Infamous 2 by Sucker Punch and Sony is an interesting beast to say the least.  Going back in time a bit I wasn’t a huge fan of the original game.  I felt the story was a little bland and the camera issues simply killed the game for me.  I walked into the world of Infamous 2 with a little bit of hesitation but my gut feeling said to give this game a chance.  I am glad I did because Infamous 2 is a whole different beast from the first game.  In a time where the Playstation needs iconic characters, Cole Mcgrath fills that role quite nicely.  Set in a sort of New Orleans like city called New Marias, Infamous 2 starts off right from the end of the first game.  The Beast has laid waste to everything around him and you must find a way to stop The Beast from destroying everything around him.  Let’s jump right into the world of Infamous 2 and find out what we thought about it.

What We Thought Was Cool

Ultra Powers:

There is something awesome about being a “Super Hero” and using that one huge power to gain an advantage in a tricky fight.  Infamous 2’s “Ultra” power is that one move that left me staring at my screen saying “Wow, that was cool.  Having Cole send a giant tornado across the landscape filled with lightning is just simple destruction.  everything caught in it’s path including civilians and buildings will get flown up to the heavens.  There are other Ultra attacks that use ice and pure lightning that give the same amount of cool factor to use.

Play Your Way:

The way you play Infamous 2 is up to you.  Do you feel like being a bad guy the entire time and killing everyone for getting in your way?  You can do that and in doing so it will unlock powers for that karma range.  No matter what side of the coin you wish to play, powers will unlock appropriate for that karma.  Missions in the game give you a good or bad choice and what you decide will change the path of the story.  With two endings to the game there really is just a ton of replay factor here.

Always Something To Do:

Infamous 2 has a mega ton of things to do.  Not only do you have major story missions but there are tons of side missions in the game.  Topping that are good and bad karma events to help you build points towards your goals.  Oh and not to mention the addition of User Generated Content that auto imports fan made missions into the game.  You could literally spend hours just doing these missions and not get tired of the universe.  The previous game felt like there wasn’t much to do when the story was done and Infamous 2 has really upped the bar for an open world.

Super Hero Story:

Straight out of a comic book (complete with comic like cut scenes), Infamous 2 has a story that any comic fan will love.  The dark and brooding main character who needs to find his way, two love interests, and the knucklehead buddy complete the cast.  The story in Infamous 2 keeps the player locked in no matter what decisions they make playing through the game.  There are several “edge of your seat” moments and not once did I find myself zoning out while playing the story missions.  This was a big change from the original game and some kudos need to be sent to the writing staff.

What We Thought Sucked

The Camera:

As with the first game, the camera in Infamous 2 is your worst enemy.  In an open world game that requires you to use parkour skills for dashing across roof tops the camera sure does make you hate life.  There were several missions where the camera decided to swing into no mans land on its own and I ended up getting swarmed by mobs because I couldn’t correct in time.  The camera seems to always be a problem in these type of games and hopefully one days some developer will find a way to make it right.

Repetitive Action:

While there are tons of missions to take part of some of them feel like you are doing the same thing over and over.  Fighting Bertrand’s Militia feels almost identical to the ice guards that you run across later in the game.  There really is just a smash and grab type feeling to some of them where all you need to do is rush in, fire off some bolts, and you are done with the mission.

Creating Power:

During several parts of the story you are required to give power back to the new areas you encounter.  While I understand that this is an integral part of the story the way you go about is is nauseating.  Cole needs to fire off “Tesla Missles” from generators and then he needs to guard them until they are at full charge.  Sounds easy right?  It would be if the waves of mobs coming to kill you weren’t so damn over powered.  For the first time in the game i ended up turning down the difficulty meter just so I could pass the part.  There were moments where even with cover and a lightning blast I was gone in 4 or 5 hits.

Final Thoughts

Infamous 2 is leaps and bounds above the original title. A fun game that immerses the player into the frustrating world of Cole Mcgrath.  the characters are engaging and there is a lot of replay factor with the tons of missions.  While the game is not perfect it deserves to be played and is a recommended buy for our Shogunites.