Highlights

  • Marvel's Spider-Man 2 improved upon its predecessor with better web-swinging, combat, and a more satisfying Platinum Trophy journey. However, Insomniac could still learn from the 2004 Spider-Man 2 for its next entry.
  • Treyarch's Spider-Man 2, released 20 years ago, is a beloved game with a grand adventure and free-roaming NYC exploration.
  • Insomniac's Spider-Man series could learn from the 2004 game's focus on side villains, goofy mini-games, and certain traversal elements.

Last year, Marvel's Spider-Man 2 took the world by storm. The long-awaited full sequel to Insomniac's 2018 critical and commercial smash hit, Marvel's Spider-Man 2 was another huge hit with critics, taking all of its predecessor's components and improving upon them in some significant ways. Better web-swinging, better combat, and even a more satisfying Platinum Trophy journey were all just some of Marvel's Spider-Man 2's biggest improvements. But Insomniac's game wasn't the first to brandish the Spider-Man 2 title.

Released 20 years ago today - on June 29, 2004 - Treyarch's Spider-Man 2 is one of the most beloved games of the PS2 and original Xbox era, and one of the greatest movie tie-in games of all time. Using its source material as only a jumping-off point for a much grander adventure, Spider-Man 2 was the first game to really capture that feeling of being Spider-Man, letting players freely swing through a bustling New York City, stopping crimes and saving citizens. Spider-Man 2's graphics and some elements of its gameplay may be a little dated now, but even 20 years later, there's still quite a bit Spider-Man 2 can teach Insomniac Games.

marvels-spider-man-peter-parker-miles-morales-madame-web
Related
Marvel's Spider-Man 3 Could Offer Madame Web the Redemption She Deserves

Marvel's Spider-Man has teased a new potential villain, and this route could be the perfect opportunity to do Madame Web the right way.

20 Years Later, Spider-Man 2 Still Acts as a Great Blueprint for the Wall-Crawler

Spider-Man 2's Focus on Side Villains Needs to Return

In Insomniac's Spider-Man series, minor villains – those outside the Sinister Six – are often a bit of a fleeting presence. While Shocker gets one or two missions in the first Spider-Man, and Tombstone gets a sizable side quest, both Miles Morales and Marvel's Spider-Man 2 spend the vast majority of their runtime focused on their primary villains. This feels especially true with Marvel's Spider-Man 2, where villains like Carnage and Chameleon are only briefly teased at the end of lengthy side quest chains.

2004's Spider-Man 2, on the other hand, puts its minor villains front and center. Though there are a few Doc Ock fights sprinkled throughout the game, the majority of Spider-Man 2's runtime is dedicated to lower-ranked villains like Shocker, who receives multiple boss fights. It would be great to see Insomniac's universe dive a little deeper into the lesser-known parts of the hero's rogue's gallery. Black Cat also plays a pivotal role in Spider-Man 2's story, appearing frequently throughout to encourage Peter to lean into his darker side, but eventually pushing him closer to the light. Though Black Cat got her time to shine in Marvel's Spider-Man's DLC, she was written out of Marvel's Spider-Man 2 quite quickly.

Spider-Man 2's Goofy Mini-Game Reminds Players to Have Fun

One of the most iconic elements of the 2004 Spider-Man 2 game is its pizza delivery mini-game, where players need to make a mad dash across New York while an intensely jazzy version of "Funiculi, Funicula" plays. This mini-game is oddly difficult and tonally bizarre, but it does a great job of reminding players of the goofier side of the Spider-Man character, which is something that Insomniac's universe might benefit from having a little more of.

Spider-Man 2's Traversal Still Has a Few Tricks to Teach Insomniac

Back when Marvel's Spider-Man released in 2018, there was a big debate among fans over which game had the best web-swinging between Spider-Man 2 and Insomniac's entry. Marvel's Spider-Man 2 has largely ended that debate, going above and beyond in terms of web-swinging mechanics and traversal abilities. But even then, there are one or two traversal elements from Spider-Man 2 that could be used in a future Insomniac Spider-Man game. For instance, the ability to manually swing off traffic lights and lampposts would be great to see.