Infamous 2 review

The version of Infamous 2 (Special Edition) that I was given instead of my STD. from my Local gamestop, Contains free infamous 2 DLC and Uncharted 3 beta

Infamous, the brilliant superhero/villain title that won over our hearts in 2009, is back and better than ever in it's sequel Infamous 2. Infamous 2 takes off after Cole McGrath as he, his buddy Zeke "Jedidiah" Dunbar and a new character, agent Kuo take off for the sleazy paradise New Marais, a rip off of New Orleans. They are fleeing what was described only as the Beast, a huge monstrosity of power which obliterated Empire City in the blink of an eye. As they make their way down the countrys edge, the beast is hot on their tail. Cole meets Dr. Wolfe, a scientist who believes he may have the only thing capable of stopping the beast, the RFI or Ray field Inhibitor. However he needs 7 blast cores. To keep Cole occupied as he gathers, he also must defend himself against a man named Bertrand, a high roller in new Marais with great influence over the hicks and inbreds from the swamp lands. Cole must use his powers to cut Bertrand down and defend the city of New Marais from the oncoming storm that is the beast.

Story: Well Infamous 2 takes place not too long after Infamous 1, the city began to rebuild itself after the damage the first sons and Kessler did to it. Cole, Zeke and Kuo are about to leave the city when, DON DON DONNNNNNNNNNNNN the Beast appears. Cole attempts to protect the city however is easily beaten and is forced to retreat, Cole heads to New Marais, to meet with Dr. Wolfe, a man who is believed to hold the key to beating the Beast. Sucker Punch did not take Coles powers away like nearly every other series does *HACKING COUGH* GOD OF WAR *HACKING COUGH*. However Bertrands men attacks the good Doctors lab and blast shards and cores alike are sent all over the place. Cole is forced to gather these items to grow stronger. During his travels Cole unlocks new powers meets new people and enemies and so on, I don't want to spoil much of the story.

Zeke and Cole overlooking New Marais

If you were to compare the story of Infamous 1 to Infamous 2, Infamous 1 would have the more BIGGER twists, turns and shock moments, however I enjoyed Infamous 2s plot more. The reason being was it went on longer without being stretched too far and being made bland. The game kept you interested with new abilities and monsters. The story also introduces a sort of a love triangle between Kuo who is later revealed to be an Ice conduit and Nix who is a fire conduit and Cole. So there is lots to keep you hooked and thankfully there is no Moya and Trish calling you a bastard despite the fact you can go above and beyond the call of duty. The ending in Infamous 2 lives up to what Infamous 1 had. Prepare tissue boxes for Manly or lady tears... At least if you play it with Good Karma the whole way like me.

Cole being all Cole and Kuo being all... not very sexy really...

Gameplay:

Gameplay in Infamous 2 has been completly revolutionized. We get a better free running engine, New powers depending on your Karma and no I don't mean the two crappy main ones you got in infamous 1, I'm talking about a completly new move set, Fire ( evil) and Ice (Good) that depends on your karma. Melee combat is also WAY better than the original seeing as you could go an entire game in Infamous and not hit anyone because of junkies, homeless people and guys in heavy armour (Who we all know can run very fast (Super sarcasm)). In this game they made melee amazing. Zeke crafts for you a new weapon called the AMP which is basically an oversized tuning fork which has a high voltage running through it. Fences are now climbable and for the first time you take advantage of this, you get a trophy.

Kuo being all sexy with ice and Cole just being Cole

A really important inclusion was that of the mission create mode where you can, well, create your own missions. I was personally blown back when I heard of this. Never before has a super hero game ever had something like this. I've given a few of them ago and just had a quick flick through with the options and I have to say it came out brilliantly in terms of layout and being able to have things to do. Karma doesn't have as much of an impact, besides being able to choose your own powers, as it did in Infamous 1. In infamous 1 people put up posters and everything about you but in this game however it's rare to see people applauding you as you run down the street. However a lot of mini challenges have been added to help people change karma quicker e.g . halting a mugging or kidnapping or for the sadists in us, beating people up for shards or killing people protesting about you. Destructible terrain has also been added allowing new ways for you to kill Bertrands minions and the corrupted. The map too has been improved as it's no longer the recycled crap mass of concrete that there was in Infamous 1 and the sectors can REALLY be told apart. There's even a whole new Orleans flood section (Well the game is meant to be set there). The one flaw I had with the game is the camera. It was the only thing that didn't get an improvement from Infamous 1.

Continue to glide with your static thrusters like a BAUS

Graphics and Music:

The graphics have greatly improved in this game. People no longer run as if they have a desperate need to use the toilet, building are textured better, lighting is much better. general animations for people are better. It really looks like they put a huge amount of effort into this game. Really small details do make a huge improvement, whether it's paint peeling off the walls or water splashing as people fall in. As with Infamous 1, music isn't THAT big in the game. From what there was though, it was an amazing original score, which only made it worse that it wasn't around all the time.

Nix, The fire conduit who is just generally evil.

Overall:

Overall I absoultely ADORED this game. It fixed all the flaws it had besides the camera.

The story was spiced up, I loved the characters both old and new. Loved the graphics, loved the mission create . This game is possibly the best PS exclusive out there in my opinion. It beats Little Big Planet 2 anyway.

This game is getting a well deserved 9.5

The only main flaw I found was the dodgy camera. It is possibly my GOTY so far. Narrowly beating Portal 2, LBP2 and Heavy Rain. We shall see at Christmas if it has been beaten