If you're a fan of Spider-Man, as I am, you'll be pleased to see such a good looking game featuring your favorite web-head. Spider-Man 2 the game is loosely based off of Spider-Man 2 the movie, so unfortunately, you've got the movie version of Spidey's costume, including the reflective eyes. However, the game pulls it off very well, offering nice reflection effects in a lot of reflective surfaces, from Spidey's eyes to the buildings and car windows.

The character models are done very well, from those you'd expect, such as Doctor Octavius and Mary Jane, to other characters that weren't in the Spider-Man 2 movie - Felicia Harding has never looked so good! The interface is pretty slick and includes a neat 3D overhead 'Spidey-eye' view of New York, which, by the way, you are free to explore and websling throughout.

The sound effects and music are pretty good, helping to reinforce the game without standing out too much. The large amount of voice acting needed for Spider-Man's voice is actually provided by Tobey Maguire, just like in the movies; the game's narration is handled by none other than Bruce Campbell. Don't skip past the tutorial stuff, Campbell's fun to listen to. The only aggravating part of the vocals are the 'bit part' vocals, particularly the people who work at hospitals - often they'll say "You got him here just in time," when you drop off a girl, for example.

Treyarch's Spider-Man 2 gives you more excitement than the movie offers, with some of Spidey's most familiar baddies; in addition to Doc Ock, there are also Black Cat, Rhino and Mysterio - to name a few. This game doesn't contradict the movie, mind you, it simply offers some insight into other things your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man might have had to deal with at the same time. From fighting crime to delivering pizzas to just trying to make it to class on time, you'll find that the challenges of being Peter Parker are there for you to experience.

I have never seen the dynamics of webslinging handled anywhere near as well as in Spider-Man 2. You have a great amount of control over your speed, distance, direction - you can even hold onto more than one web at a time and slingshot yourself. Spider-Man 2 is the first game that offers a simulation of actually webslinging around New York. (Now if it only had a first person view...)

The parts of Spider-Man 2 that aren't found in the movie don't detract from the story at all. It seems that the folks at Treyarch just wanted to give gamers as much of everything as they could. That comes through in spades. There's more action, more exploring and more upgradability than I ever would have expected in a Spider-Man title. Some of the ways that the upgrading is handled is a bit of a simplification, and seems more like it's shoehorning Spidey into an RPG format, where you 'buy' your upgrades. But no matter how 'hokey' that can seem sometimes, it really works for Spider-Man 2 - Treyarch seems to have a good grip on walking the thin line between Spider-Man 2 the movie, and making the game for the PS2. What you end up with is all of the good parts that the license could offer without the limitations. You get all the realism that wouldn't stand in the way of fun.

Peter Parker is a man with problems. You step into his shoes and you can expect for your life to get difficult; luckily, Spider-Man 2 does a pretty good job of easing you into it.

The controls are not hard to get a hang of (pun intended), and with a little work, you'll find yourself in the swing of things very soon. Spider-Man 2 tends to not be too demanding early on; as you progress through the game, you'll get better at slinging the web, and you'll find that you'll be faced with challenges that require you to be a little faster or a little more accurate. There is a balance to the difficulty, however, and if at any time you find that you can't progress past the mission at hand, you can restart the level and either buy upgrades, race around the city, or simply practice on some minor street thugs until you're ready to take another crack at the mission that's holding you back.

Spider-Man 2 is an excellent example of a game that is easy to pick up, but difficult to master - a balance that game developers strive to accomplish.

Perfection is a path, not a destination, but Treyarch seems to have a pretty good map. Spider-Man 2 is an excellent mix of movie license, realistic expanded story and events, free-roaming exploration, rewarding webslinging dynamics, and good production value. If you like Spider-Man, you should run out and pick this one up. It's the best use of a Marvel license I've seen to date.