Spider-Man can absolutely do whatever a spider can. But he’s far more versatile than any eight-legged freak. For instance, could an arachnid headline a series of their own successful video games? If the PS2 era is any indicator, New York’s web swinger definitely has that on the radioactive beastie that bit him.
Though Peter Parker’s alter ego has headlined many-a game across all consoles, his PS2 releases ranged from questionable to pivotal to the advancement of Spider-Man games. Below, we’re digging through Marvel’s past and ranking the Spider-Man PS2 games, starting with the easily overlooked and ending with arguably one of his best outings of all time.
6. Spider-Man 3
Developer: Treyarch
Publisher: Activision
The biggest crime in video game history is Spider-Man 3. Not because the game was that bad, but because Treyarch didn’t include a Peter Parker QTE dance segment. Looking beyond that, though, Spider-Man 3 retreads a lot of ground established in its video game predecessor without really enhancing a lot of it.
If you enjoyed the open world of Spider-Man 2, this iteration practically lifts it, enhancing the visuals and filling it with a little more content. Of course, the game looks more polished on the PS3/Xbox 360, and the PS2 version is more on par with the 2004 release.
Players swing around the open world map, encountering Spidey greats like Dr. Curt Connors’ Lizard, Rhino, Kraven the Hunter, and, because you’re playing on the PS2, Morbius. Venom’s there, as well, in one of his most disappointing iterations, though that did mean Spider-Man could don his black suit to land more powerful punches and spout off cringe-worthy attempts at anger.
5. Spider-Man: Web of Shadows – Amazing Allies Edition
Developer: Amaze Entertainment
Publisher: Activision
Several Spider-Man games have explored the relationship between Venom and the titular hero, but few have taken the brave decision to, um, explode the symbiote almost immediately at the start of the story. With an infection rampaging through NYC, Spider-Man must figure out the truth behind the spontaneous explosion.
Web of Shadows – Amazing Allies Edition (also released on PSP) is altogether a different game compared to its newer-gen counterparts, with it instead being a 2D side-scroller compared to the open world adventure seen on PS3 at al. Web of Shadows – Amazing Allies Edition also presents players with choices throughout the narrative in lieu of the cutscenes seen in other versions of the game on stronger hardware. It’s certainly a serviceable game, with the ally system doing something similar to Friend or Foe and the upgrade system being smartly tied into narrative choices, but Amazing Allies’ obvious lack of budget compared to its bigger brothers is hard to ignore.
That said, Amazing Allies scores extra points for featuring cameos from other members of the Marvel universe and for its writing, but it will always be a shame that this PS2 version was always seen as a B-project by Activision when the PS2 still had a lot to offer.
4. Spider-Man: Friend or Foe
Developer: Next Level Games
Publisher: Activision
What if Spider-Man teamed up with his greatest enemies? It’s not so far-fetched, considering he fought side-by-side with Venom against Carnage, but Friend or Foe expands upon the concept with notable names like Doctor Octopus and Green Goblin.
The co-op beat ‘em up allowed players to join up with friends and take control of either the web swinger or one of his temporary companions. When a new threat brainwashes Spidey’s villains, the once-nefarious foe seeks revenge for having been someone’s puppet. That means joining Spidey in a manner similar to Traveller’s Tales’ LEGO games.
Friend or Foe had a fun, fresh concept for a Spider-Man game, it just didn’t utilize it well enough. The story is a little dopey, the visuals are too cartoonish, it’s on the easier side, and working alongside Spider-Man villains winds up falling flat if you’re playing alone. It’s really a concept that would work better in an Ultimate Alliance format.
3. Spider-Man: The Movie
Developer: Treyarch
Publisher: Activision
Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man was a delightful theatrical experience, and it translated well into a PS2-era action-adventure game. While it’s limited to designated levels as the open world concept wasn’t introduced until the follow-up, Spider-Man does what it can to allow us some degree of exploration. The swinging mechanics are a little silly, as webs very clearly vanish into the sky and falling resets your position mid-air, but it still works well enough.
Though the game is lacking in its swinging mechanics, it does deliver relatively strong combat that uses the smaller spaces well. Having limited web attacks kind of goes against Raimi-verse lore, but considering it’s been the norm for Spidey games, it’s easy to overlook.
Like any other Spider-Man game, there isn’t just one villain to focus on like there was in the movie. Green Goblin does take center stage, but he’s joined by Scorpion, Shocker, and Vulture to flesh out the experience.
2. Ultimate Spider-Man
Developer: Treyarch
Publisher: Activision
One year after Treyarch gave us Spider-Man 2, it dropped Ultimate Spider-Man, a stylized open world action-adventure game that loosely followed the comic series of the same name. The game stays true to the source material’s visual style, using cel-shading to bring Spidey, MJ, and even Venom to life.
Many of the same principles from Spider-Man 2 carry over to Ultimate Spider-Man, including similar flowing combat, side quests, web-swinging, and a host of villains to deal with. What Ultimate does that few Spider-Men games have done is give players complete control of Eddie Brock’s Venom. In the Ultimate universe, the symbiote is vicious, requiring Eddie to consume NPCs and criminals to keep his health up. It’s not quite as bad as biting heads off, but it’s among the most violent version of Venom we’ve seen in a game.
The varied playstyles between Spidey and Venom really kept the game fresh, which helps because the world design and much of the story wasn’t all that interesting. The introduction of a Spider-Man favorite in the fourth act and a cameo from Wolverine really punched things up, but Ultimate was best for messing around with side quests and random encounters.
1. Spider-Man 2
Developer: Treyarch
Publisher: Activision
When Spider-Man 2 was released in 2004, the concept of open world gaming was still in its infancy. Grand Theft Auto III had only revolutionized the genre three years prior, and the first Spider-Man movie video game hadn’t taken advantage of a wide-open New York City. Or, at least, what was considered wide open back then. Unsurprisingly, the marriage of web-swinging and an expansive map proved to be a great success.
Spider-Man 2 follows the basic plot of the second movie in the Raimi-verse, with cameos from Mysterio, Rhino, Black Cat, and Shocker. With much of the cast returning, the game felt like an extension to the movie, filling in gaps Raimi couldn’t quite squeeze into the 127-minute runtime. Though a little janky by today’s standards, especially after Insomniac’s Marvel Spider-Man, the game’s mechanics and combat were quite enjoyable in 2004.
But most importantly, many players got their first taste of climbing the tallest building only to jump off into a free fall. You know, just to see what would happen.
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