game Editor
As one of the first Nintendo DS games to come
out, Spider-Man 2 had a big act to follow. For one, starting
out on a new handheld platform is pressure enough, but when
you add in the fact that Activision’s Spider-Man games
have stumbled every time, the jury certainly was out on this
one.
Spider-Man
2 truly does sparkle on the DS screens, and is a great looking
game throughout its course, giving an honest impression of
what we can expect in the visual power of the DS. That’s
really nice and all, but it also represents the limitations
of what’s offered here.
What you have in Spider-Man 2 is a classic
side-scrolling 2D game, which does an adequate job of invoking
memories of old Spidey games from the early 90s, but there’s
no touch-screen functionality and no multiplayer of any kind.
The lack of multiplayer could be slightly tolerable if the
touch-screen played an active role in the game, but other
than acting as a menu screen, it doesn’t do much of
anything. Okay, it does allow you to select a special move
to use here and there, but it still feels like an add-on.
This is a shame because the DS holds its niche
in touch-screen functionality, and a game like Spider-Man
2 could’ve really benefited from it. Instead, you’ll
feel like you’re playing a game on the Game Boy Advance,
albeit with graphics that you’d never see on the GBA.
The
gameplay consists of a standard and formulaic setup where
you encounter an enemy, beat him up, and rescue civilians.
Sure, it’s Spidey’s MO, but it gets a little tired
here. And let’s face it, a guy with a baseball bat isn’t
really going to be able to hurt Spider-Man, or even be able
to hit him one-on-one, but that’s how it often goes
in this game. Given his apparent weakness, it’s good
that the developers put plenty of power-ups in there.
The bosses make for tougher battles, where
you’ll have to be quick and try to outmaneuver them.
Plus, there are some pretty tough missions that are based
on time limits, so you’ll find yourself scurrying around
to cover every inch of the level in order to find all the
bad guys and rescue civilians. It’s tedious, to say
the least, and it certainly isn’t one of the game’s
strong points.
Spider-Man 2 isn’t a bad game for the
DS, but it’s lacking in extras. The touch-screen could’ve
played a better role and the gameplay could’ve been
less tedious. But as it is, Spider-Man 2 still is a decent
way to immerse yourself in the Nintendo DS.
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Publisher:
Activision
Developer:
Vicarious Visions
Platform:
Nintendo DS
Rating:
7/10
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