Should Insomniac keep the stealth segments in Spider-Man 2?

[ShutterMunster]

They need to beef up the stealth mechanics considerably. Those segments felt like they were out of a PS2 game due to lack of complexity. I want more bespoke mission design across the board. I think they spent a lot of time nailing the traversal, which makes sense because if that is broken or mediocre then the entire game is trash.

 

[J2C]

Im actually puzzled thus far about how Spider-man could grow, and turn more epic. I like the cast of characters, theres obviously more good ones to explor. Story wise its easy to see where it goes

Location wise, we'll be back in NY I would assume. More moves and things sure. I would say more interactivity would be where I could see things developing. But the actual sequel I feel will be built quite similar

 

[stryke]

The only interesting one was the train station section. Because Spider-man was in it.

 

[FF Seraphim]

There is only one fun MJ/Miles gameplay part in the whole game and thats

Spoiler

When you control MJ to direct Spiderman who to attack.

If its not more of that then it should be thrown out.

 

[Toriko]

No they are terrible. Either pad the game with good level and encounter design or just dont. These segments add nothing.

 

[Spikematic]

They were terrible. I'm sure they can come up with more compelling non-actiony sequences with side characters, which I would love as I feel breaking up the web swinging and action is great for character development and world building.

 

[SprachBrooks]

Cut that shit. Killed the pacing and I couldn't give two fucks about MJ or Miles. They're boring.

 

[broncobuster]

Yes and no, I suppose? As they are, they're pretty dull and the fail state for being spotted feels archaic by modern standards. I like the idea of playing as MJ, and if they can find a way to dramatically overhaul those sequences or give her a different mechanic, I'd be interested. An idea I saw proposed was some Life is Strange-light, gathering clues and dialog system, to get past roadblocks. There's a moment later in the game where you kinda do that with interviewing condo residents.

 

[AlexxKidd]

Lol They are most definitely going to bring them back. They were welcome breaks from action as Spider-Man and helped flesh out what was going on with the other characters. Anyone calling them awful and terrible is funny.

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They are definitely going to bring them back because people are stubborn, arrogant and will fight for those segments because it was their or their bosses idea and lack of humility wont allow them to admit those segments could have killed an otherwise amazing game. That and the game is an overwhelming commercial success so they certainly arent going to listen to us now, their thought process is gonna be to 'not mess with the formula.' However, the game is the success it is despite those segments, not due to them.

Youre saying they will bring them back, and i agree that they will. Thats not the questiom though. The question on the table, however (thread title), is should they.

The best we could hope is that they improve them, but they should be dropped altogether imo.

 

[THIJJ]

Yes, but not as many and make them far more interactive than "wait for enemy to go by then run"

Basically like the ones towards the ends that were actually very good.

 

[Deleted member 1589]

Only if it's somewhat like the train station heist level.

 

[BBboy20]

I would say consider other potential gameplay possabilities when playing as other characters.

I can easily see MJ playing the Detective Mode part but who knows for the future.

I mean, if we can get to play as Black Cat or maybe even Daredevil, I would imagine stealth, in general, would be an required component.

 

[VaanXSnake]

no, they were awful.

 

[Batatina]

I think they should, but have more varied mechanics like that last one where you signal Spiderman. It needs to make you feel more in control of the gameplay instead of a slow on-rails experience.

 

[Deleted member 5725]

Scrap those segments. For MJ, you can make a small investigative game in similar vein to Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments. Talk to people, search for evidence, take photos, connect those pieces together. Of course the scope is much smaller than Crimes and Punishments cases but make something like that.

 

[Nateo]

Scrap those segments. For MJ, you can make a small investigative game in similar vein to Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments. Talk to people, search for evidence, take photos, connect those pieces together. Of course the scope is much smaller than Crimes and Punishments cases but make something like that.

Click to shrink...

Fuck no. Get rid of it all together. That would ruin the entire pace of the game like the current segments already do.

 

[LetalisAmare]

No. The MJ and MIles stealth sections are legit terrible.

