Gaming in city Sandman. Reviews, Walkthroughs, News

Dead Boy Detectives showrunners Steve Yockey and Beth Schwartz have plans for not just a potential season 2 of the upcoming Netflix show, but a season 3 and beyond.

Some Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 fans have started pointing out that Peter Parker is missing as an AI companion in combat when the player is controlling Miles Morales. Spider-Man 2 gives gamers two crime-fighting Spider-heroes for the price of one, with Peter returning from the first game and Miles now a fully-fledged web-slinger following his starring role in the 2020 spin-off Spider-Man: Miles Morales.

I've been wishing I could be Spider-Man for as long as I can remember, but the closest I've come to replicating that fictional feeling is by swinging around New York as the web-slinger in Insomniac's Spidey games. The idea of actually being able to fire webs from my wrists was an unattainable goal since, well, radioactive spiders aren't a thing, and if they were, being bitten by one probably wouldn't result in the development of superpowers. Kids today won't need to rely on that impossibility as Hasbro has created real-life Web Blasters, no radioactive spider bite needed.

The Dead Boy Detectives are a cult favorite that never quite found a cult. Introduced in the pages of Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman, the undeniable strength of the premise — a ghost boy from the 1910s is best friends with a ghost boy from the 1990s; they solve ghost mysteries! — regularly lures in comics creators, but rarely for longer than a single story arc every five to 10 years.

As a story about stories, it’s no wonder that Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman would have some characters that other creators would want to pick up and play with. Sandman spinoff comics have starred Dream’s sister Death, the strange denizens of the Dreaming, and even Lucifer himself, leading to the the cult success of an entire LuciferTV series years before a Netflix series adapting The Sandman itself.

New supernatural TV series Dead Boy Detectives, based on the DC Comics of the same name by Neil Gaiman and Matt Wagner, has had an interesting journey to our screens. Originally starting out life as a spin-off to HBO Max's (now just Max's) superhero show Doom Patrol, in 2022 the streaming service gave the production a series order with The Flight Attendant's Steve Yockey attached as showrunner. Only a year later in February 2023, the new show moved to Netflix as it was no longer compatible with James Gunn and Peter Safran's plans for the new DCU.

One of the hallmarks of modern Fallout games is getting to listen to a radio while you trek around the Wasteland. The radio is, of course, full of sweet tunes to enjoy, but the radio hosts often take the mic in order to share some fun world-building facts and keep the player company on the road. Many of these songs show up in the Amazon Prime Fallout series — but which radio station is the best listen?

From the world of Neil Gaiman's Sandman comes a spooky new series starring two dead boys who decide to ditch the afterlife and quite literally become detectives.

Boyd Holbrook, known for his antagonist role in Logan, is rumored to be in talks to portray Harvey Dent in The Batman — Part II. Directed by Matt Reeves and starring Robert Pattinson as the titular character, The Batman was a critical and commercial success upon its release in 2022.

Fast traveling, one of the most impressive features of both the PlayStation 5 and Marvel's Spider-Man 2, was also a point of much discussion in development and almost cut as a result. While the PlayStation 5's processing speed allows for quicker gameplay, developers of Marvel's Spider-Man 2 worried that this might lead to less player engagement. The game's design director commented on this.

Following their big moment at the end of Amazing Spider-Man #45, the Sinister Six are officially returning with their classic line-up of Doctor Octopus, Sandman, Vulture, Electro, Kraven, and Mysterio in Amazing Spider-Man #51.

The developers of Marvel's Spider-Man 2 revealed that they struggled to get the Sandman boss fight right due to how fast Spider-Man is. During this year's Game Developers Conference (GDC), associate animation director for Insomniac Stephen Camardella revealed that it was incredibly hard to get the pacing of the fight against Sandman in Marvel's Spider-Man 2 just right. Camardella states that due to Spider-Man's speed, it was a challenge to make sure the fight was fair and fun.

Marvel's Spider-Man 2 developers have taken to the stage at GDC, shedding some light on their work. This includes an interesting tidbit about the development of the Sandman boss, and how challenging it was to balance the fight in the villain's favour.

