Sorry, guys, this is not the excellent Spider-Man 2 of the Xbox, PS2 and GameCube consoles. Spider-Man 2 for the DS is more in the tradition of mediocre movie-licensed games that we all hoped were becoming fewer and farther between. It is a game that quickly becomes frustrating and (even a worse crime) does not take any real advantage of the DS’ unique features.
The game is laid out in a series of missions that involve such things as rescuing a set number of hostages, taking down so many bad guys and collecting objects, interspersed with some boss battles. All this is accompanied by a very tight time schedule. Completing missions with the best times earns the highest grades and additional items. The levels these missions play out in are suitably large and varied and, even though the game is really a 2D action/platform game, due to the way the graphics are executed the player often feels he is wandering around a more 3D environment.
Spidy moves around the levels smoothly whether running, wall-crawling, web-zipping or web-swinging. He starts with a couple of basic attacks and selectable special moves with the ability to earn more by completing levels with high grades. The graphics look so much better than any pre-DS handheld even dreamed of that gamers will swear they are holding a mini Nintendo 64. And while the audio doesn’t quite measure up to the looks of the game, it is serviceable for the task. Control is silky smooth with intuitive controller execution.
That all sounds pretty good right? But what I see as the major fault in the game rears its ugly head almost immediately. There is no level map or even a way to look beyond the screen the player’s avatar is currently on. As Spider-Man moves around exploring the levels he will need to jump, web-zip and web-swing. Let’s face it, if I were going to web-zip straight up in the real world, I’m going to tilt my head back and look above me to see where I’m about to go and what I’m likely to run into. In the game world we’ve seen various tricks to replicate that look-before-you-leap dynamic with an ability to scroll the view in the direction you’re going or a level map. Spider-Man 2 DS possesses neither of these. Taking a headlong flight into the unknown can just as easily result in a health-diminishing hot foot as it can yield a new area to explore. Finding all the objectives on a level can also be frustrating and is accompanied by a lot of backtracking. Thus, to complete the levels with a good grade, the whole thing turns into a lot of rote memorization of levels gained through repeated play of them. To me, that seriously hampers the enjoyment of a game.
At this point you’re probably asking,”Hey, if there is no level map, what is that whole lower screen being used for on the DS?” I’m glad you asked that question. While the lower screen is used for some limited and uninspired gameplay elements, its main function is to select between the special moves the player has earned. That’s right, instead of scrolling through special-attack options, they are instantly selectable with just a touch on the lower screen. I have chills just thinking about it! Honestly, what a waste of the technology.
Now don’t get me completely wrong, Spider-Man 2 DS is not broken to the point of being unplayable. If the gamer does not mind taking the effort to learn all the levels through trial and error and the frustratingly steep time limits put on levels to gain the good grades, there is a game here that has its moments. As stated earlier, it looks and sounds good and controls well. And it must be remembered that this is a game that represents only the first generation of software for the DS. But the frustration that the average player will feel with the level design, and the lack of a map to help him navigate those levels, is going to truly test his ability to resist the temptation to throw his shiny new toy.
© 2005 GameShark.com
