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Howdy, true believers! Last week, we were fortunate enough to be treated to a quick test drive of the final build of Spider-Man 2, coming out on all console platforms (PS2/XBOX/GC) day-and-date with the movie, on June 29th (if you’re an enormous fan and happen to be going to the midnight show). Before we were allowed to embark on our own personal web-slinging journey, we were treated to a tour of virtual Manhattan, courtesy of Treyarch’s very own Gregory John and Activision’s Juan Valdes. The first immediate thing you will notice when playing is the sheer scope of the world. Manhattan is meticulously crafted at ¼-scale, with the complete bustling city streaming in real-time with no loading whatsoever. You will instantly recognize familiar sights, most notably the Statue of Liberty, Central Park, the Empire State Building and Times Square, just to name a few. The moment that Spider-Man leaps from a building and begins to swing from web to web, it becomes abundantly clear to me how much fun is to be had. Suddenly our webhead is swinging from a line connected to a moving helicopter, allowing him to land on our Lady Liberty’s outstretched arm. I’m thinking to myself, I cannot wait to get my hands on the controller.
  
The next thing we witnessed was the updated combat and encounter system. Sometimes random crimes will happen around the city that you must respond to, while other times you select a mission to undertake. Unlike the last Spider-Man movie game, the combat is much deeper. Spidey has a wealth of different moves and devastating acrobatic combos, all attached to a rag-doll physics system. He can attack with either fisticuffs or a web attack. We saw Spidey tangle up a foe with his web and then attach him hanging by a swinging line from a streetlight, turning the baddy into a veritable punching bag. Another memorable moment was when Spider-Man swung an enemy attached to his web line in a full circle, knocking down oncoming threats. More skilled abilities and attacks can be purchased at stores with Hero Points, the games’ form of currency. Another notable item is the in-game map. Spider-Man can jump to it at any point during the game, by hitting one button, and it zooms completely to an overhead shot of Manhattan, preserving the real-time nature of the game. You can zoom in and zoom out as well as cycle through all the different game landmarks and objectives. The last funny thing we saw was Spidey plunging freefall from the top of the Empire State Building, splattering onto the concrete where he cracked his back and did not come to. As morbid as this sounds, it was truly a sight to behold - but remember - always use your web to avoid such a tragedy.   
While the game presents itself in a non-linear fashion, at all times the single player story, based on the movies’ events, is being weaved into your adventures. Boss encounters are sure to be a comic fan’s dream with notable appearances by Rhino, Shocker, Mysterio and the movie’s super villain, Doctor Octopus. Also of note was the brief showing of long-time ally and bitter lover Black Cat. We saw one boss battle against Shocker, which was in the interior of a warehouse. As our friendly webhead dodged Shocker’s globular electrical shockwave blast attacks, it was clear that the boss fights would be much more detailed than that of the previous game.   
Finally, it was my turn at the controls. I started the game from the beginning tutorial, and was introduced to our hero’s ability to climb any surface. It is basically the same as the last game, however this time you can sprint across buildings as well as build up momentum to jump, which gives a super leap to spring into the air. Next up was web swinging. At first it was a little difficult to get used to, but in a few minutes I was starting to feel like Spider-Man. You control the line’s physics with the left analog stick, allowing subtle turns and swaying to the left and right, resulting in some fantastic maneuvers. In no time I was swinging from building to building, making hairpin turns, and jumping from web to web. If you time the apex of your swing, you will get a higher leap to the next web, which makes things a whole lot smoother. At any time you can detach from your web, stick to your landing and begin to crawl like a spider. Treyarch told us that it took about six months of prototyping and testing to get the physics and the feeling of soaring in the air just right, and it looks like all that hard work paid off.   
This time around, all the main characters from the movie will be voiced by the real on-screen talent. Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, and Alfred Molina lend their voices as Spider-Man/Peter Parker, Mary Jane Watson, and Doc Ock respectively. The soundtrack however, is not from the movie, instead primarily from KMFDM. Activision and Treyarch, in conjunction with Sony Pictures and Marvel, have really gone the extra mile on production values, and this is shaping up to be a winner. When I posed the question to Gregory whether we should see the movie or play the game first, after a little contemplation he said to watch the movie so as not to spoil the game, so take note. Even though not much is known about the single player story yet, by the time I was finished tooling around Manhattan, it was clear to me that I wanted to play more. Check back soon for a full review, along with a review of the movie to follow. Until then, this is Peter Parker, signing off. “I am Spider-Man!"
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