The open-world island of Manhattan in Marvel's Spider-Man is full of side activities to complete and random crimes to thwart. These activities enrich Spider-Man's day-to-day life as a character who fails to perfectly balance the responsibilities of his mild-mannered secret identity and his heroic alter ego.
The criminal activities that players can interrupt in Marvel's Spider-Man include armed robbery, grand theft auto, and assault. Seemingly random crimes have been a staple of open-world Spider-Man games since their debut in Spider-Man 2, which also had players fetch purple balloons and deliver injured individuals to nearby hospitals. However, there is a unique side activity found in other Spider-Man titles that fans would love to see make a return in Marvel's Spider-Man 2.
In terms of which side activities and crimes should be added to Marvel's Spider-Man 2, fans ahve shared their desire to see fire rescue activities. Whether from a freak accident or a calculated arsonist, fire rescue activities would make a unique addition to the activities already introduced in Marvel's Spider-Man and Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales. Fire rescue activities could be implemented in a number of ways, such as players carefully trekking through fiery debris while trying to find any trapped civilians, followed by a QTE to free them all safely.
Ultimate Spider-Man tasked players with halting their pursuit of a villain to rescue civilians caught in the city's collateral destruction, but not dedicated fire rescue activities. However, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 featured a fire rescue side activity that was hit-or-miss with many players. Kbcoolkid suggests that, because Marvel's Spider-Man's spider-sense behaves more intuitively than The Amazing Spider-Man 2's, players wouldn't "have to switch between looking for people" with a transparent visual filter mechanic.
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Instead, the next Marvel's Spider-Man game could perhaps be more cinematic and not rely upon these mechanics. Hit-and-run crimes operate similarly, where players register simple inputs to incapacitate enemies within the vehicle through QTEs. Since these dense interiors would be difficult to maneuver around with fire and rubble everywhere, cinematic QTEs would likely be the best option to keep it as immersive as possible without frustrating the player that is engaging with the activity.
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Players encourage this activity making its way into Marvel's Spider-Man's sequel because they value the small-time ordeals that Spider-Man may come across. Indeed, not every crime or activity needs to be a threat to the whole city, and intermittent apartment fires could provide an engaging activity for players apart from violent assaults and other combat-oriented crimes.
Marvel’s Spider-Man is available now on PS4 and PS5.
