From the headline, you’re probably thinking the worst. You’re braced for impact, that despite all the critical praise it’s getting, Spider-Man 2 has a pesky irritant lurking deep within. But you’re wrong, and your opinions are plain white bread. I loved Screwball in the first game, and while I’m not surprised she’s missing here, I’m glad Mysterio carries on her legacy.
Screwball’s quests involved performing stunts and quick fire combat to earn as many points in as short a time as possible. It was a great way to emphasise the flair of being Spider-Man, while providing a challenge to improve your score. Since other activities are binary pass/fail escapades, having something you could constantly improve at was welcome.
However, it just didn’t land for everyone else. I’m a noted Screwball defender, but I concede that the character herself was a bit annoying. Deliberately so, but something that is irritating on purpose is still irritating. Her motivation of wanting views for her stream also wasn’t that unique, with movies like Untraceable and Nerve also exploring the idea years before Spider-Man did. She was a modern villain, just not a particularly original or threatening one.
Usually for better (although here for worse), Insomniac is good at reading the room. Screwball is unpopular, so screw her. She’s cut from the roster. Replacing her is Mysterio. For his variety of combat challenges, you can earn bronze, silver, or gold medals, and if you’re looking for a way to constantly tweak your high score, the Mysteriums are the place to do it.
If you, oh tasteless wonder, did hate Screwball, then don’t think Mysterio holds the same fate. There’s little you could find irritating here beyond the frustrations of being two seconds off the gold medal. Through different challenges, you’ll be asked to take out a certain number of goons, sometimes anyway you see fit, but others by targeting just brutes, using only finishers, or only by shoving them off ledges.
These challenges are the most intense bouts of combat you’re likely to face, seeing you swarmed by masses and forced to use all the tricks up your spandex sleeve. Most other combat scenarios in the game can be dealt with via stealth, or see enemies pour in via lots of small waves rather than surrounding you all at once. The variety each of these challenges offer, asking you to win in specific ways, also gives each of them a sense of personality.
It’s very rewarding to go back to earlier ones once you’re fully upgraded to eviscerate your previous score, and the arenas provide unique opportunities too. Struggling to defeat six brutes in the time limit, I was able to lure two onto train tracks and let the locomotive do the work.
That’s another factor – because the Mysteriums use Mysterio’s powers, you’re not confined to the city streets, and instead head to graveyards and fairgrounds. My personal favourite (and the toughest) takes place on a clock face where giant green lasers strike at you when the bell chimes. Add in illusions of Mysterio and floating skulls, and these are the most creative missions in the series so far.
I suppose it’s inevitable that Screwball has been pushed aside. The game tries to keep things as fresh as possible, also rotating out Taskmaster and Silver Sable. Screwball is commonly agreed to be the worst villain (though it feels as though some are just going along with the noise), so the best I could hope for is that her spirit be kept alive. Mysterio does that and builds on her legacy. Now, let’s see if I can get those times down a little further.