The Firmware Update Podcast: Recent Episodes
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Well, look at that. The Firmware Update — a website and podcast that haven’t been, uh, updated in damn near three years — suddenly has a text review of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 pinned to the top of its homepage. The people demand to know just what the hell is going on, but I’m here to put a restless nation at ease.
Let’s go ahead and take questions from everyone who graciously took the time to gather here today.
[The room is absolutely empty except for Joe and his delusions of a captive audience]
Yes, you in the fourth row.
I see that the site has been quiet for nearly three years — why come back? None of us realized you were even gone.
Wow, rude, but fair. The short answer is that I’ve met someone, and a little while ago she read some of the very little of my old work that has survived on Al Gore’s internet. She liked what she saw, and she thinks it’s worth it for me to pursue my writing again. And if I’m being honest with myself, I’ve missed writing for almost as long as I’ve been away from it. Not the grind of keeping up with every new release and forcing myself to form a take before people move on to other things, mind you, but just having a place to sort the things that rattle around my head as I play something. As luck should have it, my schedule has opened back up a bit, so here we are.
That’s very sweet and all, but I remember this site hosting a podcast, not written reviews. Just what the hell are you getting at here?
I did not think this would be so combative.
Just answer the question.
OK, fine. The podcast remains dormant for now. Malcolm and I stopped at the time because my job at the time had a very erratic schedule, and it just wasn’t compatible with what goes into producing and posting an audio show on a regular basis. Good writing still takes time, but it’s something I can chip away at, whereas prepping and editing a podcast takes a commitment that I’m still not ready to dive into.
God, I love Malcolm.
Me, too. Was, uh, was there a question there?
Yeah — where’s he?
Malcolm’s got a life all his own, we’re still good buds, and he gave me his blessing to kick the tires on this thing. I’d love to have him on here, and I’m happy to edit and/or collaborate on anything he’d ever like to write for The Firmware Update. There’d be no FirmUp without him, and as such the door will always be open to him.
What is this then, exactly? You’re 37 damn years old, what’s the endgame?
This is purely hobby-grade reviewing and blogging here. I have no aspirations about building this up for clout in a way that ends with me at IGN or whatever outlet hasn’t yet been bled out by VC parasites. That ship sailed when I left the industry over 10 years ago, and the job I’ve got now offers a stability that media simply doesn’t offer, whether it’s in games or otherwise. I just want to be able to play my little video games at my own pace, and write about the ones that move me to do so. Maybe I’ll be compelled to write something as soon as it’s out, or maybe I’ll get a PlayStation gift card during a work Secret Santa that lets me play it months later, like Spider-Man 2 up there. The world is my oyster! No chasing down review codes for this guy!
That sounds nice, actually.
Yeah.
Huh.
Feels like we’re running out of questions already.
How dare you!
Not so nice on the other side, huh?
C’mon, man, I was just warming up to you.
Sorry, sorry. Did you have another question, though?
Sure — what’s in the hopper, then?
Well, I just started Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, which would fall under the “must play immediately” banner for me, so I’ll probably have something to say about that. The same goes for Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, which releases on February 29th, a ridiculous date that will make it impossible to chronicle its age accurately as time marches on. As for for what may come after that, we’ll both have to wait and see.
Nice.
Nice.
The most iconic swingers in comics have made their PlayStation 5 exclusive debut in a major way, with the tentpole Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 bringing Peter Parker and Miles Morales into a massive adventure that demands their services in equal measure. Do our beloved web-slingers triumph over a world-threatening symbiotic threat? Of course they do, don’t be ridiculous — the game challenges you with its gameplay, not questions of whether or not the heroes will save the day. So what makes Insomniac’s third Spidey game worthwhile?
Marvel’s entire business is built on generations of memorable stories across multiple mediums, and Spider-Man 2 aims to do its part by spinning a yarn that remixes familiar Spidey tropes in ways that feel fresh without feeling forced. But while the story finds new angles that differ from the usual Spider-Man canon, there aren’t any substantive twists to make you feel as if you’ve experienced something different. We’ve seen Pete contend with the alien symbiote both in comics, movies, and even multiple games, so even casual Spider-Man fans know how it affects him and those around him.
Insomniac hits many of the same notes here — Spider-Man begins to lose himself as his slick new suit infects his mind, compelling him to violence as he blindly basks in the raw power he’s imbued with, and terrifying those around him. They fight like hell to separate the symbiote from him, and when it binds itself to a new host to create the monstrous Venom, it resents Pete for rejecting what it had to offer him. Playing the hits in the form of a AAA-budget console exclusive might be fine for many, and there are some excellent set pieces along the way that pull you through to the end, but I can’t help but feel like Insomniac doesn’t take full advantage of the creative license that Marvel has clearly granted them.
