Spider-Man: Remastered (2002 video game)

Spider-Man is a 2002 action-adventure video game based upon the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man, and is loosely based on the 2002 film of the same name. The game was developed by Treyarch and published by Activision, and released in 2002 for Game Boy Advance, GameCube, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, and Xbox. The game has many scenes and villains that did not appear in the film.

It was followed by Spider-Man 2 two years later to promote the release of the second film. In 2007, to promote the release of the third film, Spider-Man 3 was released. Tobey Maguire and Willem Dafoe reprised their roles from the film.

An updated version, called Spider-Man: Remastered was available on PS4, Xbox One and the Nintendo Switch

Gameplay
Like the 2000 Spider-Man video game, along with Spider-Man 2: Enter Electro, Spider-Man is a level based beat 'em up video game, with the player as Spider-Man. Half the levels are indoors, but the rest of the levels are outside among the sky-scrapers of New York and require him to web-sling from building to building, however Spider-Man cannot land on the ground, as he will die if he gets too close. Levels are in "sections" with a different enemy for each, each section lasting about 3 levels. Each level, except for the last two, has a bonus screen after it. Generally, there are the bonuses "Time" (clear level in a set time), "Perfect" (not take damage/detected) and "Style" (use as many combos as possible). Other level-specific ones are "Secrets" (uncover a secret area), "Combat" (defeat all enemies), and "stealth" (remain undetected by enemies). Players can gain, depending on difficulty, points on completing these tasks. On easy mode, each bonus is 500 points, normal is 700, and Hero is 1000 each.

The basic abilities are swinging, zipping, punching and kicking, dodging, web, camera lock, and the Web Mode in Enhanced Mode. Depending on how the player combines different buttons, it makes different effects. Wall-crawling is automatic, and players are also able to lift up heavy and light objects such as cars and chairs. There are 21 different combat combos which Gold Spiders are used to gain these combos, with 4 web controls, each having a type of "upgrade" to each. There is also "stealth mode", where Spider-Man is in shadow, and therefore is undetectable by enemies. This is necessary to gain extra points in the game. While the game is primarily in third-person, a cheat code allows players to switch to first-person view.

After completing the story mode of the game on at least hero difficulty, an unlockable bonus allows the player to play any level in the game as Harry Osborn in his father's Green Goblin costume, complete with his glider and arsenal, following an alternate timeline with Harry fighting an "alternate goblin" who claims to have been hired by Norman Osborn, adding a slightly new feel to the story, although the player plays exactly the same levels as they would with Spider-Man. Unlockable costumes for Spider-Man include Peter Parker in his civilian clothes, the homemade wrestling outfit from the movie, and acclaimed comic book artist Alex Ross' prototype design for the movie Spider-Man costume, which also triggers the Goblin to wear Ross' early design during battles. A cheat code allowed players to play as Mary Jane but was dropped from rereleased versions of the game due to the perceived lesbianism implications of scenes featuring the "player" Mary Jane and the "in-game" Mary Jane kissing.

Plot
Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) develops spider-like superhuman abilities after being bitten by a genetically altered spider created by OsCorp. The game opens with an optional tutorial, narrated by Bruce Campbell, where Peter learns to use his powers and the player learns the controls of the game and how to read the HUD. After competing in a wrestling match as "Spider-Man", Peter is cheated out of his prize money by the fight promoter. The promoter is then robbed by a thief, whom Peter lets go out of spite. Shortly after, Peter is devastated when his Uncle Ben is killed by the leader of the Skulls gang. Peter uses his powers to track down and defeat the murderer, only to learn he is the same thief he let go earlier, who then dies afer accidentally slipping out of a window. Remembering Ben's words that "with great power comes great responsibility", Peter vows to use his powers to fight evil, becoming the superhero Spider-Man.

Meanwhile, Norman Osborn (Willem Dafoe) and OsCorp are investigating the appearance of this new hero. Anxious to develop his Human Performance Enhancer "Super Soldier" serum, the main goals of which are already exhibited by the super-hero, Osborn sends hunter-killer robots to capture Spider-Man, but he destroys them. Later, Spider-Man witnesses Shocker (Michael Beattie) and the Vulture (Dwight Schultz) robbing a jewelry store and escape separately. Going after Shocker first, Spider-Man pursues him through the sewers and into a subway station, where he defeats him and learns about Vulture's lair: an old clock tower on the Lower East Side. Spider-Man climbs Vulture's tower, avoiding bombs in the process, but the villain escapes. Chasing Vulture through the city, Spider-Man ultimately defeats him on the Chrysler Building, leaving both him and the stolen loot for the police.

Later, OsCorp creates several spider-shaped robots to track down Spider-Man, only for Norman to learn that there are two individuals with arachind DNA at large in Manhattan. After he orders the capture of both, a desperate Scorpion (Michael McColl) is seeing being chased by the robots through the sewers. He runs into Peter at the subway, who has returned to take pictures of his battle site with Shocker for the Daily Bugle. The two work together to destroy the robots, only for an apparently paranoid and unhinged Scorpion to then attack Spider-Man, who defeats Scorpion, but he escapes afterwards. Meanwhile, Norman is fired from OsCorp and takes his own untested super-soldier serum to become the Green Goblin, donning an experimental armor along with an arsenal of weapons, including a glider and pumpkin bombs. Spider-Man fends off the Goblin's attack on the yearly OsCorp Unity Day Festival, and defeats him, refusing his offer to join forces. The Goblin then escapes after revealing he has planted bombs all over downtown, which Spider-Man manages to defuse in time.

In the Xbox version only, Norman hires Kraven the Hunter (Gary Anthony Sturgis) after the failed bomb threat to capture Spider-Man. Kraven lures Spider-Man to the zoo, where he poisons him with a lethal gas, forcing Spider-Man to track Kraven through corridors filled with traps, before finally confronting and defeating him in a cage match in the main area of the zoo, obtaining an antidote in the process.

After studying a piece of the Goblin's gear that fell during their fight and learning it was manufactured by OsCorp, Spider-Man goes to OsCorp to research its connection with the Goblin, avoiding detection by security in the process. He discovers that the company is producing chemical weapons, which he neutralizes. He then narrowly escapes from OsCorp after fighting a giant robot and learning that the Goblin kidnapped Mary Jane Watson (Catherine O'Conner). Spider-Man chases him down to the Queensboro Bridge, where the two have their final battle. The Goblin is unmasked as Norman before being impaled by his own glider in a failed attempt to kill Spider-Man. Mary Jane and Spider-Man then share a kiss, preventing him from revealing his secret identity to her. Spider-Man narrates the end of the story as the camera pans out, and he breaks the fourth wall with "Looks like you're done now. Go outside and play."

Cast

 * Bruce Campbell-Tour Guide

Transcript
Spider-Man: Remastered (2002 video game)/Transcript

Trivia

 * The update version now has different control options