Marvel's Spider-Man 2 Review: 4 Ups & 2 Downs

1. New Enemies & Boss Battles Provide Challenge & Thrills Aplenty

Of course, it's not just the two Spider-Men who have seen upgrades for Marvel's Spider-Man 2. Enemies have also gotten in on the act, with Insomniac introducing new brute and weapon-focused enemy types that can really cause a headache if you aren't being careful.

Certain enemies in Kraven's faction will make full use of a space's verticality, firing arrows, nets, and grenades your way while pinging between surfaces. Attacks from some of these new enemies also need to be parried rather than dodged - an adjustment that did admittedly take some getting used to, particularly with the parry symbol being similar to the generic spidey-sense, but once those old habits had died hard I was integrating parries, wall bounces, gadgets and abilities seamlessly together in a way that made combat one gorgeous ballet of carnage.

This ballet of carnage also extends to the boss fights of Marvel's Spider-Man 2, and I must say that I'm particularly impressed with how Insomniac continues to seamlessly apply core gameplay tenets to the series' big bads. This feature was already a highlight of Marvel's Spider-Man and Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, but it's taken to another level here. Boss fights feel more elaborate, epic, and intuitive than ever, and each will react to your gadgets, abilities, and combos in their own unique ways. There are some all-timer confrontations here, one of which comes right at the very beginning - but all of them are really strong - whether it's the epic, multi-sequence chases that force you to employ new features like web-wings, or those boss battles that are restricted to just one location.