inFAMOUS 2 Review

Game: inFAMOUS 2

Developer: Sucker Punch Productions

Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment

Available on: PlayStation 3 Only

When the first inFAMOUS game came out it was almost universally loved. A game with a comic book feel but without all of the usual clichés and put downs that we’d come to expect. A game where we, as a player, could grow along with the main character into a force to be reckoned with. A force for good or bad. A choice.

Sucker Punch Productions have now followed up that breakthrough 2009 game with inFAMOUS 2. Once again we’re in control of the Electric Man, Cole McGrath, and there’s yet more death and destruction in the wake of his new found powers. Does it live up to what we’ve come to expect from that first game, or did the pressure of attempting to make another amazing title get to the development team? There’s only one way to find out! Read on, dear reader!

STORY: From the very first moment you fire up inFAMOUS 2 you’re dropped directly into the centre of all of the troubles. You’re staring up at The Beast, the antagonist of the entire game, and you’re expected to make a stand. Naturally you’re not ready yet and you spend the rest of the game collecting blast cores and making sure that the next time you’re facing off again The Beast, you’ll be ready. You can’t fail again.

"I've heard that when lighting hits a clock tower you can go forward in time! 21 gigawatts coming up!"

This start makes the player very aware of what they can expect from the next 14 hours of gameplay. Some twists and turns along the way, similar to what we had in the first game, but for the most part you’ll be spending your time preparing for the inevitable battle with The Beast. This type of beginning to a game is very reminiscent of games such as God of War. The epic start which leads on to an entertaining story with plenty of similarly brilliant characters along the way. God of War is a PlayStation classic and inFAMOUS 2 is poised ready to join that pantheon.

The only real problem with the main storyline is that it’s hard to keep your mind focussed on it when there’s so much else that can be done in the massive city of New Marais. There’s the random citizen events, which most people will probably find hard to pass by, and side missions. Not to mention all of the User Generated Content (UGC) that will constantly keep popping up after a while. While you’re off having fun in the vast playground of New Marais, and I know how tempting that can be, remember that there is a main story, the developers spent a lot of time on it and it deserves to be played.

GRAPHICS: While the first inFAMOUS already had an amazing looking engine, inFAMOUS 2 knocks it out of the park with a massively updated engine that drops you right into the world of New Marais. Everything from the trees in the park to the back of that building that nobody is ever going to see is rendered with a lot of care and attention. inFAMOUS 2 displays a level of graphics that, almost by itself, breaths life into the new city, helping the player believe in what’s happening and making them want to help. If you thought the first game was something to marvel at, just wait until you pop this new entry into your machine. Prepare to be wowed.

The facial animation in inFAMOUS 2 is also something that is better than expected. Though not in the same park as L.A. Noire, it’s right up there with the best of the bunch. The way that all of the characters speak and form their words will keep you staring at the screen, mouth agape, as you take in every single syllable they’re uttering. Completely believing every word they’re saying and taking it all in as fact. That’s what the developers would have been looking for, especially in a game with such an in depth story, so it’s good to see that they hit the mark.

SOUND: The audio in a game such as inFAMOUS 2 (something that’s so story intensive) would usually go unnoticed by a lot of people. If players did that with this game they’d be missing out on half of the story. The music in inFAMOUS 2 is used to alert the players to potential plot points, just as a film would. Following them enables players to get down and dirty into the world of New Marais. They’ll be able to follow the audio cues and find small snippets of information that if they weren’t listening intently, they would have missed all together.

"Rocket man, burning out his fuse up here alone!"

The effects in inFAMOUS 2 are also something that’s done well. The electricity, both surging through Cole’s hands and in the various electricity sources throughout the city sound authentic, and help drive the player to feel as if they absolutely need to use their powers. If for no other reason than to hear the raw power arcing it’s way from Cole’s fingertips to the intended target. UNLIMITED POWER!!

GAMEPLAY: Just like the first game in the series, inFAMOUS 2’s gameplay revolves around the using of Cole’s powers to overcome the immediate threat that is facing the city. In inFAMOUS 2, that threat is The Beast. In a departure from what usually happens with sequels, Cole’s powers aren’t stripped from him at the start of the game. If you had the power at the end of the first game then it will be ready and waiting for you when you fire up this new entry into the franchise. Instead you’re given the opportunity to unlock a whole set of brand new powers ranging from the expected to the utterly unexpected (and entirely awesome). Needless to say most players won’t be underwhelmed with the amount of ways they’ll soon be able to take out the countless amount of enemies the game will tend to throw at them.

The good/bad mechanic from the first inFAMOUS is back and helps to not only give the player a reason to play through the game all over again, choosing a different path along the way, but also gives them the opportunity to make a moral choice at certain points throughout the game. During a mission you may be asked to go to a specific starting point based on which karmic choice you’re about to make. From the moment you make the choice it will have a lasting effect on the game. People will remember what you did, good or bad, and will react accordingly to you whenever they come across you. This mechanic helps to immerse the player in the game world as it is them making the decisions, not Cole. Immersion is always the way to a first class game and inFAMOUS 2 shows how it can be done quite well, by forcing the player to make moral decisions.

One of the most impressive additions to inFAMOUS 2’s long list of features is the User Generated Content (UGC). A fully fledged mission creator and editor that enables the users of the game to create their own missions and have them played and rated by other players. This feature is integrated directly into the gameplay and simply shows up on the map as a different coloured symbol. This feature alone ensures that there’ll be plenty of gameplay to keep players interested for as long as they want to continue playing.

"OK! Alright! DON'T give me a high five then! Spoil sport..."

LONGEVITY: When it comes to inFAMOUS 2’s longevity there’s truly no greater example of a game that just keeps on giving. Usually a game’s longevity is decided if there’s plenty of things for the player to do once the game has finished, whether that be collecting of small items that unlock something once their all collected or even ways to unlock concept art and the like. In inFAMOUS 2 the player never has to stop playing missions.

With the inclusion of the UGC system, players around the world can create missions for others to play. These missions are then integrated seamlessly into the game world and appear on the map just as any other mission would. This means that as long as people keep creating missions, people like you and I can keep playing them, therefore making the game (at least in concept) unending.

VERDICT: inFAMOUS 2 is all the way up at the top of the list when it comes to games that every PS3 owner should be playing. Even if you haven’t gotten around to buying a PS3 yet, here’s the reason you need to go out and get one right now. inFAMOUS 2 is an excellent story set on top of some of the best gameplay in the video game world right now.

Traversing the city of New Marais feels intuitive and well done, and all the hidden extras that you’re getting means that it’s one of those rare games that’s worth every single penny that the retailers are asking for. A slight feeling of repetition when it comes to some of the missions is the only thing that stops this game from getting top marks, however, if you use that as an excuse not to get it you’d only be kidding yourselves. inFamous 2 is an amazing game from a developer that can seemingly do no wrong.

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