With the upcoming release of Spider-Man 2, there are sure to be a lot on excited players’ minds when they see a trailer or read a review. As with all game releases, there’s a lot to consider when it comes to getting ready for the launch, be it your storage being low, techniques being rusty or memory being hazy, so here’s 10 ways to prepare for the release of Spider-Man 2.
1. Catch Up On the First Two Games
This almost feels redundant, but you really should give yourself a nice refresher on Spider-Man and Spider-Man: Miles Morales prior to the new game’s release. While knowing about the general lore of the characters should definitely help you understand what’s going on, there have been a few things in the games that differ from the way things played out in the comics or movies and might be a surprise if you didn’t play it already.
On top of just knowing what’s what in the story, the first two games are also downright compelling, smooth and fun games to play. Regardless of how concerned you are with the story information, it’s worth it just to play the games so that you know how the combat flows and what the lay of the land is like. Plus, you’ve got some sweet DLC you can enjoy for the first game, if you’ve got time.
2. Make Note of Important Landmarks
It’s not to say that Spider-Man 2 is going to rely heavily on locations and landmarks from the first two games, but it’s always nice to know what’s what and where to find it. There are certain locations that might have Easter eggs or trophies hidden around them based on some lore, and it’s nice to feel like you know where you’re going when the game asks you to head somewhere.
Obviously you shouldn’t have too much trouble finding places like the Empire State Building, but there are some locales that are a bit more niche to locate. Miles’ school is sure to be an important place in the game’s story, just like the F.E.A.S.T. shelter was in the first entry. Knowing where stuff is and not needing to rely on a waypoint can make the game feel more natural and make you feel more confident as a hero.
3. Practice Web-Swinging & Get Ready to Fly
One of the things that made Insomniac’s Spider-Man games so successful has been the smoothness of the web-swinging mechanics. You can cover the length of the city in an amount of time that’s efficient, satisfying and realistic, but there’s a certain finesse you can add to it that really makes it a great experience. After beating the first two games, sometimes I’d find myself just swinging around for the sake of doing so because of how much fun it is.
As you get ready for the next game, make sure you’ve got your web-swinging down to a science. Not only are you gonna have more ground to cover with the two new boroughs of New York, but you’re gonna be mixing in a new mechanic: the web wings. These are likely gonna take a little bit of practice to really get used to, so make sure your fundamentals are as silky smooth as they can get.
4. Take Note of the Changes
There’s going to be a lot of things that are very different between the first two Spider-Man games and this one. Spider-Man 2 is only going to be launching on the PS5, meaning that the graphical capabilities are going to be used to their fullest. There isn’t even going to be a performance or visuals setting because it’s able to run smoothly while looking its best as a default.
Don’t just focus on the graphical quality, but also take note of the changes to the map between games. They added in both Queens and Brooklyn, significantly extending onto the existing map and also certainly playing a role in the addition of the Web Wings. It’ll be interesting to see if they changed any of Manhattan, or if they kept it the same and added onto the edges.
5. Rewatch the Movies & Reread the Comics
Between all the suits and characters that are expected to feature in Spider-Man 2, there’s bound to be at least a couple of things that are unfamiliar to you. If you could use a refresher of who some of these characters are, what better place to go than the source material? Kraven isn’t gonna be someone you’ll find anything on if you’re only looking in the films and previous games, so be sure to check out some comics to really see what he’s all about.
The suits are one of the biggest features that you can customize in the game, and there’s going to be a lot of them. While some of the designs are new for the sequel, plenty of them are sourced from previous comics, movies, and TV shows as a tribute to the expansive history of the character. There’s a reason for all the hype, so check out some of what makes Spidey Spidey.
6. Follow Insomniac’s Social Media Accounts
As with all new game releases, it’s best to have some line of communication with the developers. They’re the ones with their boots on the ground making sure that everything is running smoothly, and if it isn’t, social media is likely to be the first place to hear about it. Hopefully there won’t be another situation like Payday 3, but at least the devs kept in contact with the community.
As the launch date nears, there is also the desire from many to find out just exactly when they’ll be able to play the game. Although nothing has been directly confirmed as to what time that’s going to be for digital players, Twitter is usually one of the first places to hear about that kind of info. As the release comes ever closer, more information is sure to arise.
7. Charge Up Your DualSense Controller
As much as I adore the PS5’s DualSense controllers, I’ve got one main issue with them: the battery life. It feels like only after a few hours of playing, I’m getting a notification telling me that I’ve got to charge my controller. While it’s not the end of the world, you’d hate for that to happen just as you’re getting into the action, so make sure it’s good to go.
There’s likely going to be a lot of aspects of the game that utilize the controller to its fullest potential. Between vibrating during gameplay and cutscenes and adding resistance to your trigger pulls, there’s a lot being asked of that little controller. The least we can do as players is make sure it’s set up to succeed for us as we hunker down for a new release.
8. Make Space On Your Hard Drive
Like most AAA games that release on this generation, Spider-Man 2 is gonna take up a nice chunk of space on your hard drive. Even if you’re getting a physical copy, you’ll still have to download the game so be sure that you’ve got the storage allotted before the game drops for you.
Spider-Man 2 is set to be around 81GB or so, but it’s possible that this might still increase. Oftentimes developers will release a patch or an update for a game shortly after release, and these updates can be sizable depending on what’s in it. I’d recommend having around 100GB or space free, just to make sure you don’t get blindsided.
9. Clean Up Your Cosplay
Stan Lee made it clear that anyone could be under the mask as long as their heart is in the right place to be a hero, so why not you? Get into character and own your adventure in some stylish tights — it’s not like you’re the one swinging through NYC, so who’s gonna see you?
Given that we’re getting to play as both Peter and Miles, you can choose the look that suits you best. Having some cultural representation in games is always nice, so maybe lean on some of Miles’ Puerto Rican heritage to add an extra pop of color in your suit. As long as you have fun with it and work to make it your own, you too can wear the mask.
10. Call Out of Work
Hey, you okay? You’re not looking so hot. It’s probably best if you take the day off. You’re only doing yourself more harm than good trying to fight through a work day feeling like that. Besides, there’s nothing going on that can’t be taken care of in a couple days once you’re feeling back to normal. Go on, relax.
Great, now that your boss is out of the way, settle in and set up your space: you might be here a while. With more villains than ever and now twice the Spidey for you to play as, there’s sure to be plenty of gameplay to keep to busy. You wouldn’t want to interrupt all that just because you have to go to work, right? C’mon, just call out, it’ll be worth it.
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