Spider-Man 2 Preview

Although it hasn't been that long since we last saw Spider-Man 2 for the PSP, the upcoming third-person action adventure game from Activision and developer Vicarious Visions has come quite a ways in preparation for its forthcoming March ship date. Activision recently stopped by with a near-final version of the game to let us see how far it's come since we tooled around with the CES demo in February. Given the positive first impression the game made on us during our initial viewing, it shouldn't be a surprise to hear that it's shaping up well.

Spider-Man 2 will once again tell the tale of Peter Parker, the world's most famous nerd who made good, and how he deals with the responsibilities of possessing superpowers. The game will take the same basic approach as the previous offerings Activision has released based on the film, but it will serve up an adventure that has the movie's main action at its core, though it will be fleshed out with the addition of villains pulled from the long-running comic. Comic aficionados will be right at home as they face off against Mysterio, the Rhino, the Shocker, and the Vulture in an adventure that charges you with protecting Manhattan from evil, while also coping with Peter's baggage-heavy private life. The story will unfold differently from what we've seen in the other versions of the game thanks to new cinematics created especially for it. However, you'll still wind up facing off against Doc Ock.

Spider-Man 2 for the PSP will bear only a passing resemblance to the console versions based on the film. Vicarious Visions' spin on the game has a unique "best of" feel that combines the familiar story elements we've seen done for Spider-Man 2 before but wraps them in gameplay mechanics that mix the best elements of the console versions based on the two movies. The results so far yield a game that's fun to play and looks great, too.

As far as gameplay goes, Spider-Man 2 uses the linear structure seen in the first Spider-Man movie game and requires you to work through a linear progression of levels that throws a variety of challenges at you. Along the way, you'll face off against the aforementioned Rogue's Gallery of villains in impressive boss fights. Spider-Man 2 also features ties to the first game's play mechanics thanks to a simplified webswinging system that's much more user-friendly than the recent console version's more realistic approach, which required you to really web an actual object to move. But rather than rely on the first game's simplistic fighting system, Spider-Man 2 draws inspiration from the most recent console release by fleshing out the first game's brawling by mixing it with the second one's more robust fighting mechanics. The mix works well and ends up offering a much better feel than either of the two console versions. But like any good Spider-Man game, you'll find yourself doing more than fighting and webswinging. There are civilians to be rescued and other tasks to be performed that will require you to think and act like a hero. The economy makes it worth your while to rescue civilians, web up objects, and solve puzzles, because you'll earn points you can use to power up your webslinging hero, whether they're for buffing up his stats or fleshing out his impressive selection of combat moves.

If you're a little leery about how the PSP version handles because the first or second movie-based console game did you wrong, know this: Spider-Man 2 for the PSP has a much more accessible feel and level of balance, which should make it easier on those traumatized by the previous entries in the series. Combat is balanced pretty well, and the webswinging segments are much more bearable thanks to not having to worry about whether or not you're attached to something.

The graphics are mighty impressive and are easily on par with the recent console games of the same name. Spider-Man is the star of this gig, and he looks great. Meanwhile, the supporting cast members seem to come in varying degrees of good. The environments are impressively expansive in their feels, which is especially noticeable when you start to get your open-air webswinging on. The animation is fairly smooth and well done. The camera is a little rough around the edges, but it manages to work pretty well nonetheless. From a performance standpoint, the frame rate is impressively fast, which is very welcome.

The audio hits all the right notes and should satisfy fans of the movie. You'll hear Toby Maguire bring Peter Parker to life, and you'll be treated to music bits from the film's score. The sound effects will stay true to the other console versions to sell the experience of hopping around and webbing bad guys while wearing tights.

Based on the much more polished version we played, we have to say that Spider-Man 2 has come together well. We're pleased to see it's more than just a port of the console versions, and we're especially impressed with its level of graphic quality. The varied gameplay has a good amount of charm thanks to its blending of the best elements of both games, so it should have broad appeal. The only rough spots to be seen so far regard some graphical glitches that should be fixed, the sometimes finicky camera, and the load times, which, while not terrible, can be a little long. Still, these few odds and ends aside, anyone looking for some web-tastic third-person action on the PSP should keep an eye out for Spider-Man 2 when it ships this March to coincide with the PSP launch in the US.