Concept art for Insomniac’s canceled Spider-Man multiplayer game has just been leaked online, including a possible look at the title’s character creation screen. Insomniac infamously fell victim to a massive ransomware attack just a few months after Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 swung onto the PlayStation 5, exposing much of the developer’s plans for future Marvel video games. Among already confirmed titles like Marvel’s Wolverine and long-suspected projects centered around Venom and the X-Men was a game that Insomniac had reportedly already canceled long before the data breach: an online multiplayer title called Spider-Man: The Great Web.

Between the release of 's New Game Plus update accidentally granting players access to the game's developer menu, and the hacker group Rhysida sharing over a terabyte of files, players have got a better idea of what features were removed from Insomniac's superhero sequel. These leaks have also revealed other games in the works at Insomniac, such as a canceled, type multiplayer title, and a potential spin-off.

Pre-orders for the latest wave of 4K Blu-rays featuring Disney Plus original shows are live. The collector’s edition Steelbooks for the first seasons of Andor, Obi-Wan,Moon Knight, and The Falcon & The Winter Soldier vary in price, and can currently be reserved at Amazon or Walmart ahead of their April 30 launch.

Does a co-op multiplayer Spider-Man game from Insomniac sound like something you’d want to play? Well, sorry, while it was in the works, it’s no longer in production. For a while we heard rumblings a multiplayer Spidey project was happening, but then as part of Sony’s recent step back from their (over) ambitious live service plans, the project was reportedly canceled. And that would usually be that, but the massive Insomniac Games leak from late last year is still yielding new information, including a trailer for that canceled multiplayer project, entitled Spider-Man: The Great Web.

An alleged trailer for Spider-Man: The Great Web has leaked online - Spider-Man: The Great Web being a cancelled Insomniac Games comicbook adaptation with a focus on co-op multiplayer. I am not going to embed the footage because I’m not sure if doing so would cause screaming Spider-Lawyers to crash through my window – best of luck finding tall objects to swing from in darkest West Yorkshire, webheads! - but I will do you the great honour of describing the footage below.

One of the things we learned in the massive Insomniac leak in late 2023 was that the studio had been working on a multiplayer game set in the Spider-Man universe, Spider-Man: The Great Web. Amongst the chaotic discussion over ethical news coverage and the headline reveals of an upcoming Venom game and a major leak of Wolverine development footage, the multiplayer game didn't gain too much traction. But now a trailer for the game seems to have leaked, and it appears to be further along in development than we thought

finally got a New Game Plus update last week, letting players replay the entirety of the game with all their levels, gadgets, and suits equipped from the start, and the option to unlock new ones via a series of new «Ultimate» levels. Unfortunately, wearing one particular suit at the very beginning of the game in New Game Plus has some hilariously gross consequences.

Fans are quickly noticing a bizarre detail while playing Marvel’s Spider-Man 2’s newly-added New Game Plus mode while wearing Peter’s alien Symbiote Suit — and it's already becoming a meme. Months after the game first came out, Insomniac has finally added the much-requested New Game Plus to Spider-Man 2 in its latest update, allowing fans to restart the main story campaign with all of the unlocks from their initial playthrough.

A Marvel's Spider-Man 2 player has warned others about the dangers of wearing the Symbiote suit in the game's first mission.

Netflix’s new Adam Sandler movie is unique in the Sandman canon: Despite sending the comedic actor to space for an encounter with an oversized alien spider, most of the potentially corny laughs are swapped for melancholic tears. Like Solaris, The Fountain, and Ad Astra before it, director Johan Renck’s Spaceman is a meditative intragalactic drama orbiting around a heartfelt performance from Sandler. It’s not the first movie with the kind of visual effects that demand an actor’s unbridled imagination, but filming Spaceman was a test that took him outside his comfort zone.

February is coming to a close, and with it, more awards contenders are heading to streaming services with the Oscars around the corner.

With WWE 2K24 around the corner and the full roster list revealed, wrestling fans were worried that the Voice of the Voiceless, CM Punk, would miss out on this year’s instalment of the game. After all, Punk made a shocking return to WWE at the 2023 Survivor Series, so it would have been a modern miracle for the development team at Visual Concepts to somehow include him in time for the base game’s release on March 8.

