Combat itself is fairly well executed. Your standard abilities include a simple selection of kicks and punches that can be modified with use of the jump or sprint button. These are later complimented by a quite impressive range of manoeuvres that can be purchased from shops within the city allowing for some graphically pleasing combo fisticuffs. Simple foes can be dispatched with a little melee fighting or web-slinging, but trickier opponents require a different approach. Armed adversaries will often avoid your webbing and make at you. As soon as you see your Spidey-sense tingling (ohhh, that line brings back some happy memories of Super Heroes on the Saturn) a quick tap of the B button will dodge the oncoming attack and this can be followed by a counter move using one of the other buttons. Later in the game you're able to tie up several foes at once, hang criminals from lampposts amongst other things. Some of the later moves can be a little tough to execute but at least they serve to keep the combat relatively interesting. Baddies armed with guns can be tough to deal with as the time between your Spidey-sense and the gunshot itself is incredibly short, often resulting in a somewhat implausible death at the hands of some two-bit goon, but this is a problem that superhero games have always faced and it would be hard to avoid without rendering combat meaningless.

The narrative missions themselves unfortunately fail to demonstrate much more invention. Many of them take the form of getting from point A to B within a set time limit, or battling a recognisable baddie such as Shocker, all of which can be defeated quite easily once their attack pattern has been learnt and sweet spot identified. When missions do get larger however, they rarely actually get any better. The first major encounter pits you against Quentin Beck (who soon becomes Dr Octopus) and is really quite farcical. One moment you're throwing released convicts into large neon pits (?), the next you're navigating mysterious floating platforms whilst avoiding a harmless light gun. Neither is especially satisfying. Whilst the camera and controls handle admirably when you're roaming the city, they fail horribly whenever you're forced into an interior. Never is this more clearly demonstrated than in the face off against Mysterio. Comprising of three parts, each is frustrating for different reasons. The scene rescuing audience members from a burning theatre is agonising as you wrestle with the camera in an effort to actually see what you're doing. The next segment sees you fighting manically with a ridiculous task requiring you to swing between bizarre floating alien orbs around the Statue of Liberty (a section so frustrating that I'm still itchy with frustration even now).

The truth is that whilst have succeeded in creating a superbly free and interesting environment they've failed in actually trying to structure a playable and interesting narrative. A further issue however proved to be of even greater concern for me. Progression through the game is governed by meeting certain requirements in each chapter, and once this is done you'll automatically be introduced to the next. I've researched and discovered that I'm not alone in reaching a certain point in the game and finding myself unable to progress. Despite meeting the requirements needed in the previous Chapter 9 the next simply never arrived. I contacted Activision and was told, after some debate, that it's not a technical issue and was in fact an oversight on my behalf. Not helpful. It must be stressed that the vast majority of gamers have not experienced this problem but I'm not the only one. My advice is to keep two saves going at all times allowing you to backtrack should this happen to you.

Spiderman 2 may be deeply flawed in some of the more fundamental ways, but you cannot escape the fact that what it does well it does amazingly well. I haven't had this much fun with a game in a long long time, and in a world of advanced engines, complicated physics engines and dynamic light sources fun is sometimes something that is mistakenly overlooked. Not so with Spiderman 2. The truth be told I'd much rather play a hugely fun if flawed piece of software than an immaculately polished but dull one. Choose to ignore the plot and the side missions if you like; the hidden races, the token hunts and the tremendous feeling to be had from simply exploring, swinging and crawling about the city are more than enough to justify purchase. Spiderman 3 the has been confirmed and for once I'm actively welcoming a sequel. If Activision manage to address the faults in this title in time for the next then we could have a truly epic piece of software on our hands. But until then enjoy what you have here, because whilst frustration is a probability, fun is an absolute certainty.

80%

By Ben Parfitt