The Amazing Spider-Man 2

'Amazing' really is such a strong term. How about the fairly acceptable arachnid, instead? [Aug 2014, p.79]

Slinging around New York remains a pleasing hoot. [July 2014, p.81]

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is a typical game, based on a film. Even though there definitely are some good points, like moving through the city and the variety of approaching enemies, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 still feels rushed.

Perhaps the biggest problem with The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is that it doesn't stray much from the previous game's formula, and when it does, it actively detracts from the game.

The game never impresses - web-slinging is fun, but that's it, really - but also never really hits rock-bottom. An okay sweetener, while we wait and hope for a Spider-Man game that's finally really good.

It is still fun to swing around the city, and some portions really shine, but a full-fledged, full-price experience Amazing Spider-Man 2 is certainly not.

After four years with the license, Beenox has yet to deliver a truly ground-breaking Spider-Man experience. Yet, despite not having that “Arkham” effect, this latest movie tie-in is still worth a punt. It may be a little rough around the edges and could have done with more substance, but it’s still fun for a good few hours and ideal for younger gamers.

The best tie ins are always the ones not directly connected to a movie release, and here's proof of that. Inexplicably, Beenox takes a step back from mechanics that worked in previous games and releases a rushed game, just to stick to the tight schedule.

For all but the most passionate Spider-Man fans, TAS2 is one you can safely skip or get by with on a rental.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 comes in a next-gen wrapper, but feels like a last-gen experience. There’s plenty of fun to be had thanks to some fun battles, an entertaining story, and scads of collectibles. Just be prepared for an experience that looks and feels extremely familiar.

If you loved the original ASM, or just want to see the story unfold, then give it a rental – it shouldn’t take more than about ten hours to beat, and you can halve that easily if you don’t mind putting up with a goon squad coming after you between missions.

There have been many worse Spider-Man games than this. But I can't recall one that's swung so conceptually close to greatness only to let poor execution drag it back to Earth.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 isn't a complete disaster, and I can easily see fans of Spidey enjoying it at a deep discount. It's just a shame that Beenox somehow got worse at making Spider-Man games over time, and that the powers that be insist on rushing them as movie tie-ins. Somehow, someway -- we will get our Arkham of Spider-Man games again. Until then, you can just pick up a used copy of 2004's Spider-Man 2.

The production by Beenox has to deal with competitors of great value that undermine the not so brilliant feature of this new episode. A game with no original ideas , short and with a very bare-bones combat system. Superfluous.

The web swinging's the best it's ever been, but the uninspired story, buggy game world and haphazardly thrown together gameplay elements make for an awkward, ill-structured and often downright unfinished gaming experience. The human spider deserves better.

The combat is dull, the side missions are uninspired, and swinging around New York has been done to death. Activision probably hopes to attract a crowd of Spider-Man fans who are simply happy to squeeze into the hero’s spandex for a stroll through Manhattan, but even they don’t need to bother with this title, because they’ve probably played it several times over the years.

The next time there's an Amazing Spider-Man movie, hopefully combat can be brought up to snuff, since there's plenty of promise in the air.

A Spidey game that falls short of any Batman: Arkham, again. Its open world is empty of interesting interactions and full of repetitive fights with uninspired bands of villains. Its free roaming makes you free as a bird when gliding in the air but clumsy as a silly spider when fighting on the ground. Just another shattered hope since Shattered Dimensions.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is not as amazing as it sets out to be. Your neighborhood webslinger deserves a better game.

While there’s nothing horribly wrong with the experience, there’s just not enough here to recommend it, especially when there are more engaging and polished experiences readily available.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is an entertaining but flawed experience. Beenox has aced the web swinging, but the controls are unreliable and the camera work is horrific at times. It’s apparent that the game was rushed to be released at the same time as the movie.

An unlikely mix of the bland, the predictable, and the surprisingly excellent – which only makes the mediocre end result all the more frustrating.

My biggest disappointment in Spider-Man 2 is not inherently within its flaws or even that it is a licensed game. The problem is that a great game can be seen swimming just beneath the surface of the game that we ultimately got, but a severe lack of polish with the need to rush this out to match the film’s release left what could have been a good game buried under mounds of flaws, issues, and sheer drudgery.

A swing and a miss. The developer has improved the web-swinging mechanic and getting around Spider-Man's Manhattan has never been better. Unfortunately, the rest of the game drags it down. A schizophrenic story, a lifeless New York, and boring villains are what you can expect for the price of entry. The game's Hero/Menace system even takes all the fun out of just randomly swinging around the city.