Activision's Treyarch-developed action game based on Spider-Man struck a chord with gamers when it was released in 2002. The game marked a bright light in an otherwise depressing landscape of games based on movies that didn't quite capture their source material very well. Treyarch's multiplatform game managed to serve up an experience that was a solid complement to the excellent film. With its follow-up, Spider-Man 2, Treyarch is aiming to top its previous effort and build on its solid first game. The result is an ambitious, open-ended game that looks extremely promising. We had the chance to get an exclusive look at a near-final version of the game, and we're pleased by what we've seen.

Spider-Man goes toe-to-toe with the malevolent Dr. Octopus, and a whole bunch of petty crooks, in Spider-Man 2.

For anyone unfamiliar with Marvel's Spider-Man, we offer this brief primer: Spider-Man is one of the icons from Marvel Comics' sizable arsenal of characters who were brought to life in the late 1960s. The webslinging hero is actually Peter Parker, a nerdy high school student who is bitten by a radioactive spider and is granted superhuman strength and the ability to stick to walls. (Yes, kids, this was back in the days when radiation could do magical things to your body rather than just kill you quicker than a canary in a gassy mine.) Following the death of his uncle, young Peter sets out to fight crime in his homemade superhero outfit while living a normal life on the side. 2002's film and game of the same name introduced the webslinging hero to the masses and served as an excellent start to a movie and game series. Spider-Man 2 aims to have some fun with what has been established.

While details on the upcoming movie's plot have been kept to the basics, the latest trailer for the movie offers a pretty tantalizing glimpse of what to expect, which, in turn, serves as a good teaser for the game. Spider-Man 2 puts you in the role of young Peter as he lives through a new set of challenges. The game's story will take the same approach as its predecessor and will expand on the film's narrative.

The main tale will follow Peter Parker as he struggles to balance his normal life with the demands of stopping crime while wearing red and blue tights. His latest challenge is one Otto Octavius--aka Doctor Octopus, for comic fans in the know--a scientist at Oscorp who ends up with a few extra appendages and a rather shaky mental state following a work-related accident. The game will add a few extra villains to the mix to make things even more complicated for young Peter, so plan on seeing familiar faces, such as Mysterio and the Rhino, over the course of your adventure.

The tale will play out in an open-ended fashion that marks a distinct change from the first game, which followed a linear path through a series of levels. Spider-Man 2 will use a variation of Grand Theft Auto-style free-roaming gameplay and offer you a good degree of freedom. You'll have a fat chunk of Manhattan, from the financial district to Harlem, to explore in your adventures. You'll access missions by interacting with locals who are sporting specific icons above their heads. The missions you take on will come in three color-coded varieties: You'll find story-specific missions that will advance the plot, random missions that will crop up as you go about your business, and challenge missions that will test your inner Spider-Man by asking you to perform progressively harder feats of skill. You'll progress from chapter to chapter by completing the story-specific missions you're tasked with at the start of each chapter. Until you complete the missions, you can roam the city and take on whatever errands you like. Your main motivation for doing so, aside from the fact that it's pretty darn fun to zip around, is that you'll earn "hero points" you can redeem in stores for new moves and other unlockable content.

The new sequel will give you plenty of ways to beat the tar out of lawbreakers.

Spider-Man 2's play mechanics have changed some from the first game, though they are similar in spirit to the game's structure in that you're given an impressive amount of freedom. You'll have two types of webswinging--normal and easy--to choose from. Normal offers full manual control when you're swinging on a webline. While the system is somewhat similar to the classic and enhanced modes from the first game, you'll find that normal mode's manual control offers a great deal more control. The normal system is a little tricky at first, since you'll have to decide when to release your webline (usually at the height of a swing for maximum air) and fire off another, but once you get it down you'll find that zipping through the city and even making sharp turns is surprisingly easy.

Webswinging is given an extra bit of oomph, thanks to the new physics and momentum system added to the game, which allows you to use gravity to your advantage when webslinging. The game now takes into account where your weblines attach, so it's possible to hitch a ride on helicopters. The team has even thrown in support for dual-webline swinging, which adds a bit of depth to your travels.