The new Spider-Man video game epics may be released at the same time as Marc Webb's new movie, but the game has very little in common with the film. Admittedly, there are some similar elements like certain villains like Electro and the Green Goblin, but Beenox allowed himself some liberties so as not to remain locked in the shackles of the stupid and nasty license adaptation. Result, we count a much larger number of bad-guys to stretch like the Kingpin, Kraven, Black Cat or even Carnage, which is a bit of a surprise in this episode. A very attractive cast which is unfortunately quickly weighed down by the rest of the game, not at all up to the level of the first episode but especially of current consoles. Graphically first of all, the game easily lags 3-4 years behind. The first episode, The Amazing Spider-Man, was not already very good in 2012 and today, the gap has really widened. This is all the more true when you launch the game on PS4, where you notice how the result is really poor. Not only is the character modeling sketchy, but you also have to see how the animations are in the west, the worst being the – useless – moments where you play as Peter Parker who moves as if he had a broom in his ass, allow me the expression. Worse, by choosing the concept of the open-world game, the little guys from Beenox aimed way too high, because modeling the whole of New York requires time, money and a certain amount of work, three elements that they don't obviously did not have at their disposal. Here again, the result is quite distressing, with neighborhoods that have been copied and pasted, buildings modeled in their simplest form, streets that are sorely lacking in life (with passers-by subscribed to absentees) and vehicles that are limited to 5 models different, the rest being focused on the yellow taxis. There for once, you will see a mess in the streets of New York, so much so that one wonders if there is only that in the game of Beenox.
The fate – disastrous – of a hero
But this lack of taste does not stop on such a good path, because on the gameplay side, it is difficult to keep calm because we are starting to take ourselves for the friend Spidey. So yes, being able to roam freely in New York is a pleasure that we do not hide, but it often happens that the management of movements is a bit hazardous, putting Spider-Man in grotesque situations where he continues to swing from the web canvas, constantly bumping into the walls of buildings. Generally, when it works, our hero must immediately stick to the walls with his powers, but the maneuver is not always taken into account. And when this is the case, it is the camera that acts up, unable to position itself correctly, in order to avoid having the sheaf of looking for a landmark. Suffice to say that the feeling of wandering in austere areas and being constantly lost will never let go, causing truly suffocating anxiety phases. Fortunately, the game is full of functional elements to find your way, starting with a map that always indicates the right route to take, supported by halos of light that can be seen for miles around.
...by choosing the concept of the open-world game, the little guys from Beenox aimed way too high, because modeling the whole of New York requires time, money and a certain amount of work, three elements that they obviously did not have at their disposal.
Like all open world games, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 allows us to approach the game in 2 different ways. The first consists of linking the main missions to advance the story, while the second allows you to do lighter side quests, to increase Spider-Man's XP or fill the shelves of the comic-book store. Stan Lee, who appears in the game. From a lifespan point of view, the title of Beenox is doing pretty well, especially since New York City is full of items to collect here and there. Unfortunately, and this is where the shoe pinches, in terms of variety of actions, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is very limited and often quite repetitive. To try to catch up, the game will draw its ideas from the side of the competition. A bit of Batman Arkham for the combat system, as was the case in the previous episode, a bit of infiltration à la Assassin's Creed and phases of dialogue pumped up from Mass Effect. Basically, no problem. Take the best ideas from others, why not, but it must be done with a minimum of talent. Here, nothing is really solid. The infiltration makes no sense since the AI is completely off its feet and to arouse the suspicions of the guards, you can simply sound the alarm. The different proposed answers during the dialogues are downright useless since it is possible to choose absolutely all the answers, and in the order you want. An aberration which gives rise to absurd sequences where Peter goes through all the emotions without any coherence.
The spider has fallen into the mash
Proof that Beenox, despite the two years of development, really did not have the time (or the means, who knows) for its ambitions, which means that we end up with a game that absolutely wants to touch everything but the done poorly. It would have been better to focus on what was already solid in the first episode, and at the same time offer intelligent novelties. This is really not the case since we have the impression of finding the same game, with the same outdated graphics of 2012, to which we have added a few more bad guys and an unbearable Peter Parker by his attitude and his moldy replicas. And then, just to drive the point home a little more, the 5.1 sound mix ruins the experience even more with a lack of balance between the different speakers. In short, a game to forget as quickly as the film, also very disappointing.
