Spider-Man 2: Enter Electro

Spider-Man 2: Enter Electro
European PlayStation cover art
Developer(s) Vicarious Visions
Publisher(s) Activision
Platform(s) PlayStation
Release
  • NA: October 19, 2001
  • EU: October 26, 2001
Genre(s) Action-adventure
Mode(s) Single-player

Spider-Man 2: Enter Electro is an action-adventure video game developed by Vicarious Visions and published by Activision for the PlayStation in 2001. It is the sequel to Neversoft's Spider-Man title, which was released the previous year. The game follows Spider-Man as he attempts to stop another old nemesis Electro from obtaining a source of power known as the Bio-Nexus Device. Game bosses include Shocker, Hammerhead, Lizard, Sandman and the charged-up Hyper-Electro.

The game is notable for having its final level drastically changed after the September 11 attacks. Originally, the final battle between Spider-Man and Electro was set to take place during a severe thunderstorm atop the World Trade Center. A set piece of the level saw Electro destroying a portion of the North Tower. After the September 11 attacks, the level was changed to feature a battle atop of a generic building.

Plot

Shortly after the Symbiote Invasion, a series of robberies led by Electro have taken place throughout New York City. While out on patrol, Spider-Man spots one of the robberies taking place at a building owned by BioTech. Planting a Spider-Tracer on the head thief's motorcycle, Spider-Man follows it to an abandoned warehouse where the thief is passing off a stolen briefcase to a contact. Spider-Man takes out the thugs and interrogates one of them, but is then attacked by the head thief: Shocker.

After defeating Shocker, Spider-Man follows the thug's tip and heads for the airfield, where the contact is heading towards. Along the way, Spider-Man is forced to disable a bomb threat, take out a machine-gun nest, and stop a runaway airplane from crashing. As the contact escapes via helicopter, Spider-Man is able to plant another tracer on it and track it to a trainyard owned by Hammerhead. Fighting through the mob-employed night staff and Sandman, Spider-Man races to catch a fleeing train and meets with the contact, who is revealed as The Beetle. The masked villain escapes with his briefcase, but he unknowingly leaves Spider-Man a clue: an invitation to the Science and Industry Ball.

Elsewhere, Electro explains his plan to the other villains. He and his partners have stolen the parts to the Bio-Nexus Device, which can amplify one's bio-energy to power a city block, and Electro plans to use it to increase his own powers. The device is currently incomplete, and only its creator Dr. Watts knows how to finish it. Hammerhead and his goons are sent to the Science and Industry Ball to take Dr. Watts hostage.

Though Spider-Man arrives at the Ball and manages to defeat Hammerhead, Sandman secretly escapes with the good doctor. Spider-Man decides to call Dr. Curt Connors at BioTech for some answers, but hears the sounds of a battle on the line. Spider-Man immediately infiltrates BioTech and reaches Dr. Connors's lab, where his alter-ego The Lizard is on an uncontrolled rampage. After being changed back to normal, Connors explains Electro's goal to become a god with the Bio-Nexus Device. He instructs Spider-Man to go and check out Dr. Watts' lab. Following a rooftop chase, Spider-Man eventually arrives at the lab and learns of the device's main power source, only to be caught in another battle with Sandman. After defeating Sandman by flushing him down the sewer grate with water, Spider-Man subsequently sees a newspaper article about the power source - a sapphire named Zeus's Tear - being on display at the museum. Electro is also informed of the jewel when one of his thugs brings him the same news article.

At the museum, Spider-Man catches up to Electro, who is still holding Dr. Watts as his hostage. He offers to give her up if Spider-Man gives him the Zeus's Tear. Spider-Man reluctantly obeys, and Electro tosses the doctor as Spider-Man throws the jewel. When Spider-Man attempts to snag the jewel back in midair with a web, Dr. Watts accidentally throws off his aim and he misses, allowing Electro to catch it. The Bio-Nexus Device complete, Electro activates it and flies off in an electrifying flash of lightning bolt. Spider-Man follows the villain to a massive conductor at a tower, where he supercharges himself into Hyper-Electro, a being of pure electrical energy. Unable to directly attack Electro, Spider-Man instead uses the tower's generators to overload and destroy the Bio-Nexus Device, ending Electro's power play for good.

