Infamous. On steroids
A Review by Chris Camz of UnfashionablyLateReviews.blogspot.com
It seems like just yesterday that I reviewed Infamous on my shiny new PS3. A game that introduced me to Cole McGrath and taught me that all you need to do is be at the center of a massive explosion to gain superpowers. Infamous was a great game with fantastic platforming, strong combat, an excellent story, and a host of well-conceived (and some not so much) powers. The game revolved around a messenger, Cole McGrath, after a package he was given detonated in the middle of the city. After falling into a coma for some time, he emerged with superpowers and decided to do his part to clean up the city, which had been quarantined and overrun by gangs. As he worked to rid the city of anarchy, he meets the man that gave him his powers, who explains that he is destined to fight a monster known as "the Beast" in order to save Empire City. Through phenomenal storytelling, Cole is dragged through a story filled with loss, betrayal, and a never ending struggle for power, Cole finally defeats the person responsible for thrusting such a burden upon him, leaving him with no option but to prepare to fight the beast alone. Or so we thought.
That's right at the start of the second game Cole already has a new cop helping him prepare for his upcoming brawl, his best friend Zeke is also back on his side, despite attempting to sacrifice the entire city to gain superpowers for himself in the first game. In the opening scene, Cole is preparing to leave Empire City to in favor of a southern town in Louisiana with a flooded section that is totally not New Orleans, for some intense training. Seriously though, Sucker Punch might as well just call them New York City and New Orleans already, as they have even included a map of the US in the title screen, and any person who graduated the 2nd grade should be familiar enough with the eastern seaboard to know they are right where they should be on the map. Anyways, as they are about to head out to sea, the Beast shows up a few months early and decides to start trashing the town ahead of schedule, as he must have worked a few extra weekends clear his monster schedule. Cole fights, loses, and retreats to the Deep South to lick his wounds and prepare for round 2.
Right away let me just say that all the hot-air I blew about the continuing of a franchise with a split ending was entirely unnecessary. They did start the game with two points based on whether you finished the game as the hero the people of empire city needed or as the guy that pushed citizens in front of trains on an hourly basis, and depending on which you start as, small bits of the game will be different, such as the dead drops you pick up, which explain how Cole's actions were perceived by the people responsible for ray sphere development. Now, as much as I adored the first Infamous, the second game did an excellent job taking what worked and expanding on it. Cole climbs faster than in the first, they have implemented a power to help you find blast shards easier, and they have even taken the time to add launchers to the ground levels of many buildings that rocket Cole to the top of the building and save us from climbing buildings in their entirety. The game doesn't add a whole lot of new electric powers to the mix (aside from the lightning tether which essentially turns Cole into an electric Spiderman), as a matter of fact they lock a few of his powers from the first game until he absorbs several blast cores (how exactly is that supposed to work anyway?). They make up for this atrocity, however, by giving us the ability to use general abilities in a Fire or Ice form depending on your karma rank. While they don't exactly break the creative bank, they are fun side-grades that can sometimes even be more satisfying than the originals. They also: simplified the karma choices to prevent mistakes and did away with the ridiculous sewer sections in favor of upgrading Cole at key plot point. So while the game hasn't undergone a major overhaul, it made a number of welcome tweaks that simplify gameplay and make the game more accessible to newcomers.
The game also contains a fantastic amount of replayability, with not just one, but two story endings that should be introduced to the gaming hall of fame. They even included a level creation kit to allow players to create their own missions for people to play all over the world. Infamous 2 is a welcome sequel that is a must for anyone who even seemed mildly interested in the first.
Sadly, however, Sucker Punch did a good job tying up all the loose ends at the end of the game, and there is very little room for them to build a sequel upon, which makes me think we have seen the end of our good friend, the Electric Man. R.I.P Cole, you were a beautiful time sink that caused me to lose weeks on end, and I can honestly say there was nowhere else I would have rather been….except sipping mojitos in the Caribbean.
Gameplay…9
Sound…7
Graphics…8
Replayability…7
Story…9
Average…8