Capturing the essence of iconic characters is always a struggle for video games, but Insomniac Games seems to have done it amazingly with Marvel's Spider-Man 2. Just like its predecessor, the game goes a long way in making players truly feel like the popular web-swinger. Not only has it crafted a fantastic traversal system that players will not soon forget, but it also filled the world with classic Spidey activities that fans of the character would expect from a game like this. Many of those activities feel exactly like what a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man would do.

While the focus of Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is on stopping Kraven and Venom, there is also a plethora of side content to engage with. Much of this side content involves unique collectibles, but there are also a few side quests and stories that are a joy to play. Almost all of them see Spider-Man helping the people of his community, which is all that the character ever wants to do.

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Being the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is a Blast

One of the core aspects of Spider-Man is that he is all about his community. There is a reason that he is given the moniker Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. Even though he may spend a lot of his time taking out massive superpowered foes from his Marvel rogues' gallery, he often takes the time to help everyone in his community, but many of his recent adaptations do not often put that aspect on full display.

Right now, the focus of live-action Spider-Man projects are on Tom Holland's MCU iteration. While Spider-Man: Homecoming involved many scenes of Spidey helping the people of New York City, his two sequels featured less of that as he became more of an Avengers-level character. That may have led to some fantastic adventures, but it also seems to have forgotten a bit about what makes Spidey so special in the process. Luckily, Insomniac Games seems to know exactly what fans want.

Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is filled to the brim with unique side activities that put a different side of Spidey on display. One of the first major side stories players will unlock is a quest chain centered around Brooklyn Visions Academy. Through these missions, Miles Morales will help his fellow students with all sorts of different problems. He will help track down a missing teacher, assist someone with their homecoming proposal, help a student take photos for a project, and even help the school deal with a senior prank.

Along with that, there are also many other side activities that show Spider-Man at his best. Miles can help ensure the Cultural Center in Harlem has a bright future, Peter can stop a group of arsonists in New York's streets, and there are countless FNSM App requests that see the Spider-Men helping in so many ways. Some of these mission even put players in control of Marvel's Spider-Man side characters like Hailey, which leads to some unique gameplay that is a nice change of pace from the high-stakes nature of the rest of the game.

Some of these missions may not be the most exciting, but the fact that they actually make Spider-Man feel like he is a part of the neighborhood helps make up for that. It also goes a long way in making New York City actually feel real because there are so many interesting stories it has to tell throughout the duration of Marvel's Spider-Man 2. Hopefully, this approach carries over to whatever Insomniac does next with the character, and maybe it can even influence Peter's next MCU outing a bit. Many fans want to see this side of the character more, so any project that can deliver that is a nice treat.

Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is available now on PS5.

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