Is this sequel electrifying or does need it CPR?
inFAMOUS 2 picks up after the original and once again you play as Cole MacGrath. A creature only known as “The Beast” is too powerful for Cole and destroys Empire City, so he and his team escape to New Marais as The Beast heads towards you for a final showdown, destroying everything in his path. Essentially, Cole has to get more powerful to beat his nemesis and if that wasn’t bad enough, there’s a civil war to contend with as well as monsters that walk the city.
inFAMOUS 2 still puts you in an open world environment and choices you make will impact your character’s abilities and the path which you end up on. New Marais is a pretty big place and is fun to explore, although you’ll mostly be battling random enemies that pop up on the map as well as hunting down fragments that will extend your powers. Everything you do earns you experience which you can spend on unlocking new abilities when you reach a certain point in the story to be able to buy them.
Since the game changes depending on whether you are good or bad, it really pays to play through the game twice to see how different the outcomes are. You’ll get different missions and different abilities for being on one side as opposed to the other. If that wasn’t enough, there are creative tools for everyone to make their own missions that are plastered all over New Marais through PSN. While the tools aren’t the easiest to use, once you figure them out it’s like then it’s just like having a whole new game to play with, plus you can play other people’s creations like LittleBigPlanet, so it’s a nice addition.
Cole’s main power is electricity which lets him throw lightning bolts, shock grenades and use a blade that harnesses his power. But once he runs out of juice, he’s very vulnerable until he gets some power into his system from anything that carries a current like a generator or even a car. But there are some areas on the map that don’t have any power, so Cole has to be careful when traversing these parts of the city and he still doesn’t seem to like water that much, which makes sense…but its silly for him to die in a shallow swamp because of a mistimed jump.
Getting round the city is easy as Cole uses the power lines to zip around, as well as being able to climb the buildings with ease, although it seems to work just by tapping the X button like a madman. It’s not quite on par with the way Ezio climbs in Assassin’s Creed, but it’s still fairly decent. Combat is fun, although it can be very challenging at times and getting killed seems to be far too easy.
Visually, inFAMOUS 2 is a nice looking game that has a steady framerate. The comic-book-esque cutscenes are very well done and the city looks great. If there’s one complaint it’s that the character models let it down somewhat. Voice-acting is good and the story isn’t too shabby either.
The Verdict
inFAMOUS 2 surpasses the original with a better story and the ability to create your own missions, but it can be a bit clumsy at times and dying can seem too happen far too often, even on the average difficulty level. These issues aside, inFAMOUS 2 is a truly enjoyable experience that every PS3 owner should play.
