I thought Spider-Man 2 was good, but the graphics and the side-missions were bad, as was the story. I found Ultimate Spider-Man to be a wholly improved version of SM2 (and you can play as Venom! VENOM!!!!) although I wasn't a fan of the required city events to unlock stuff.

They're basically polar opposites of each other. The appeal of Spider-Man 2 lied in it's web swinging mechanics and free roam. Just going from point A to point B was often the highlight of every mission. The missions themselves were lackluster.

The web swing mechanics in Ultimate Spider-Man, by comparison, were very standard, travel could often be very boring and slow, however the story was like a really, really good fan fiction, the combat was tight, and the missions were super enjoyable.

Spider-Man 2.

@nickzambuto I disagree, I thought the missions in SM2 were actually pretty good. The Mysterio storyline was also gold.

@symbioticspider-man: Look look.......USM has the best world i have seen in a video game.....it's 111 issues of Bendis Bagley in a disk.....Spider-Man 2 is a better game overall.....thus i like USM better.

Ultimate Spider-Man.

USM

I personally recall liking Spider-Man 2 a bit more as a lad. Combat felt crunchier, less missions annoyed me, and the web-swinging was a bit better. Pretty subjective though. I think USM has aged much better though. The comic look of the game does wonders for how it feels to explore the game, gives it its own unique vibe that is wholly its own and still looks solid today. The more "realistic" Spider-Man 2's world has aged poorly as it's been done far better since (which isn't really its fault, its an older game on older consoles, but still).