Perils of Peter Parker
Spider-Man® 2 from Activision and developer Treyarch lets you step into the thin-soled shoes of everyone’s favorite wallcrawler (J. Jonah Jameson’s opinion notwithstanding).Spider-Man is always a welcome sight for a Manhattanite in trouble. In addition to storyline missions (white icon), odd jobs like pizza delivery (yellow icon), and petty crimes (purple icon), the bulk of Spider-Man’s random heroism will involve homing in on the green icon, which indicates citizens in need (or suckers him into an ambush, but we’ll get to that). If you want to be a real spider-powered superteen—and win all the awards and hero points that entails—you should refer to this handy guide.
Stick to that stolen car and start whackin’.
Carjacking
As Tobey Maguire intones in one of videogame Spider-Man’s best quips, he has “issues with carjackers” … and boy does he get the chance to avenge his Uncle Ben in this game. This is one of many missions that involve running down a car and jumping on top of it. (It’s not as hard as it sounds. Just remember to charge your jump and use Web Zip to catch up quickly.) Pummel the car, but hit B to dodge a bullet from inside the car every time Spider-Man’s head flashes. Once the car’s Health Meter is empty, the crooks will jump out and fight you hand-to-hand. There are usually four, max, and shouldn’t give you much trouble. This set-up is almost identical, in gameplay terms, to the police chase mission—except, in that case, your motivation is stopping the crazy drivers trying to elude the cops, rather than getting someone’s car back for them.
Armored Car Robbery
This mission starts off with a quick look at the scene, where a random number of crooks are holding any number of guards hostage. Race to the crime scene and jump into the fray. (You can also hit X to free the guards for extra hero points, but there’s no need to do it until the bad guys are out of the way.) Once you pound enough of the robbers, the last couple will hop into a car and lead to a variation on the carjacking scenario.
Yikes! That guy’s going to fall!
Somebody’s Shooting Over There
When gangs get into shootouts with the cops, it’s your chance to swing to the rescue and practice your thug-disarming move. (Tap Y to yank a gun out of a crook’s hand or blind him if he’s unarmed). Stop enough shootouts, and the cops will even deputize you.
Spider-Man, That Person’s Going to Fall
Yeesh! Hasn’t safety-line technology reached the New York Window Washer’s Union yet? Apparently not because only Spider-Man can save the many, many people who somehow lose their footing and find themselves hanging fromgreat heights. These missions can be among the trickiest, since the hanging fool is always a few buildings away and you have very little time to reach him. Instead of trying to head for the icon onscreen, look for the target icon in the lower-right-corner mini map. The hanger will be easier to pinpoint that way. Once you’re within range, just hit Y to web him up and stop the clock. Then, mess with the poor fool’s head by jumping all the way to the ground anyway.
She’s Needs to Get to the Hospital
If you need some quick health, you could do worse than this milk run. A citizen will tell you someone a few blocks away has been injured and is near death. (Why isn’t the person telling you this anywhere near the injured person? The ol’ Parker luck, we have to assume.) Once you find the injured person, web them up like a dangling window washer and head to one of Manhattan’s six hospitals. (The game will target the nearest one for you.) Get there fast, and you’ll get more points.
Spider-Manplays paramedic.
Variations on a Theme
Certain story events (like Mysterio’s alien invasion and a criminal hardware auction on the docks) will open new random missions, most of which involve fighting robots and thugs in giant armored suits. The robots aren’t that tricky and give you opportunities to show off your stuff in the air. The armored suits, on the other hand, are mighty difficult. You might even need to go grab a balloon in the middle of the fight just to keep your health up.
By Ben Barker
