inFamous 2 Review

inFamous 2 is a great example of developers understanding that, if it ain’t broke – don’t fix it. The first inFamous game from Sucker Punch was released back in 2009 as a pleasant surprise, an original IP that was packed with content, an intriguing story, and above all – original and fun open-world gameplay. Accomplishing that wasn’t an easy task, especially for a superhero with no pre-existing comic books to create the lore and an existing fan base. inFamous pulled it off, and with the sequel now in stores, it’s great to see that the developers managed to retain both the fun and excitement of the game, while introducing enough new elements to make it feel fresh again.

The story of inFamous 2 continues right where the original left off, which means there’s little room for explanations. If you haven’t played the original, much of the back story will be missing and many of the later references to previous characters and events will be meaningless. So to get to know Cole, you should play the original adventure first in order to get caught up with the story, but also because it remains a good game to this day. At the outset, Cole comes face to face with the Beast, an evil entity that seems set on destroying everything and everyone in its path. Being unable to defeat the Beast, he and his best friend Zeke set out to New Marais thanks to an FBI agent involved with the Ray Sphere project. There, their goal is to make Cole more powerful in order to defeat this threat.

A number of characters come into the story this time around, all fairly well fleshed out and interesting in their own right. Many of the characters play a pivotal role in the game’s events, and are not just passers by. There was also a surprising amount of well timed slapstick humor that works amazing well to spice up the dialogue, and is a step away from the overly serious original. Much like before, Cole will have many choices presented that are either Evil or Good, which is perhaps a bit bland compared to the complex choices in something like the Witcher 2. But hey, this is an action superhero game, so coloring moral decisions in black and white fits the setting. If anything, this provides the game with at least one more replay value, and unlike the original inFamous which only differed in cutscenes, the sequel has substantially different situations and gameplay objectives based on decisions made. Overall the story is quite enjoyable, though it lacks an impacting twist that made the original inFamous’ narrative memorable.

inFamous 2 retains the open world sandbox gameplay with style. Everything that made the original game a fun experience is still here. For melee combat, Cole has a new Amp weapon this time around which apparently helps to focus his attacks – though it has little actual impact on the gameplay. Everything is as you remember it to be, with smooth combat animations, takedowns, and inability to block. The powers and character progression has been revamped a bit, now relying available XP, story progression, and stunts performed. Stunts have been incorporated into the unlock system rather than be a side bonus as in the last game, so unlocking some of the powers to be used requires Cole to perform certain combat moves and takedowns. It works well and stunts are on the easier side, though it seems odd that stunts are only counted towards an unlock once the power has been discovered, and not in retrospect.

There are a number of cool new powers as well as some returning ones, but perhaps the coolest are the Ionic powers which can only be used when Cole collects an energy source from a fallen enemy. These powers are simply devastating, and are among the coolest and most useful in the game. They come in handy, too, as the game’s Normal difficulty has been rather ramped up, and enemies take a lot of hits to go down. The AI remains fairly basic, depending on the type of enemy, and won’t do much else but attack you head on. Later enemies are proficient at executing damaging attacks and quickly getting out of harm’s way, making for a more challenging experience.

Developers should be given credit for the spectacular set pieces, which are made more effective thanks to AI programming decisions. As a large monster rampages down the street, it isn’t zeroed-in on the player. Instead, it’s set to cause general mayhem as even the militia (who are your typical enemies) ignore Cole in order to deal with a bigger threat. There are some amazing thrills to be had as Cole attempts to catch up to the monster, running alongside it on rooftops, in order to get into a position for attack.

To get from one mission to the next, platforming is still at the center stage of the gameplay experience. Cole is able to grab on to many natural objects in the environment, and climb as high as the eye can see (and then to thunder-drop on the poor chaps below). Though not as completely free as Prototype, it feels much more enjoyable than Assassin’s Creed. Players are also able to hover over distances, and later on even unlock a grappling hook-like power which makes for a whole new gameplay dimension in plaforming. Riding on power lines and jump-boosting with cars is all in the day’s work, and in general it all feels very familiar. It still works though, and aside from an annoying camera issue or two, traversing the game world remains fun.

Much like the original, the world is filled with side quests and various things to do. Blast shard collecting makes a return unchanged, and so do the various side missions that allow the player to decrease enemy activity in any given sector. There are 60 of these side missions, and they provide adequate variety but ultimately begin to repeat a little. New this time around are the small random events in the world, such as anti-Cole protests, muggings, and kidnappings of the citizens. Players can choose to participate in these quick distractions for extra XP and Karma points. The grand scale of the game’s content is just as impressive as it’s ever been, so really the only criticism one may have when approaching this sequel is that it certainly doesn’t evolve much. It’s a case of not trying to revolutionize what is already working great, and that’s going to be just fine for most players.

As the series doesn’t seem like a good fit for multiplayer modes, developers instead created a user generated content engine. Whenever playing the game, green mission markers placed throughout the world indicate that a user-created mission can be played. It’s all very similar to other Sony titles such as LittleBigPlanet, where users can create and publish their missions online, and others access them via their own single player campaign. The tools for creating UGC (user generated content) are very robust, allowing for some complex scenarios and AI scripting. However at this early stage, most missions are either broken or impossible to complete thanks to a purposefully extreme number of enemies. Some great levels already exist though, and they are more than just variations on the game’s side missions (though those are still the dominant as featured levels).

inFamous 2 is set in New Marais, the style and architecture of which is very reminiscent of New Orleans. The game approaches the setting from a very respectful angle, showcasing both the bright lights and verandas of the red district as well as the shacks and collapsed buildings in the flooded areas. Although the world is a bit more unique and diverse than Empire City, many of the textures will look familiar to those who played the original. What won’t be familiar is the look of Cole as well as his voice – a decision by developers which remains groundless. The new look and voice actor of the protagonist do nothing to either improve or degrade the experience, and even though players will get used to it, there is little reason we didn’t get the original Cole in the sequel. Well, at least overall the game looks much better, with higher resolution textures, high contrast lighting, and great destruction effects. The soundtrack is good, but often gets lost in the ambient sounds of the world.

What the original inFamous established as an original but sometimes unpolished experience, the sequel takes to a new level. The gameplay hasn’t changed much, which is perhaps the game’s weakest point, but it remains unquestionably fun and that’s more than enough for most. Action has been ramped up with updated animations and devastating Ionic powers, and platforming still feels like a great mix between realistic and superhuman. The side missions and shards can provide many hours of exploration and roaming in New Marais, while the main story is also quite enjoyable. User generated content introduces the notion of a connected experience, and a possibility for potentially endless amount of side quests to try. For fans of the original, this is a must-buy, and for the rest of us, it’s a very fun superhero action romp that comes easily recommended for all PlayStation 3 owners.