 

[Readler]

I'm conflicted. I liked how MJ was actually useful and provided a nice change of pace as well as offering more detailed information during her investigations. Gameplay-wise she was kind of boring, though, tolerable, but boring.

Miles was terribe, though.

 

[Deleted member 5725]

Fuck no. Get rid of it all together. That would ruin the entire pace of the game like the current segments already do.

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In my opinion they don't ruin the pace if those slower segments are made well = are engaging.

 

[WizdogC]

Exploring Norman's penthouse was one of my favorite parts of the game and favorite MJ/Miles section for its visual storytelling and atmosphere. I was just soaking it in and taking my time exploring the entire area. Piecing together Norman and Harry's relationship was satisfying. Some other sections could get frustrating but I appreciate what they were trying to achieve by including them into the game.

I don't think the blanket statement of "Get rid of them entirely" is the right way to go. They can be refined for sure, but I definitely did appreciate that they were there to give a different perspective on the world and to slow things down once in a while.

 

[Waddle Dee]

The stealth segments with MJ and Miles are a prime example of Story having a negative impact on the Gameplay and I'm never for that. If you're going to put something in your game that only aids the story then you better be able to skip it or else it just drags the game down on repeat playthroughs.

 

[Zukuu]

If they are present in the new one, I simply won't buy it. I hated them sooooooooooooooooooooooooo much.

 

[HellofaMouse]

stealth with side characters? hell no.

stealth with spidey? yes, they should keep it AND expand on it

 

[TheBeardedOne]

No. They don't really add much to the game, and take away from its strengths. That meaning the stealth sections with MJ and Miles.

 

[Raijinto]

Count me among the many who found the MJ stealth missions to be pretty terrible gameplay wise. Even from a story perspective they didn't feel right imo. I know they were probably born of Insomniac not wanting her to just be a damsel for the player to save during story sequences (and that's great), but constantly sneaking into places filled with armed goons who would happily kill her on sight, and then getting indignant when Peter voices concerns about those deathwish tendencies was pretty jarring imo. I don't think they're completely unsalvageable, though. The Grand Central Station section actually wasn't too bad. They need to focus more on setpiece than stealth imo, because their stealth mechanics are really bad.

Honestly, they need to go back to the drawing board on ALL of the side content. I know it's a tired opinion at this point, but I found everything outside of the core Spider-Man gameplay/story to be painfully average at best.

• Random crimes are incredibly repetitive. They need to really mix this up next time and have as many different variations as possible.
• The collectables require no skill whatsoever to locate.
• The faction bases are just the same thing over and over again.
• The way in which you 'track down' Black Cat's base was offensively bad. So totally divorced from the gameplay. They had a perfect template to use here with the Deadshot missions in Arkham City, and instead you're taking scanning an area for a cat plushie to take a picture of. Awful.
• The actual 'side missions' were incredibly generic outside of the Tombstone and Screwball ones. I'm not even asking for them all to feature named villains, but tracking the down negged college kids several times was not fun.
• Some of the Research Stations are okay I guess, but most of them are pretty dull. I also wasn't a fan of how every single one of them was so over-the-top in it's risk to the city.

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Good post. I agree that the side-content is the massive shortcoming of this game, made even more so by the fact that they're not necessarily 'optional' as you need the tokens from them for the generic upgrade system. If they go that route with the sequel they need to be much more interesting and involved.

 

[KtotheRoc]

I didn't really have a problem with them. Only had difficulty with the last Miles mission. I'd be fine if they came back.

 

[Glass]

The best example of these sections was the MJ level where you walk around a certain someones penthouse towards the end of the game. The first half of that section isn't stealth based, and it was great walking around freely, piecing clues together and unraveling the story in a way I did not see coming. Or Peter in Martin Li's office. I loved those. I feel levels like those are great examples of controlling other characters which break up the pace of the game as Insomniac intended, without the annoyances of a stealth section.