Visual Concepts and 2K Games have announced WWE 2K24’s Season Pass, featuring 20 new Superstars across five DLC packs over the coming months. It kicks off on May 15th with the ECW Punk Pack, with CM Punk, Bubba Ray Dudley, D-Von Dudley, Sandman, and Terry Funk included with a MyFACTION Manager Card for ECW Paul Heyman.

WWE 2K24 has revealed the contents of its Season Pass, which includes the likes of Jade Cargill and CM Punk, among others. While CM Punk already hinted at his inclusion in WWE 2K24, fans had no confirmation on which Superstars made the cut in terms of being DLC. WWE 2K24 previously posted an abstract photo of symbols and texts which many gamers tried to decipher. However, the vagueness of the picture led to many different speculations regarding the final Season Pass roster.

Marvel and Lego have been collaborating for a while. Not only is there a laundry list of Lego Marvel video games to play, but a lot of iconic characters, as well as some famous locations from the comics and movies, have been transformed into sets and Minifigures. There are more than 200 Lego Marvel Minifigures available today, and an encyclopedia launching later this year details most, if not all of them and will even add a brand new one to the mix.

Sonic's Lego journey started as a fan submission to Lego Ideas and is now a collection that is growing at a very fast rate. Shadow got his first Lego set at the end of 2023, Knuckles first set launched on New Year's Day, and now both characters will be getting their very own BrickHeadz. Both revealed by Lego via their new store listing, the set will be available to buy from February 1, 2024.

The shine is kind of off the MCU right now. Its movies are struggling to draw the numbers its biggest hits have done for the last decade and a half, and people are tapping out of the TV shows. With only one MCU film releasing in 2024, now is the perfect time to reflect on the its glory days. Look back at The Infinity Saga when the series was at its peak, and maybe pick up the new Hall of Armor FigPin set dedicated to Iron Man's suits.

If you received new Lego sets for the holidays and you've been busy piecing them together for the past week, pick up the pace. I'm kidding of course, take your time, but Lego has just made a lot of new sets available to kick off the new year. Most of the sets had been revealed ahead of time, but now that 2024 is officially underway, they're available to buy through the official Lego store.

Another weekend means another batch of streaming recommendations, and there's plenty of variety to choose from this week. Julia Roberts, Ethan Hawke, and Mahershala Ali star in new Netflix thriller Leave the World Behind, while Todd Haynes' May December, which is already generating Oscar buzz for actor Charles Melton, has made its way to the UK via Sky Cinema. If you're in the mood for something a little more festive and lighthearted, try animated movie Merry Little Batman or Christmas rom-com Your Christmas or Mine 2, both on Prime Video.

The Sandman season 2 has begun filming – and we can't wait.

Insomniac had its work cut out for it with Spider-Man 2 . To say expectations were high going into this sequel is an understatement, buffered by both the first game's major success and the bridge between console generations that was Miles Morales. This new Spidey adventure had to take the best elements from those games, mix them with new characters, features, and stories, and produce the kind of game fans will talk about for years. Somehow, they did just that; Spider-Man 2 is, to get the easy pun out of the way early, amazing. 

features a great deal of side content for Peter and Miles to explore while traversing through the streets of New York City. Though this exceptional game has a phenomenal main story, some of the game's side missions and activities are so good that they almost steal the show. One notable highlight in many of 's side missions and activities is their brilliant cutscenes, which can offer incredible cinematics, ambiance, and an invaluable addition to the game's narrative.

While is one of the biggest releases of the year, it also came with a number of bugs, which a recent update has helped to alleviate — unfortunately, the patch has also removed a hidden exploit that allowed players to free-roam the city as Venom. The first game in the series to feature both Peter Parker and Miles Morales as playable protagonists, also had a major focus on adapting the popular symbiote storyline from the classic comics, including the introduction of iconic Spider-Man villain Venom alongside fellow Marvel antagonists Sandman and Kraven.

