Like the 2000 Spider-Man game and its 2001 sequel, Spider-Man 2: Enter Electro, Spider-Man is a level-based beat 'em up video game, where the player takes on the role of the superhero Spider-Man. While most levels are indoors, there are several levels set outside, among the sky-scrapers of New York, which require the player to web-sling from building to building, as falling below a certain height will result in an instant death. Levels use a scoring system that covers more aspects, such as "Time" (clear level in a set time), "Perfect" (not take damage/not be detected) and "Style" (use as many combos as possible). Some levels have other specific aspects, such as "Secrets" (uncover a secret area), "Combat" (defeat all enemies), and "stealth" (remain undetected by enemies). Players can gain, depending on difficulty, points on completing these tasks. On easy mode, each bonus is 500 points, normal is 700, and hero is 1000 each.
The basic abilities are swinging, zipping, punching and kicking, dodging, web, camera lock, and the Web Mode in Enhanced Mode. Depending on how the player combines different buttons, it will have different results. Wall-crawling is automatic, and players are also able to lift up heavy and light objects such as cars and chairs. There are 21 different combos, which are unlocked by collecting Gold Spiders, with 4 web controls, each having a type of "upgrade" to each. The game also features stealth segments, where Spider-Man can hide in the shadows and remain undetected from the enemy. While the game is primarily in third-person, a cheat code allows players to switch to first-person view.