inFAMOUS 2 Review
Publisher Sony
Developer Sucker Punch
Platform PS3 exclusive
Release Date Out Now.
The original Infamous game was a slow burner, despite receiving a warm welcome from gamers and critics it took a while for it to really get going. Slowly but surely with the help of word of mouth news spread and the fans flocked to this new open world, superhero title. Its novel approach to the gameplay was welcome with fans enjoying the parkour style scaling of the city but most of all the moral decisions that affected the game so positively.
Infamous 2 picks up after the first game, (so it is worth playing Infamous 1 first, and as it’s now part of the welcome back pack you have no excuse). Cole starts out the game with all his powers intact but soon runs into trouble in the form of the beast, he then realises the task he faces this time around is far larger and with Zeke in toe heads off to a brand new city to beef up his super powers.
The gameplay remains almost identical bar a few slight improvements, but generally players will be right at home from the very start. Graphically Cole along with the rest of the game has received a polish. The new look to the game is very impressive although sometimes Cole can look a little featureless but in general everything looks much better. Along with the new moves and graphics is some new voice work too. With Eric Layden from Mad Men now voicing Cole.
As mentioned Cole is heading to a brand new city New Marais which is based loosely on New Orleans. New Marais is where the Ray sphere (that gave Cole his powers) came from.
After a flood the city becomes a haven for misbehaviour and soon a red neck group comes to power to initiate Marshal Law. The “Militia” as they are known as, act as the human enemies to halt Cole. As you know from the first title having one set of enemies is not enough and you soon find that the city is under attack by another threat in the form of mutants emerging from the surrounding swamps.
The new city is a stunning piece of design, Cole needs to be able to climb each and every building. So every wall is interactive as you spend a lot of time scaling buildings and jumping from roof top to roof top. The city is a working city too so the citizens go about their day walking or driving around and they will react to Cole. Whether that is when Cole just blows something up or depending on how you are playing the game as a hero or as a villain by choosing your moral route.
The moral decisions impact greatly on the game with different missions available for each side of the good/evil divide. Every good act increases your heroic appeal while every evil act reduces your appeal to the citizens. So it’s up to you to decide if you want to be loved or feared, and this isn’t just a gimmick the decisions really do affect your game.
The weapons available this time are all still all electricity based, a huge addition is the AMP which Cole holds in his hands for close up combat. Some other big additions include the ability to lift cars and throw them at your foe’s creating high levels of destruction. As you play through the game you unlock an ever more increasing arsenal of powers.
Over all Infamous 2 takes everything that was good about the first title and improves on it. There is very little that lets the game down, the story, the gameplay, the graphics are all well up there with the best games released this year. The added twists and moral decisions will keep you entertained throughout.
Score 9/10
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