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Infamous 2 has a pretty big set of shoes to fill after the success of the first. It seemed like it would be hard to improve upon the mechanics of the first game. Yet Sucker Punch studios managed to find a way, and produce a worthy sequel to Infamous.
GAMEPLAY
If you have played Infamous then you will feel right at home with Infamous 2. Not much has changed gameplay wise from the original except for loads of polish. Your character will keep his powers, avoiding a Metroid or God of War scenario, and earn additional powers throughout the game. Climbing mechanics, aiming, melee combat all feels more fluid and lively when compared to the original. You will explore a brand new city, take side quests and missions, find dead drops and shards... its all here all over again just with a new coat of paint. On top of new powers to unlock, Cole now has access to THE AMP which allows him additional combat moves especially with melee. To top it all off the map now has some destructible elements which add a nice bit of devastation to Cole's attacks, and goes along exceptionally well if you decide to take the EVIL path.
One thing that does put a damper on the gameplay however is the camera mechanics. This time around the camera got in my way a lot more than it did in the first installment, especially when it came to melee combat with the amp. The camera gave this really nice comic book effect sometimes, giving nice low angle close ups to the fight but it also cut off my view of oncoming danger; and sometimes when jumping would go behind a building or wall leaving me blind to my position. While not a major problem it does put a tiny damper on the gameplay
GRAPHICS
A big time improvement over the first game, and overall the game looks great! The graphics are rendered exceptionally well, and the effects of Cole's powers never looked better. The best part of all is the new city. It looks magnificent when compared to the previous. There is a lot more activity and visual effects going on that really do make the city feel more alive. It is a major improvement over the first title I feel.
SOUND/STORY
Sound wise, the game is very lively. Cole's powers have a lot more effect to them and overall the game just sounds great. Voice acting is of high quality in my book. The new voice actor for Cole at first might seem out of place, when compared with the original, but it grew on me over time. Story wise the game has a decent story, on par with the first game. Like in the original you can chose to be Good or Evil depending on your actions making for two endings and in a way; Two story arcs each leading to different sets of skill upgrades and storyline elements.
REPLAY/LENGTH
Depending on how obsessed you get with collecting shards, dead drops, side quests etc the game should take you anywhere from 14 17 hrs. Replay value is exceptionally high! Not only do you have both a Good and Evil storyline to complete, but shards, dead drops, side quests all return and then some. If you loved the first you will have no problem playing though this game twice with ease.
There is also an online element to Infamous 2 which allows you to create and play user created maps/content. While the controls and implementation of the creator do need some work (in my opinion) the level of creation available is high. Given some time expect to see some wild user-generated content online!
OVERALL A... 90%
Infamous 2 does the original game justice. It doesn't change the formula much, instead just improving upon what made the original a greatest hit; while also giving it a nice face lift graphically. Throw in new super-powers, user-generated content and online, and you have yourself a winner. While Infamous 2 is not a perfect game, it does more than enough to make itself out to be a powerful, high quality title well worth the price of admission.
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'Infamous 2' is the best video game I've played all year. It's a sequel that takes the strengths of the original game, polishes off the rough areas and injects a heavy dose of color and personality. The gameplay's more exciting, the setting is more appealing, and not since 'God of War' has there been a game that makes you feel like a super-powered badass!'Infamous 2' puts you in the role of series protagonist Cole MacGrath, a person with electric superpowers who's done great good or evil (depending on how you play) for his home town of Empire City. After losing a battle with a super being known only as 'the Beast', Empire City is destroyed and Cole and his allies flee to New Marais (think New Orleans) to upgrade. The story is pretty straight-forward comic book fare with Cole getting involved in the conflicts of New Marais while powering up for his rematch with the Beast. The comic-style cutscenes from 'Infamous 1' are back and sharper than ever, but the real joy is the improved in-game cutscenes which seem movie-quality thanks to the engaging main characters. The cutscenes and story do change a little in 'Infamous 2' depending on whether you're a hero or villain but it's mostly towards the end of the game. The story DOES assume you've played 'Infamous 1' so interested gamers will want to start with the original game first.
The graphics in 'Infamous 2' (with a few exceptions) are excellent. While the actual graphics are a little more detailed in texture than in 'Infamous 1', the improved motion-capture makes Cole and other characters move naturally giving them an organic look. The setting of New Marais is also a big improvement over Empire City as each location looks fresh and varied with excellent use of color and details to make the town come alive. It's no Liberty City (and is a bit smaller than Empire City) but it suits 'Infamous 2's comic book world perfectly!
The audio in 'Infamous 2' is also a treat with more Bluegrass-inspired tunes to compliment the New Orleans-themed setting. The voice-work is top-notch with new voice and mo-cap actor Eric Laden (of 'Left 4 Dead 2' fame) making the character of Cole his own! Nika Futterman is also a standout as the fire-powered 'Nix'.
While 'Infamous 2' is aesthetically an improvement over 'Infamous 1' the basic gameplay is very much the same. You're still running/jumping/climbing/flying across buildings and covering and shooting with your powers. The side quests are much more varied than 'Infamous 1' but still not that complicated. The dead-drops (which I all but ignored in the original game) are now essential if you want to flesh out more of Infamous 2's story and characters. There are some racing-type missions (or 'overload' missions) on rooftops but they take a back seat to more super-powered battles in the streets. I personally liked this change as battling against other super-powered beings was my favorite part of Infamous 1 but some gamers might be put off with a more 'shooter'-minded approach. Also, the camera does get stuck sometimes (especially during the melee attacks) and while I never died as a result it did become a hassle.
