Endowed with the proportionate strength of a spider (but not the sudden scuttling movements). Peter Parker has righted more wrongs than Esther Rantzen. Unfortunately, his good deeds have made him plenty of super-powered enemies — and they’ve had enough!
Spider-Man has put Doctor Octopus behind bars more times than either care to remember, Longing for peace, the metal-armed maniac has reformed a group of super-villains he once belonged to: The Sinister Six. Under Doc Ock’s leadership, Electro, Sandman, Mysterio, The Vulture and The Hobgoblin are out for Spidey’s blood. They wanna flush him away!
Using his links as photographer tor The Daily Bugle and a little detective work, Parker has discovered The Sinister Six are back. Slipping on his slinky Spider-Man costume (pausing momentarily to fondle his inner thighs), he takes to the streets of New York. That’s where you take over.
Doc Ock’s henchmen are everywhere but you can punch and kick them into submission. And of course, you’d hardly be a spider without webs. They can fired as a web-ball to stun opponents or as a line to swing, Tarzan-like, across the screen.
Nothing lasts forever, including Spidey’s web fluid. Luckily, some unknown benefactor has left bottles of fluid (ahem!) all around the levels. Crouch down and you’re topped up.
Likewise, being biffed by baddies or hit by hazards reduces energy. Lose it all and it’s Game Over — you only get one life (realism, don’t ya just hate it?). But putting henchmen and especially super-villains out of action restores some power, delaying an early grave.
The second part of each level takes place in a super-villain’s lair and requires a little thought. An object or two has to be found and used otherwise progress is blocked.
There’s more to spiders than cocooned house flies, rolled-up newspapers and detachable limbs. Play this and find out for yourself!
My first reaction on spotting a spider is to squeal ‘Aagh! Eek!’ and bludgeon the unfortunate creature to death with the nearest hefty object (often Mat or Paz). But when I see Spider-Man, I think, ‘Hey! What a dude’.
I’ve yet to play a really good Spider-Man game, one that makes full use of the character. But for the time being, Return Of The Sinister Six is more than enough to keep me happy. Although bland in both the graphics and sonics departments, there’s lots of gameplay and a BIG challenge.
The webhead’s a tricky fella to control. It’s easy to deliver a blow, but it’s anyone’s guess whether he’ll punch or kick. It’s easy to drop In mid-swing or not fire a web-line at all. Yeah, you sure need to work at these controls!
Spidey has it tough in his comics... but not this tough! One life and just two continues?! Wouldn’t be so bad, because the levels themselves aren’t difficult, but the super-villains are tough. Simple tactics have to be developed to live more than a screen or two past Sandman.
Spider-Man fans will be disappointed — I know I am — but looking at it objectively, Spider-Man 2 is an admirable MS release.
WARREN 76%
Compared to other MS platform games, Spider-Man 2 is in a league of its own! The graphics are far superior to any MS game of its type and although the sound is average, gameplay’s totally fantastic and makes Return Of The Sinister Six a sure-fire winner!
When you start to play, you notice the silky-smooth animation of the web-spinning wonder as he swings and jumps across the beautifully-drawn New York skyline. All the locations are plastered with colour and have a real comic-book feel.
The controls are very responsive, though the bog-standard MS joypad can let you down at vital1 moments — especially when you need to make a diagonal manoeuvre!
But all in all, this is a great MS release. It looks good and plays like a charm, while giving the gamer a really tough challenge for his £30. It just has the edge over the GG version and is an essential purchase for any MS owner who enjoys this kind of game.
PAUL 86%
Unimpressive as a Spider-Man game but challenging and playable in its own right
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