Reviews// The Amazing Spider-Man 2

The city's another problem. It's expansive, but a long way from feeling like a living, breathing city. It's like you're swinging round a paper architect's model rather than a place where millions of people actually live.

This is symptomatic of the game's generally poor looks. I played the PS4 version, but it could easily pass for a PS3 game from four years ago. The textures are all a bit dead, the animation's not great and Spider-Man moves with this unnatural nervous energy that looks like an attempt to mirror Andrew Garfield in the film, but comes off as looking like bad neckbeard theatre.

All the above said, I've been reading Spider-Man since nine-year-old Mark got his tiny hands on The Exploits of Spider-Man back in 1992. While all of the above means ASM2 was never going to come close to being a great game, it is functional. If ASM2 came wrapped up in an interesting story, or even with a version of Spidey I could give a toss about, it could have been enjoyable. Alas, it does not. As I mentioned earlier, the plot is functional in providing a set-up for the action, but that's about it.

It isn't helped by the fact it sits in a weird hinterland continuity that borrows from the films but then diverges from them significantly. I don't know if the film guys wouldn't share the script, if whoever Activision obtained the license from had some weird restrictions in place or if Beenox just wanted to do its own thing.

In any case, the result is the worst of both worlds. You don't feel like you've entered the universe of the film, yet neither do you get the drama and narrative freedom that would have come from establishing the game as its own separate beast, a la the Batman: Arkham games. (I wrote at more length about this issue here).

And, perhaps more disappointingly, while Andrew Garfield is the most human and heroic superhero we've seen on screen in yonks, the Peter Parker we get in the game is uninspiringly rendered, poorly written for and flatly acted.

Again, ASM2 isn't broken. It functions. Half a decade ago it might have felt like a reasonable offering. But it's not half a decade ago. It's 2014. Frankly, we can do better. The licensed superhero movie tie-in has almost gone away now, and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is why.


Pros:
+ Functions
+ Has Spider-Man in it

Cons:
- Dull, uninspired, by-the-numbers tie-in
- Flabby controls disconnects player from the action
- Lacklustre narrative.

SPOnG Score: 2.5/5