We finally know the official rating for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, and we've gotta say, it’s surprisingly tame. Not that we expected Marvel to give us full-on gore, but considering the types of characters appearing in this upcoming sequel, we’d prepared for a stronger rating.
Venom and Kraven the Hunter are two characters who raised eyebrows to the possibility that the game might be more 'mature' than its 2018 predecessor. However, just like the first game, this next instalment has been rated T for Teen by the ESRB.
Get a load of Kraven in Marvel's Spider-Man 2 trailer!
When Marvel’s Spider-Man launched, it was widely praised by critics and fans alike – yes, we’d played Spidey games before, but not like this. It reinvigorated the character and the world Peter Parker inhabits, so much so that it quickly rose to the top of the Game of The Year pile.
Seeing that the second game has got a T rating will undoubtedly be a happy result for any concerned parents out there, though, in all honesty, the game was never going to go toe-to-toe with Mortal Kombat 1 for visceral content. That’s not what Marvel’s Spidey is about. Still, we’re surprised, some would say disappointed, to learn that the game has such a tame rating.
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“This is an action game in which players assume the roles of Peter Parker and Miles Morales/Spider-Men as they attempt to save New York City from a new threat," begins the explanation.
"From a third-person perspective, players fight crime, swing around buildings, and engage in melee-style combat with enemies. Characters mostly punch, kick, and throw each other during fights; central characters can use special symbiote-based and electricity-based attacks on enemies. Some enemies use pistols and/or machine guns during combat; gunshots sometimes result in small splashes of blood. Cutscenes depict further instances of violence/blood: a character choked to death; a dead body turned over; blood drops on a leaf. In some crime missions, characters can be seen trading unnamed drugs for weapons; drug packages can be seen in a car trunk. The words 'pr*ck' and 'a*s' appear in the game."
Shocking language, really. As much as we jest, there’s those of us who remember the ESRB throwing a spanner in the works when Batman: Arkham Knight got an M rating, with its previous games having only been rated T. The same also happened to X-Men Origins: Wolverine, though that one was kinda expected considering how much bloody mayhem there was.
If you'd prefer want maximum carnage, rejoice my little dark-hearted readers, because a Carnage horror spin-off is coming your way. Oh, you just know it’s gonna be good. However, there’s no set deadline as to when that will launch, only that it’s going to happen.
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Although we don’t have to protect children from a big, scary M rating, there’s still a lot of buzz surrounding Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, particularly in terms of accessibility. It’ll please gamers to know that combat can be slowed down for an easier, more manageable experience; as someone who gets flustered during fight scenes, this pleases me no end. Of course, if you thrive under intense pressure that’s okay too, because this is an optional setting you can play around with.
It’s not long now until Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 swinging onto our consoles – the official launch is 20 October.
Topics: Marvels Spider Man, Spider Man, Marvel, PlayStation, PlayStation 5, Sony