Miles plays an enormous role in ; however, he is, throughout large sections of the game, overshadowed by Peter Parker and can come off feeling like a secondary character rather than a joint protagonist of equal importance. Though Peter is the original Spider-Man and, therefore, has decades of fan recognition, Miles Morales has, in recent years, become just as popular and widely beloved as his friend and mentor, both in the comics, as well as the film and video game adaptions. Although Miles doesn't solely possess the spotlight in the latest installment of Insomniacs' games, he does go through a lot.

Whether or not Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 will receive post-launch DLC similar to the first game remains to be seen, but creative director Bryan Intihar sure seems to be hinting at not just upcoming content, but possibly upcoming content related to fellow Marvel superhero Daredevil.

features two playable protagonists, Peter Parker and Miles Morales. Throughout the duration of, both Peter and Miles will unlock a plethora of abilities that will add to their already impressive arsenal of crime-fighting skills and gadgets. While these impressive abilities are generally worth the time and effort to unlock from the skill tree, some of Spider-Man's are undoubtedly better than others, and should be obtained as soon as possible.

Throughout , the life of the original Spider-Man, Peter Parker, is put in perilous jeopardy on numerous occasions. The web-shooting, wall-climbing superhero has seemingly never been so vulnerable in any of his previous bouts, including the showdown with the Sinister Six in Insomniac's first title. Despite the plethora of threats in, Peter is a remarkably resilient character, though at one point his toughness and durability are tested to the extreme. Though an iconic figure, he is far from immortal, a fact that has led many to wonder what happens to Spider-Man in — could he really be killed by Kraven or Venom?

Part of what makes our friendly neighborhood Spidey so special is his care and compassion for community. In Spider-Man 2, side quests reinforce some of the series’ guiding ideals: heroism isn’t always about taking down larger-than-life villains, like The Sandman. Sometimes, your challenges require a more thoughtful touch.

Mary Jane Watson plays a significant role in , both from a narrative perspective as Peter's girlfriend, but also as a temporarily playable character, and most interestingly as part of one of the game's more surprising twists. MJ was introduced to the Spider-Man canon in 1965; since then she has gone on to become Peter Parker's main love interest and the principal beneficiary of his affection in the franchise's many movies, comics, and video games.

Spider-patch, Spider-patch, does whatever a Spider-patch can.

Marvel's Spider-Man 2 may have introduced a bunch of new characters, but Insomniac says it's "not running out of villains" just yet. 

When you have a team like Insomniac Games working on a set of Marvel Comics characters, you might feel they would “connect” the two titles in various ways. With the release of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 and the very positive reaction to it, many expected a hint of what might come next with Marvel’s Wolverine, a game that we haven’t gotten any new details on in some time. To that end, there are no direct crossovers or “hints” of where Wolverine might be in this world or what his game might entail. According to the creative director for the projects, that was by design, but they are still “connected.”

Marvel's Spider-Man 2's director has addressed the Sandman plothole and there isn't really any reason as to why the villain appeared in both games. 

Abilities in are different for Miles and Peter, although certain ones are able to accomplish similar things, such as throwing enemies in the air or dashing toward them. Abilities are equipped and mapped to a button, meaning Peter can have four active abilities at any given time. Each button has two or three abilities available to map onto it that cannot be assigned anywhere else, although players can switch them out if they so desire.

Spider-Man 2's director, Bryan Intihar, has acknowledged that Sandman's inclusion in the sequel is a bit of a plothole thanks to a collectible that could be found in the first game.

NOTE: There are some spoilers ahead for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2.

Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is full of easter eggs, though one in particular stood out for fans. A plaque mentioning the Nelson and Murdock law firm was found in the first installment somewhere in Hell's Kitchen; in this sequel, the plaque is still there, but the Nelson and Murdock text is gone, hinting at a possible relocation of their office.

Like the first, features a vast array of villains and several exceptional bosses; however, not all of the interactions with bosses are equal in excitement, fun, or difficulty, some of the game's boss battles are far more challenging than others. Though each boss battle in presents a unique set of challenges, a few of these fights will push the player's ability to its very limits.

For all the cool things that Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 has to offer, some concepts didn’t make it. Speaking on IGN’s Beyond, senior creative director Bryan Intihar revealed that the Symbiote possessing Sandman was one such idea.