The next day, the Mighty Thor is credited in the Daily Bugle as having saved New York from Electro, much to Spider-Man's disappointment. In prison, Electro sits in his cell moaning over his defeat while Hammerhead and Shocker play Poker. In a nearby cell, Doctor Octopus and the rest of the villains from the previous game are still locked up, and Shocker attempts to ask them if they know how to play Go Fish.

Costumes

By completing certain in-game goals, new costumes can be unlocked for Spider-Man. Many of them have special powers to alter the game experience. Included are all the costumes from the first game, with the same abilities, as well as several new sensational outfits. A new option called "Create-A-Spider" mode allows the player to apply up to three in-game powers to any unlocked costume. The game powers include enhanced strength, unlimited webbing and invincibility.

Gameplay

One major difference between this sequel and the first game is the ability to play on ground levels. In the first game, if Spider-Man swung too low he would fall into the yellow mist that dominated most of the game's levels and die. This game, however, presented levels based in limited city streets. They were confined grids rather than a free-roam environment.

The enemies in Enter Electro are more realistic than the ones in the previous game, such as criminals, lizardmen and alien symbiotes. In the second game all the enemies are criminals and robots. In this game, Spider-Man has the ability to shoot a Web Ball while in mid-air. This time, the training mode takes the player to the X-Men's Danger Room Simulator wherein Rogue and Professor X assist and navigate Spider-Man on what he needs to know with everything that may be useful during the course of gameplay. The hand animation is also changed. Now, every character's hands can react instead of waving fists. The basic punch and kick combo moves are also changed, doing away with the two-handed uppercut/mule kick for the third strike. Spider-Man only has one jump animation in this game, with him having two in the predecessor. It is notable that, like its predecessor, the game features only 4 voice actors: Rino Romano as Spider-Man and Jennifer Hale as Dr. Watts and Rogue, meanwhile Daran Norris and Dee Bradley Baker provide the rest of the voices.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores
AggregatorScore
GameRankings75%[1]
Metacritic74/100[2]

The game received "average" reviews according to video game review aggregator Metacritic,[2] scoring less than its predecessor. Due to this reception (among other reasons), Activision decided to scrap the idea for a third installment in the series and turn the next Spider-Man game into a movie tie-in.

Delay and modifications

Following the September 11 attacks, Activision halted production of the game in order to remove references to buildings resembling the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center,[3] change the final battle stages, re-edit the cutscenes, and add a large bridge to the model of the World Trade Center. Originally, the battle was atop the Twin Towers of the original World Trade Center, but since the towers were destroyed on 9/11, the game was re-released with a different ending and epilogue. Originally, Electro shouted "top of the world!" as he departed his battle with Spider-Man for the towers, giving Spidey the clue he needed to track him down for the final boss battle, but in the re-released game, he just happens to guess correctly.

At the end of the game, The Daily Bugle gives Thor the credit for defeating Electro. A video segment featuring Thor and Spider-Man conversing after the final battle was intended to be included in the game but was removed due to the location. In addition, several levels were renamed and other minor changes were made to levels and cutscenes in order to avoid any reference to the World Trade Center and 9/11.

References

  1. ↑ "Spider-Man 2: Enter: Electro for PlayStation". GameRankings. Retrieved 2014-01-13.
  2. 1 2 "Spider-Man 2: Enter: Electro Critic Reviews for PlayStation". Metacritic. Retrieved 2014-01-13.
  3. ↑ http://www.ign.com/articles/2001/09/17/spider-man-2-delayed
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