The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Review
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The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Review

Our Review by Lee Hamlet on April 21st, 2014
Rating: starstarstarhalfstarblankstar :: SPIDER-SENSE TINGLING. IN A GOOD WAY
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With great power comes... Ah who cares? I just want to swing!

Developer: Gameloft
Price: $4.99
Version Reviewed: 1.0.0
App Reviewed on: iPad mini Retina

Graphics / Sound Rating: starstarstarstarhalfstar
User Interface Rating: starstarstarhalfstarblankstar
Gameplay Rating: starstarstarhalfstarblankstar
Re-use / Replay Value Rating: starstarstarhalfstarblankstar

Overall Rating: starstarstarhalfstarblankstar

The second Amazing-though-considerably-more-hipster Spider-Man is in theaters everywhere, and with it comes another game that will make us think: "I hope this is as good as Spider-Man 2 on the PS2." Well luckily for all, it's great in it's own way. Up against 6 of his most villainous foes, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 sees the web-head protecting his city the only way he knows how: by cracking a few jokes before kicking them in the face.

Players can refer to their handy GPS for event details, locations of petty crimes or story missions, and a store that houses several unlockable Spidey suits. There are also various collectibles, from comic books to issues of the Daily Bugle, further contributing towards a hefty amount of content for the asking price. The actual gameplay isn't significantly different from last time, and previous problems with repetitive missions still remain, but it's decidedly more polished and refined here.

The open-world New York looks stunning as it glistens in the sunlight, with a much improved draw distance (no more randomly appearing buildings, yay!) and a reduced amount of frame-rate issues this time around. Although it doesn't compare to the detailing and precision present on Spidey himself as he twirls and flips above the city with grace. Swinging is just as fun as it was in the previous game (as should be the case in any Spider-Man game), and many players will lose hours just happily swinging around. The fighting system has improved too, with the addition of some cool slow-mo finishing moves adding to the cool factor, despite the occasionally cumbersome camera angles. Combine that with a slicker, decluttered interface and the result is a gameplay experience that feels more intuitive and natural than ever before.

That doesn't mean that there aren't still some problems here, though. Swinging straight after a free-fall can feel a little jarring, the button layout can be a bit finicky on larger devices (especially during quick-time sections), and the game's nonsensical need for an internet connection at all times will aggravate a lot of players. They seem like minor quibbles, but they add up when gameplay starts to become repetitive.

Though Gameloft have taken a lot of what was wrong with the first game and improved on it, it still struggles to recreate the excitement of the action-packed opening. Nevertheless, fans of the first game will feel right at home with the sequel and will still have tons of web-slinging fun.

iPhone Screenshots

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The Amazing Spider-Man 2 screenshot 1 The Amazing Spider-Man 2 screenshot 2 The Amazing Spider-Man 2 screenshot 3 The Amazing Spider-Man 2 screenshot 4 The Amazing Spider-Man 2 screenshot 5

iPad Screenshots

(click to enlarge)

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 screenshot 6 The Amazing Spider-Man 2 screenshot 7 The Amazing Spider-Man 2 screenshot 8 The Amazing Spider-Man 2 screenshot 9 The Amazing Spider-Man 2 screenshot 10
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