Summary
Insomniac’sMarvel’s Spider-Manseries nails its weighty yet fluid web-swinging mechanics, aerial combat and web-based gadgets, and spectacular playable set pieces to make its gameplay remarkable. To balance that,Insomniac’sSpider-Manseriesalso throws in some science puzzles and walking-and-talking sections to make Peter Parker as memorable and engaging as his alter ego.
But Insomniac’sSpider-Manseries doesn’t just put players in the shoes of the titular web-slinger. Across the series, players also occasionally take control of Mary Jane Watson. These missions see players sneak around environments and use light stealth mechanics to distract guards, locate evidence, and avoid enemy patrols. These MJ missions were a major point of criticism for Insomniac’s firstSpider-Mangame, but against all odds, they returned in last year’s sequel and are a lot better than they’re often given credit for.
Defending Marvel’s Spider-Man 2’s MJ Missions
Insomniac Didn’t Take The Easy Way Out
By far the biggestcriticism of 2018’sSpider-Manwas the game’s MJ missions. In this first iteration, MJ’s missions felt rather repetitive and meandering, never really evolving throughout the game and always feeling like an awkward break in its otherwise excellent pacing. When Insomniac announced back in 2021 that it was working on a sequel, MJ missions would immediately be on a shortlist of features players hoped wouldn’t make it back. But, much to their dismay,Marvel’s Spider-Man 2would end up delivering its own set of MJ-focused missions.
Despite all of thecriticism these stealth-oriented MJ missions receivedin their first iteration, Insomniac refused to take the easy way out and simply drop them from the sequel, believing them to be an integral part of the series as they offered a different perspective on the game’s world, characters, and action. While this is a commendable decision, it’s a fairly risky one, and thankfully Insomniac went to great lengths to try and improve these MJ missions forMarvel’s Spider-Man 2.
Spider-Man 2’s MJ Missions Are a Significant Improvement
Some of the biggest criticisms surroundingMarvel’s Spider-Man’s MJ missionswere their lack of player agency, as well as their linearity, repetitiveness, and frequency, and for the most partMarvel’s Spider-Man 2tries its very best to rectify all of these issues. InMarvel’s Spider-Man 2, MJ features in just three missions, all of which give the player an increasing amount of agency. Plus, MJ missions aren’t all about pure stealth this time around and give her a legitimate weapon to take down hunters with.
How MJ can dismantle waves of Kraven’s hunters is still a bit of a hurdle in terms of suspending disbelief, even with a quick one-liner about training with Sable as a way to justify her newfound espionage tactics.
In the first mission, players are sneaking through an enemy encampment and are encouraged to avoid enemy patrols completely. In the second mission, players have a bit more agency in which routes they can take and how many enemies they can stun. In the third mission, the game essentially evolves into a third-person shooter with MJ blasting her way through hordes of symbiotes.
It gets a little outlandish by the end, but there’s no doubt thatSpider-Man 2’s playable MJ sequences hold narrative weightand are a whole lot more exciting and varied than those in the original title. These missions also occur at much more natural points inSpider-Man 2’s story. Though they still drag down the pacing a little,Spider-Man 2’s MJ missions feel like a necessary break amid the non-stop action of swinging around the city as two Spider-Men.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
WHERE TO PLAY
Spider-Men Peter Parker and Miles Morales face the ultimate test of strength inside and outside the mask as they fight to save the city, each other and the ones they love, from the monstrous Venom and the dangerous new symbiote threat.Explore an expansive Marvel’s New York with faster web-swinging and the all-new Web Wings, quickly switching between Peter and Miles to experience different stories, epic new abilities and high-tech gear.Wield Peter’s symbiote abilities and Miles’ explosive bio-electric powers in battle against new and iconic Marvel Super Villains – including an original take on a symbiote-infused Venom, the ruthless Kraven the Hunter, the volatile Lizard, and more from the Marvel Rogues’ Gallery.