One big positive for the series as a whole has been that the bond between Pete and Miles has been a treat to explore, from the original 2018 game to the Miles-only spinoff that launched the PS5 in 2020 and now here, where the two share equal billing and import. They’ve seen each other through the peaks and valleys that only life as a superhero can afford you, and by the end of Spider-Man 2 they’re not just tutor and pupil, but close friends that count on each other to succeed. As the credits roll on the game, they’re both trending upwards in their personal lives but heading in opposite directions with their Spider-Man workloads, and I’m interested to see how they come together to handle the upcoming threat teased in the post-credits stinger.
The credit for this goes to the strength of the game’s voice acting, with Yuri Rosenthal and Nadji Jeter reprising their roles as Peter and Miles, respectively. They’re highly capable of quipping as any Spider-Man worth their web shooters would be, but when the game reaches its heavier moments they handle it without veering into daytime soap territory. Sure, Rosenthal does get a little hammy when he’s at Peak Symbiote Dickhead, and sure, Jeter could probably stand a little more coaching for his Spanish dialogue if he’s portraying a character that, presumably, has been speaking the language his whole life, but as a whole they do an admirable job.
It’s really around the game’s edges where Spider-Man 2 loses a tiny bit of its luster. Despite my minor qualms, the story breezed by in about 20 or so hours. Venturing beyond that, though, I experienced the same fatigue I’ve felt with open-world games in general. That’s my own problem, I’ll admit, but seeing new icons litter the map every time I hit a new milestone in the story simply does not tickle me as it did when I had more time to play any given game. Each new type of side mission also gets progressively harder, which makes sense, but I’d had enough by the time I cleared my second symbiote nest. I simply did not have fun fighting hordes off both Spider-Man and the sonic tech he had to protect to clear them.
The side stuff isn’t without merit, obviously. If you want to get to the end of the game with meaningful enough upgrades that add up to Venom not instantly turning you into mincemeat, then you’re going to have to clear a good chunk of the map to earn the components that make that possible. The highlights here are the ones with side stories attached. Pete does some environmental work for the foundation that his best friend Harry Osborn founded, and even takes on a dangerous pyro-cult that ends with exciting implications for a future sequel. Meanwhile, Miles rescues priceless artifacts for a music museum in Harlem and helps fellow students at his high school deal with their day-to-day lives. While the two of them make a formidable duo, it’s nice to zoom in and see what they each mean individually to the communities that they serve. Even with the game’s main story having stakes that threaten to reach beyond New York City, these are still your friendly neighborhood Spider-Men.
I’d also be remiss to get through this write-up without singing the praises of the ludicrously polished visuals and performance. This is a much bigger game than before — where the original 2018 release was limited to Manhattan, as just about every Spidey game before it, Spider-Man 2 throws in Brooklyn and Queens for good measure. The only loading time you experience comes from initially starting the damn game, and fast-traveling between boroughs is, somehow, nearly instant. Whether you prefer the fidelity mode and its 4K visuals or the performance mode and its silky 60 frames per second, the game absolutely sings. And as has been the case for all three of these Spider-Man games now, the outrageous detail on the simply head-spinning number of alternate suits for both Spider-Men is a damn delight. From top to bottom, Spider-Man 2 is a marvel. Three-plus years into the PlayStation 5’s life cycle, Insomniac Games may have very well cemented themselves as the studio with the highest mastery of Sony’s hardware. You love to see it.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is just about everything that you expect from a first-party PlayStation release these days — a highly-polished product that dazzles the senses despite its inherent flaws. This is certainly not an experience in the vein of Dark Souls or Breath of the Wild, which subverted what players could expect out of an action game, but what it does bring to the table is pleasing. With over 60 years of Spider-Man in the books (and movies, and cartoons, and games), Insomniac’s take on our two beloved webheads slots in with the best of them, and they’re shown in a technical masterclass topped only perhaps by the recent Spider-Verse films. I just hope that for their next showing, they take more chances with the overall narrative. I’ve got a good feeling that they just might.
The biggest event on the gaming calendar has come and gone, and you’d better believe Joe & Malcolm have things to say about it! Talking Points: The games of E3 2021! Hosts: Malcolm Spinedi (@PSMalc), Joe Garcia (@Wons23) Write in to the show: mailbag@thefirmup.com Stream | Download | Subscribe on iTunes | RSS Get a free month and audiobook on us: http://audibletrial.com/FirmwareUpdate
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