The Amazing Spider-Man 2 review for PS4, Xbox One

Before I say anything else about The Amazing Spider-Man 2, a quick comparison:

• Killzone: Shadow Fall: 36 GB
• Knack: 33 GB
• inFamous: Second Son: 20 GB
• Thief: 19 GB
• The Amazing Spider-Man 2: 8 GB to install

In other words, if you’re going into ASM2 on PS4 hoping for any kind of transcendent next-gen experience, you’ll probably wind up more than a little disappointed. There are a few places that have some nice-looking visuals, but in general, there’s nothing here that you couldn’t have gotten on the previous generation’s consoles.

Now, if you’re going into it simply hoping for another enjoyable Spider-Man game from Beenox, then the news is a little better. Basically, they took everything that made their last Spidey game good, and duplicated it. You want a big, populated New York City to swing around in? It’s here. You want a bustling city full of people — and, more importantly, crimes to fight? Also here. Round that out with a whole bunch of bad guys to fight and all kinds of collectibles to find, and you have all the ingredients for a fun superhero game.

Perhaps the best aspect of The Amazing Spider-Man 2, however, is what’s not here. Specifically, rather than tying the game in with the events of the overstuffed, overlong movie, what goes on here is only tangentially related to the film. There’s some overlap, in that this game also features Spider-Man, Harry Osborne and company, but in general, the game is designed to stand up on its own merits.

And, as I said, it’s got quite a few of those. Whatever drawbacks there may be in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 not looking as good as some other next-gen games, they’re more than made up for by the volume of other fun little things. The comic books floating around the city, all of which are stored in the comic shop of a man named Stan. The wide range of different Spidey suits waiting to be unlocked. The way crime seems to increase and get more and more urgent the further you get into the game. All those things and more go into making ASM 2’s New York City a fun place to live.

I understand, of course, that some people may be skeptical. After all, we’re talking about a movie tie-in game, and those don’t exactly have the greatest track records (even if I still believe Captain America: Super Soldier is a woefully underrated gem). The more I play The Amazing Spider-Man 2, however, the more I’m viewing it as a superhero game that just happened to have come out at the same time as a movie wih the same name. Obviously, there’s a little more corporate synergy at work than that, but it’s a sign of this game’s quality that it 100% stands up on its own.