Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 has been out for a few days, and the game has received an overwhelming amount of positive reviews. It has everything we could’ve asked for, from quick traversal and fast travel times to gliding and new swing mechanics. Despite all of this, the game couldn’t get rid of one gameplay element that was one of the most disliked in the original Spider-Man game.
We are, of course, referring to Mary Jane and her stealth missions. In the 2018 Spider-Man game, there were some parts where you had to play as the love interest of Peter Parker. Players disliked these sections because they were slow and dull and the opposite of the fast-paced gameplay everyone liked the game for. It seems that these sections are returning in Spider-Man 2 but with a twist.
During an interview with IGN, Insomniac Games' senior creative director Bryan Intihar shared that the devs already knew how boring Mary's missions were for players, and they pondered over this for a while. He then claimed that they decided to go in another direction:
We had two choices. We could say, 'All right, we'll make it easy and just not do it.' And everybody would go, 'Great. No MJ missions.' Or we could say, 'Hey, we've talked about showing the world from all different angles. We're going to make her moments better. We're going to take on the challenge. We're going to make people like playing as her.' We pick and choose our spots. We knew we had to make her more of a proactive, capable person. And if she's a little OP, I don't give a shit. She's fine. I don't care.
MJ Gains New Combat Abilities In Spider-Man 2
Mary Jane's stealth missions provide players some room to breathe between the two web slingers and their gameplay. While playing the role of MJ, players get to sneak around compounds while silently getting the enemies out of the way by incapacitating them. While her stealth missions do take the fun out of the web-swinging excitement, most players are enjoying the heroine going all John Wick on the mercenaries with the help of her Taser Gun in Marvel's Spider-Man 2.
Yes, you absolutely heard that right! MJ now has a Taser Gun in her arsenal, which allows her to take action against enemies instead of just hiding from them and being at their mercy. In fact, the web crawler’s girlfriend has become so powerful that she can one-shot enemies that would take either Spider-Men a couple of hits to knock out.
If you are wondering how Mary Jane learned to fight so effectively or whether or not it is plot armor that’s guiding her, she does answer this briefly in the game. At one point, she says, “Good thing I took that Sable training.” The Sables were a private army in the first game, led by the enemy-turned-ally, Silver Sable. So, this somewhat explains how she is able to take on trained mercenaries by herself.
The drastic change in Mary Jane’s gameplay in Spider-Man 2 is an improvement compared to the original Spider-Man game. While it doesn’t make her as fun as the web crawler himself, it is certainly a welcome change.
Many players still dislike the fact that you have to play as MJ at all in this game, while others appreciate the break it gives you from Peter and Miles’ fast-paced gameplay. Either way, Spider-Man 2 has still received an overall positive rating, and we are glad to see Insomniac Games putting such an effort into creating an excellent game.