Having finished Marvel's Spider-Man 2, Tamoor and Lucy sit down with the game's senior creative director to discuss how the story came together and dissect everything about the ending.

Having finished Marvel's Spider-Man 2, Tamoor and Lucy sit down with the game's senior creative director to discuss how the story came together and dissect everything about the ending.

There’s been plenty of chatter about Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 since its launch one week ago. Many were surprised by various events in the game, and others are already curious about what the third game in the series will be when it potentially arrives. However, the team at Insomniac Games has been sharing some unique insights into the title about stuff that didn’t make the cut. It’s only natural that some ideas were left on the cutting room floor for one reason or another. But when it came to the game’s opening villain, Sandman, they would take things in a WHOLE new direction.

Despite passionate romances, a little bit of body horror, and plenty of scares (Doc Ock’s surgery scene in Raimi’s Spider-Man 2, anyone?), Spider-Man has generally been a family-friendly superhero franchise. Peter Parker certainly has an “Aw, shucks” energy to him, and the Spider gang is usually made up of young people trying to make their way in the world (or high school, or college). The games also go to great lengths to show you the goons you fight are ultimately unharmed — throw (or kick) someone off a building, and they will automatically get webbed to a nearby surface on their way down.

Upon booting up Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, I did what any self-respecting New Yorker would do: I beelined it toward my favorite part of the city as soon as possible, to see how Insomniac Games had recreated the locale. In my case, this meant veering toward South Brooklyn, even as Sandman was wreaking havoc on the infrastructure of Manhattan’s Financial District. However, as I swung beneath the gothic arches of Brooklyn Bridge, the better to glimpse the steel girders and stevedore cranes of Red Hook from a distance, the vista confirmed what I had feared deep down: My favorite neighborhood wasn’t even there.

Spider-Man 2 fans are wondering where the heck Taskmaster is during the events of the campaign, as he can be spotted on Kraven's hunting list but isn't seen or mentioned anywhere else.

Marvel's Spider-Man 2 fans have realized that the game is missing a villain they expected to return from the first game.

The most awaited Spider-Man 2 game has been released in the PlayStation Studios and is already breaking records by becoming the fastest-selling game on the platform. Within 24 hours of its release, it sold millions of copies which marks the game's popularity and demand among gaming enthusiasts. This is not the first time Marvel's Spider-Man has gone on a record-breaking spree, its first game also broke the record for the same title by selling 3.3 million copies in the first three days, according to The Verge.

A Spidey fan has managed to get Marvel's Spider-Man 2 running on a PS4 - if you can call it running...

Netflix has a new number one show as time-bending murder mystery Bodies tops the streaming list. Starring Stephen Graham, the crime thriller series is set across four timelines as four detectives end up investigating the same murder. 

Flint Marko, better known as the Sandman, has quite a few memories scattered around New York in . Marko's Memories are crystals protected by a horde of sand creatures. These crystals house the Sandman's memories and show up after completing the first two main story missions. Marko's Memories are similar to the Black Cat Stakeouts from the first game in that they teach Spider-Man something about his enemies.

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2is finally here, folks. After Marvel’s Spider-Manin 2018 and Miles Moralesin 2020, Insomniac has brought the two Spider-Mans fully together in the new PS5 game. By all reports, it’s a lot of fun.

Considering how successful Insomniac Games’ first two Spider-Man games (Marvel’s Spider-Man and Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales) were, it wasn’t going to be difficult to convince fans to purchase the sequel, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, on release day. With the highly anticipated new title, the studio takes everything they’ve learned from their previous superhero games and pushes the envelope even further with a slew of exciting features that fans of the franchise have been eagerly waiting for. So, before we even get into the details, it’s safe to say Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is everything you hoped for and more. It’s a masterpiece and easily the best game the PS5 has to offer so far.

It’s time to Web-Swing. With Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 out now worldwide, you may already have taken your first tour of Manhattan, Brooklyn, or Queens by web or Web Wings. Put Peter and Miles’s masked aerobatics to good use to quell crime and tackle new emerging threats, browsed the new suits and styles with relish, tinkered with a range of accessibility options. 

In Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Spidey is a firefighter, a city engineer, a one-man medical airlift, an open-source GMO chemist, and a protector of New York’s precarious bee community. But there’s one thing this Spider-Man is not: a cop.

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is now available to play on PlayStation 5.

Marvel's Spider-Man 2 has officially released, but even with a whole new story to play through, some fans can't help but wonder; when's the next game out? 

Spider-Man 2 is packed with classic villains from the web-slinger’s deep roster of bad guys. If you’re eager to dig in and see all the villain bosses you’ll encounter with Peter Parker and Miles Morales, check them out in the full gallery below. Whether these villains appear as bosses or they’re teased for future encounters, we’ll list them and offer a (brief) explanation for those of you that don’t know who the heck these bad guys even are. There are a lot of fan-favorites appearing in Spider-Man 2, and even a few left-field inclusions we didn’t see coming. Here’s a quick look at Spider-Man’s massive rogues gallery.

Here's where to find all 14 of Sandman's memory fragments around New York.

The camera function on your phone is unlocked automatically at the very start of Spider-Man 2, and the original shutterbug can sell photos as one of many side-gigs. Photo Ops are your chance to show off your photography skills — there are interesting subjects to snap photos of, and they’re all over the city. You’ll need to find their locations to mark them on your map, and even if you’ve found the area, it isn’t always clear what you need to take a picture of. Below we’ll show you where to find all 23 photo opportunities and explain what you’re actually taking pictures of. Find them all to unlock the ‘New York, New York‘ trophy.

Right at the start of Spider-Man 2, you’ll have to deal with a rampaging Flint Marko — the Sandman. After the battle is over, both Spider-Men will discover strange crystals scattered all over the city where more of Sandman’s copies will spawn. To clear the area, you’ll need to find each crystal and smash it. Destroying the Crystals also reveals why Flint went on a rampage in the first place. You can help Sandman put his mind back together and make the city safer. You’ll just need to find them. There are 13 Marko’s Memories on the map. Here’s where to find each one.

The PS5 exclusive will also receive mission replay functionality in a future patch.

Come on, it’s hard not to be excited about Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. Even if you’re gaming on the Xbox Series X/S console, you might be bummed not to enjoy this game. Xbox players might feel a bit of the dread PlayStation users felt when Starfield was released. However, if you have a PlayStation 5, the release of the next major exclusive, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, comes tomorrow. The game has gained a lot of attention over the years as we waited for Insomniac Games to bring the new title into the marketplace.

If you've been keeping an eye on the development of Spider-Man 2 over the course of the past year, you'll know that Peter Parker can randomly find Miles Morales whilst swinging through New York, and vice versa. Playing as either Spider-Man, you'll be able to help the other one out if you find them wailing on some bad guys, and you'll be treated with a unique bit of dialogue or interaction between the two Spider-Men for your effort.

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is nearly here. Fans are eager to dive into this game, and we will soon see its release this Friday. However, if you’re watching everything released regarding the game, you might have noticed some online debates regarding fast travel. Now, the PlayStation 5 is a powerhouse of a console, so we’re still seeing some impressive features get highlighted simply due to the power of the PS5. One of the features that developers have continued to credit is the SSD. It’s allowed the game to load incredibly quickly, and that might have some wondering if there’s any trickery happening behind the scenes. 

Mary-Jane Watson could be playable in Marvel's Spider-Man 2, and fans are divided over whether that's a good thing or not.

Marvel's Spider-Man 2's launch trailer gives us our first glimpse of Sandman, and many fans hope he's out for revenge.

For my money, web-swinging around New York City in Marvel’s Spider-Man is perhaps the singular best game mechanic I’ve come across in the last decade or so. It feels so incredibly right, and almost everything else in that game is built off it. I never really wanted to use fast-travel features, because swinging around was much more fun, and finding hidden missions and helping citizens in trouble as you traverse NYC is almost as rewarding as following the game’s main story. Of course, a great mechanic isn’t enough to make a great game, but Spider-Man is one of the most successful open-world style games I can think of, because it felt packed without being overwhelming.