Nothing is fine. Nothing is ever right. And if they don’t ask Hideo Kojima with the snow of Death Stranding [guiño, guiño]. It’s no secret that lately we’ve received some highly criticized deliveries, but perhaps the issue of criticizing things on social networks has gotten a bit out of hand.
The latest gameplay of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 hasn’t been spared from criticism… and it’s not precisely because of important technical sections for the execution of the game. The main ones have focused on three aspects: the Spider-Man suit with the symbiote, the water and the city.
Peter Parker’s costume with the Symbiote
He Peter Parker costume parasitized by the symbiote (Venom for friends) has not finished conquering all the fans of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. The user @NirvanaM1nd on Twitter He explains it in a tweet with several images:
Translation: A big part of the symbiote’s story is that Peter thinks it’s a cloth-like material (he even mistakes a cloth replica for the real thing) why would you make it look like a living thing? It also ruins the sleek, minimalist design by adding a bunch of meaningless overdesign.
Other comments point out that the design shown in the gameplay of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 it is too complex, especially for having symbiote-style slimy parts and other flat ones that simulate armor. And it is that they are right: why put reinforced areas when the same symbiote is already a perfect protection? Many fans expected a simpler and more uniform design.
Although these are fairly reasonable criticisms, it is likely that many fans have lost sight of an important aspect: if Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 remains similar to its two predecessors, so we can customize the costume of Miles Morales and Peter Parker, and it would not be unreasonable to think of a customization section dedicated to the version with the symbiote. So the criticism is based on one aspect that we can probably change.
New York City and its water are a problem… and not exactly because of Lizard
He water she has never been friends with Spider-Man. She tops the list of least wanted places for the hero next to a desert and space. In Marvel’s Spider-Man and Miles Morales she served as a deterrent so that players would not try to go beyond the limits of the map.
Translation: Spider-Man 2 scenes look amazing! Especially in 4K! My only complaint is the effects of the water. Everything else was amazing! Especially the new wings!
The practical function of water made Insomniac Games not pay as much attention to the water as the rest of the sections of both video games, and it seems that this trend will continue the same in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. Despite the fact that the water will have a slightly greater role, since the map has been extended, its appearance and animations have not met the first expectations.
Once again, the complaint is understandable, although it has a big “but”: requiring that the water from Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 looks like it lives up to many people’s expectations goes against common sense, especially when some users mention sea of thieves. It would be impractical as it has a huge performance impact. We are talking about a video game in which we will spend 99% of the experience balancing between buildings and concrete streets.
I have left the last complaint for last, since (personally) it seems to me the most absurd of all: the return of New York as the setting for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. User JayRock shared this tweet and in comments he expressed just what he insinuates: it is the same city. “It’s literally the same game, but with new mechanics“, reply @shevougnma2514.
The debate about using prequel settings has intensified in recent times with God of War Ragnarök and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and both cases end up showing that going back to the settings we’ve already visited (now changed, improved and more detailed) is all a hit both playable level to give coherence to the narrative. In this case, the criticism is misplaced for three reasons:
- We know that the map will grow with new districts, so it’s fair to say that it will keep the original zones and add new ones. It’s not strictly the same map.
- We’ve only seen 10 minutes of on-rails gameplay. It is unfair to point out that it is “the same city” without knowing what changes it may undergo before and during our adventure.
- Did anyone really expect Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 to take place in another city? New York has always been the hero’s primary city, and there are few places in the world as ideal to unleash his full potential. Maybe someone expected Spider-Man to go to Murcia.
In short: the controversy has reached Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. While the complaints about Peter Parker’s suit with the symbiote and water are understandable, Spider-Man’s re-setting in New York was too obvious to be surprised… let alone screaming.
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