Sandbox games are pretty good at showing you NPCs, citizens and cars, criminals with funny voice lines and great soundtracks that really capture the game's spirit. (Marvel's) Spider-Man goes the extra mile in all the ways you get to interact with the city. You get to improve New York City by working on crime, bad politics, bad business, and even fight eco-battles. My favorite part of this game is the science mini-quests that come in many forms. In one mission, you swing through clouds of pollution to analyze it as Peter coughs his lungs out. At the end of this 2-minute mission, you find out there's a particular model of car that's the main offender, and report them to the EPA. In another, you neutralize a bacteria and vaccinate fish in the harbor. I also discovered Photo Mode, which lets you add stickers, lens filters, and captions. I got so caught up in it that I hold the controller awkwardly so that I can reach the capture button at the right moment.
*Minor spoilers for which characters appear in the game
Swinging through the city was so dynamic and fun that I rarely fast traveled when seeking out missions. You can sprint along the side of a building, jack-knife off a pole into the air, do a few flips and lash yourself onto any number of sticky targets--the devs wanted all of this to be fluid rather than realistic. The combat is a lot like the Batman Arkham games and stresses combos and take downs, and even though there's no blood, Peter Parker visits the beatdown on bad guys.
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