Review :: inFamous 2

“…it’s very rare that a game will grab me in the way inFamous 2 did.”

There’s something about open-world games that just captures my imagination. I want go everywhere, climb everything and see everything these sprawling locales have to offer. The problem is, with most games of this ilk, the experience tends to get dull pretty quickly. I’m happy to report, that isn’t the case in inFamous 2. Sucker Punch has created an interesting and vibrant game, worthy of superhero status.

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If you’ve played inFamous before (if not, then you need to correct that), the sequel will feel very familiar. inFamous 2 is all about evolution. Everything that worked well in the original game now just works better. Cole is more fluid when traversing the world, the way he animates is vastly improved and stringing attacks together works much better. That doesn’t mean there’s improvements across the board. Some of the same problems I had with the first game are still present and they’re annoying as ever; Cole being locked into an animation being my biggest gripe. When a game throws so many enemies at you at once, being able to break from animations is a necessity. I was killed far too many times through not being able to escape from an animation and, after a while, it got a little tedious. The tedium increased when I was repeatedly killed in one hit by a hidden bad guy wielding a rocket launcher. A note to developers: trial and error game play is never fun.

Aside from a few issues with animation and over eager AI, inFamous 2 is a blast. The game is jam packed with things to do. All the side missions, blast shards, dead drops, random crimes, and user-generated content is more than enough to keep you busy. Not forgetting that there’s a full story here too, and it’s one you won’t forget in a hurry. Unlike the first game, the difference between good and evil is not just about preferring red over blue. Your game will be vastly different depending on which path you choose. Not only will your ending be different, but your powers will differ too.

We all know that it’s the super powers that make a superhero (or villain) great. Being able to call down a lightning storm comes as standard in inFamous 2, but your choice of allegiance might come down to whether you want to freeze enemies in their tracks or set them alight. Like a lot of the choices in the game, it’s a fairly binary decision. You choose one side or the other, there’s no grey area. Whichever route you take, you’re guaranteed a good time. It often felt that some of the cooler powers were reserved for the villainous among us in the original game. In inFamous 2, you’re getting a different, but equally fun, experience.

That’s what Sucker Punch have done so well. Not only did they create a great sandbox to run around in, they populated it with enough stuff to keep players entertained and coming back for more. Granted, it’s not the most perfect game in the world: The sound design is a little off at times and the side missions can become a little repetitious, but it’s very rare that a game will grab me in the way inFamous 2 did. I spent hours experiencing everything that the game (and New Marais) and I still want to go back for more. If that’s not a testament to how good this game is, I don’t know what is.

9.5/10

 

Review :: inFamous 2, 10.0 out of 10 based on 1 rating

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