 

[Reinhard]

Needs to be a third option of keeping a few of them if they can be interesting like Grand Central Station or the Penthouse level. But the stealth missions with Miles were all a complete waste of time/aggravating in delaying the story, and there should have only been 3 stealth missions for Mary Jane - an intro stealth level, GCS, and penthouse.

 

[hey it's that dog]

They're not difficult but you failed enough for it to be frustrating for you? lmao

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I failed a couple times and repeating something with zero enjoyment value is a negative thing that I am criticizing. Did I use the word "frustrated?" lmao lol rofl

 

[FakePlasticTree]

Something with some actual investigative journalist aspect to it instead of just lame stealth section. Cutting it entirely is a waste, just make them more varied.

 

[Kyzer]

Spiderman sections hell yes they were awesome

The MJ and Miles no. Its not fun and just makes me wanna stop playing, feels like a major buzzkill when it interrupts being spiderman

 

[KiDdYoNe]

I'd say no. It's a nice little addition, but it wasn't stealth. Hell, I was running 80% of the time when it was "stealth".

 

[score01]

I don't get the hate for them. They were generally short and in-obtrusive. Insomniac tried to change up the pace a bit which is welcome. I would rather that they were there, and get more refined in a future game than not there at all.

 

[Strax]

I didn't finish the game because of them.
Cut them.

 

[Igorth]

I voted yes thinking only of spidey but yeah, MJ and Miles segments are a bit tiring, only one I liked was the one with spidey in the station.

 

[Yautja_Warrior]

They were fine, there were only a few of them in the whole game and only lasted a few mins, so I'd be fine if they stayed.

Maybe improve them by making them more challenging, as they were too easy really.

 

[El-Suave]

I was fine with them, but the fact that every one was insta-death if you were spotted was not very elegant and modern. There is much room for improvement there.

 

[lwkmd]

they were awful

 

[TheBeardedOne]

Stealth with Spider-Man is okay if it helps the story and isn't overdone. We don't need stealthy secondary character gameplay, when that stuff can just be shown in cutscenes if needed.

That's not to say I hated them or thought they were awful. I was just indifferent and didn't exactly enjoy them.

 

[Deleted member 42686]

I think they were ok, as long you don't have to play with Miles and Jane.

 

[CrazyAndy]

They were not bad but too many. So just reduce them.

 

[Yautja_Warrior]

At least Miles won't need to have stealth sections in the next one.

Having 2 different Spider-Man characters, should make for an interesting story and it could flick back and fourth between them as the game goes on.

 

[chaosaeon]

The MJ train station mission where you team up with Pete and he comes down and takes people out was great. The Miles section with Rhino was pretty interesting too. I'd like them to stay and be improved as opposed to being removed altogether. Or if they were removed, have other reasons to play the other characters, not just stealth with enemies.

 

[Triggerhappytel]

They were fine; I just think there probably needs to be fewer of them overall and give them a unique slant, like the one where MJ and Peter are working together inside the train station. Hopefully they rill refine and evolve the formula a little in the sequel rather than excise them altogether.

 

[Adamastor]

I think they need to be reworked in a way that makes them fun. All I remember was thinking "oh, another 10-15m segment I don't get to swing around and have fun."

But if they come up with the right mechanics, why not. But for now I voted no.

 

[Mugen X]

Nope. My least favorite part in the game, although I thought it was tense I felt like it was overdone.

 

[Silky]

Stealth segments and small room fights have got to go

Collectibles that kill your swinging momentmum/traversal also need to go. I don't want to stop moving in Spider-Man for a fucking collectible. You solved this in Sunset Overdrive and made the progression of collecting fun and natural.

 

[Combichristoffersen]

Haven't played the game yet, but stealth sucks, so no. Get rid of it.

 

[Spinluck]

I voted no, but would rather them come up with more interesting solutions if they are going to have characters besides Spider-Man be playable. Either way, the only place I've heard people complain about it is the internet (mainly here) so perhaps they are fine and ERA is just a bunch of whiners.

 

[Stat]

Oh man, the title of the poll and the title of the thread are different. I want them to keep the Spider-man stealth section. Im indifferent to the other sections.