The major gameplay change in 'Infamous 2' is your powers. You still need EXP to upgrade abilities (which get unlocked as the story goes), but to actually obtain a power you have to pull off certain stunts and moves with your current abilities. This makes the game much more involved in my opinion in that it makes you experiment with each power before upgrading. There's also a LOT more powers to obtain in 'Infamous 2', so much so that you have to go into your menu and assign different upgrades to different buttons. The Good/Evil powers are much more varied as 'Good' powers focus on precision and 'Evil' powers focus on destruction. For that reason alone the game is worth playing through twice!
While 'Infamous 2' won't impress detractors of the first game, it does just enough different and does it with more excitement and thrills that it'll easily entertain series fans! I want to stress that you DO want to complete the first 'Infamous' before diving into this sequel as certain story-elements may not make sense ( and hey, Infamous 1 is still a great game...which will hopefully make one kick-ass holiday bundle!!). Fans of Infamous 1 and empowering sandbox games, this is a must buy!...you will LOVE Infamous 2! Infamous 2 improves on Infamous 1 in almost every way.
Simply put, Infamous 2 is fun. Fun! Why?
-Satisfying combat
--The new combat system is much improved from Infamous 1, essential giving you a huge arsenal of unique powers to choose from. You will unlock different bolts, blasts, grenades, rockets, and ionic attacks (think lightning storm). You can only equip one of each type of attack at a time, but can switch which is equipped on the fly. I should point out Good and Evil paths unlock different powers.
--Combat is more difficult than Infamous 1 (I'm playing on hard), which is a heartily welcomed improvement. Enemies are tougher and your wounds don't heal as fast when you exit combat. Also unlike Infamous 1, you can challenge yourself by your selection of powers. I see myself going back and completed the game again with just weakest powers for an additional challenge.
--Stealth can play a larger role because enemies don't notice you as easily, which is nice.
--The amp! Melee combat is a blast thanks to it
--Interaction with environment means lots of ways to take down enemies
-The parkour platforming elements means traversing the city is never boring, and can be quite enjoyable
-Many many side missions to complete
-Many many blast shards to collect
-Many many powers to unlock
-Improved karma system from Infamous 1
-More random city events than Infamous 1
-User generated content. Although limited at the moment, seems to have much potential.
Negatives:
-The camera can be a bit wonky at times
-Cole sometimes falls through objects unexpectedly while climbing
-Side missions can become repetitive (but hey, there's 60 of them, what do you expect?)
All in all, Infamous 2 is an awesome blend of FPS, action/RPG, and platformer. I highly recommend it as one of the best games for PS3. But play Infamous 1 first so you know the story!
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Just buy this game. I was a fan of the first infamous, but I felt like it just never was what it should be. THis game is the game it needed to be. THey have improved on every single aspect of this game. The beginning intro is right up there with the God of War 3 intro, and it sets the tone for the entire game. You are reminded every now and then just how far the Beast is, and hes coming for you! So many times when I was playing it, I just had to look around and take it all in. Thing is beautiful man. And the pre order dlc I got is pretty cool, the gold amp, sly cane, caveman stick, and samurai sword. WHats cool is that for all the other "amp" skins, they have their own unique electrical field when you use it. This game is a beast yo. No pun intendedFor the purpose of the review, I've played the standard edition of the game.The game starts up with giving you an option of continuing a past inFAMOUS storyline. (As either good or evil, and will also import blast shards. I've had to format my hard drive since last beating the first game, so I'm unsure of how well this feature works) Once you've decided to continue your storyline or begin a new game, you're thrown in to a very exciting opening scene. From here on, I'll separate each major piece of the game into separate sections.
Graphics The game looks really good. The shadows glitching on the faces from the first game in the series is gone. Cole, as well as other characters have updated looks (and voices). The animations are really smooth as well. Power special effects are also really cleanly done. I have absolutely no complaints about the graphics of the game.
Audio The soundtrack to this game has a sort of overarching main melody, but is pulled off to play during separate feelings of emotion, and I have on more than one occasion gone to find the mission on a youtube video to hear the music again.
As mentioned before, Cole has a new voice actor. This is because they (Sucker Punch) have decided to do motion and facial capturing for scenes, whereas Cole's original voice actor did not have the physicality for the part. It took a few missions to get used to the new voice, but I find that it fits in just as well.
Audio effects for powers and firearms are also well done.
Controls For the most part, they are spot on. I especially love the addition of a powers quick change button. The only moments of 'wonkyness' I've experienced are in hand-to-hand combat while civilians are around. I was playing through as a good character, and on more than one occasion in a karma boosting side mission, I've hit the civilian while intending to hit the crooks. That aside, climbing controls, movement controls, and menu controls are great.
Gameplay This is the most important part, and it works incredibly well. The game's tempo runs similarly to the first one, but the substations charge differently, and in my own opinion, it is much more fun to do.
The power-ups are plentiful, and the side missions are many (60 in total!)
Part way through, you also receive an additional element as a power for Cole as well. These powers compliment an attribute of Cole's own arsenal. There are many Blast Shards and Dead Drops to find within the game, too. 306 Blast Shards, and 29 Dead Drops.
Throw this in to the fact that you can also play through at least twice, one for each karmic branch, as well as the addition of User Generated Content, and you have one really replayable game.
(Side note, while I don't agree with User Generated Content as a game attribute, it does work well with the game for extra experience and things to do. I feel as though developers using UGC as a means of adding in to a game really pulls away from the main story, or additional things that could also be fun to play with)
Total 94/100
I really do love the inFAMOUS games, and this one is a great enhancement on the first one. I find they've really fixed some things I may have had a small problem with from the first one, (Static Thrusters, to name one) I just feel as though there are some things that could have been fine-tuned (combat targeting civilians) and karma-choices lock out and potentially make a powers tree invalid if you choose incorrectly within your own game.
That aside, I definitely recommend this game to anyone with a Playstation 3.
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