It always manages to draw you back to playing it's fun presentation of a day in Spidey's life.
I picked this game up the day it was first available in the US for my PS2; June 29th 2004. A day before the movie release. To say the least I was excited; possibly more so for the game than the movie simply because of the possibilities the free-roaming could bring. Neither disappointed.
The game has great gameplay. The web-swinging physics are top notch here. No other Spider-Man game has matched the thrill and the rush you get from swinging in Spider-Man 2. Realistic physics matched with fast speeds. Combat displayed the most agile we've seen Spidey in gaming at that point. It has a much more fluid system compared to the more stiff combat of previous Spidey games. Bosses are for the most part, pretty challenging; it'll probably take you at least a few try's to defeat a boss depending on how good a gamer you are.
Missions can get repetitive over time but Spider-Man 3 wasn't any better in these terms. Perhaps even worse even though it was promised to be better. The game offers the best video game interpretation of what it's like to be in a day in the life of Spider-Man - take pictures for the Bugle, meet MJ somewhere, deliver some pizzas for cash and fight some crime. All of this also revolves around the game's great story. It's a much more cohesive one that has many fun subplots and characters popping up that makes it feel like a great comic book story.
Some may consider the graphics to be not up to par with the (at the point this game was released) previous Spider-Man game; Spider-Man: The Movie. Which can be forgiven seeing how big the city looks. Meaning lots of things to render in the huge New York City. The game still looks great aside that. The game has some beautiful night to day transitions, respectable draw distances and a pretty accurate New York despite some building's heights varying from that of their real life counterparts.
The game has an above average soundtrack. Some really cool themes and some so-so ones. All of which is by the industrial band KMFDM. The Spidey theme in the game a very nice orchestral theme reminiscent of Danny Elfman's theme from the movies and plays in several different tones throughout the game. Easily the best theme I've heard in a movie game; I'm always seeming to get it stuck in my head so that should say something. I love the rock-take on the original Spider-Man theme song which is performed by the Distillers here and can be heard in the end credits for the game.
Voice acting is a mixed bag. Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, and Alfred Molina all reprise their roles from the movies which is a definite plus. Bruce Campbell once again will steal the show as the hilarious tour guide; and has way more lines this time around. But, civilians and thugs in particular have cringe-worthy voices. Some of citizens that comment on you throughout the game may have some corny lines or poor deliveries but it enhances what they were trying to go for; a living New York City in a game's engine.
Game has lots of replay value. Once you beat the game there's still a lot of stuff to do; earn Hero Points, take pictures, deliver pizza, stop crimes, find all kinds of hidden tokens, bunches of easter eggs throughout the city, races, earn awards and exploring the huge city finding gang hideouts and whatnot. I'm still finding new stuff from this four years later. Even committing the occasional suicide from jumping the Empire State building, landing on a helicopter's propeller, or running into a train full speed can provide some nice entertainment.
Best I end that here. Bottom line; a game that nails the spirit of the character in every single aspect and is easily my favorite Spidey game to date.