Spider-Man 2 -Enter: Electro-

Spider-Man 2 -Enter: Electro- is a a direct follow up to the 2000's game with the story kicking off right after that whole mess with Doc Ock and the symbiotes was sorted out. Now, Spidey's on the trail of a new threat: Electro, who's putting together a doomsday device called the Bio-Nexus that'll basically turn him into a living god. Along the way, you clash with the likes of Shocker, Hammerhead, Sandman and the Lizard, which is honestly a pretty decent B-list villain lineup. The plot is light, campy and feels like you're playing through episodes of any of his shows, which is part of its charm but it doesn't quite reach the insane heights or have the memorable twists of the first game.

Gameplay-wise, it's essentially more of the same which is both a blessing and a curse. You've got your standard punch, kick and web combos plus the ability to add electric or ice effects to your webs. The controls are pretty much identical to the first game, so if you just beat that one, you can jump right in. A major change they hyped up was the ability to actually play on the ground: in the first game, falling off a building means instadeath, but here you can swing down into street level combat and exploration. It sounds awesome and it's a cool addition in theory, but it's still just a tiny confined grid, not a free roam open world. The levels feel bigger, sure, but the camera is still atrocious, it's way too close to its predecessor, making it tough to see enemies around you and it swings around wildly whenever you try to move. The levels requiring precise climbing are a headache 'cuz you just can't see where you're going.

Visually, the graphics are a bit better than the first game with more detail on Spidey's suit, the artstyle is vibrant and colorful like a comic book but the framerate can get choppy when there's a lot going on, the character models and cutscenes are still super stiff but the voice acting keeps being a major highlight. The combat is functional but hasn't aged gracefully, there's still no button to block or dodge, so you basically have to jump and hope for the best. The new web pulling mechanic used for puzzles and boss fights is clunky too, you have to stand in the exact right spot and spam the button for the game to register what you want. This is a huge problem in the boss fights, especially that first one against Shocker, it's brutally hard 'cuz the controls just don't cooperate. While the game is tough, it still has a Kid Mode which simplifies the controls and skips the trickier sections, so you can choose it if you're struggling and only wanna enjoy the story.