Released on 09/06/2011

• Infamous getting a sequel?

  VG247 is reporting that Sucker Punch's excellent lightning-powered superhero game Infamous is getting a sequel.

  That's certainly according to a domain registration, which suggests that Sony has purchased infamous2thegame.com.

  It's hardly surprising, seeing as the PS3's brilliant open-world action game was both a critical and commercial hit, wowing reviewers and audiences alike with its mix of parkour platforming and electrically-charged brawling.

  Playing as Cole, a bike courier struggling to control his newfound super powers, Infamous is set in a city ravaged by a recent terrorist explosion. Cut off from the mainland, the population is fighting over resources, and being terrorised by a mysterious gang known as the Reapers. The first game gave you three huge islands to play about in, and featured some of the best skyscraper climbing action seen since Crackdown, married to light RPG elements as you upgrade your electrical fighting powers, unlocking new moves and learning new combos.

  While there are no concrete details regarding the sequel at this point, the first game's plot left things tantalisingly open for a follow-up. We'll get you more information on this one as soon as we have it.

• InFamous 2 sighted once again

  InFamous 2 sighted once again

  Following news that Sony has registered a domain name, there's been another very convincing indicator that we may be about to hear solid news regarding a sequel to the brilliant open-world superhero game InFamous.

  This time, the Portuguese Official PlayStation Magazine is responsible for the leak, with a page advertising the next issue promising the announcement of a huge "PlayStation 3 exclusive" next to a picture of InFamous hero Cole McGrath's eyes.

  This is very, very good news. The first InFamous delivered in spades when it came to scampering over rooftops and zapping baddies with upgradeable lightning powers. Throwing the player into a massive dilapidated city spread over three giant islands, there was plenty of fizzing combat to be had, hundreds of landmarks to scale, and a decent morality system that altered the way your character took shape. More of the same would be just what the doctor ordered.

  The first game was developed by Sucker Punch, the studio behind the Sly Cooper games (while we're at it, can we have another of those, too?). Its post-apocalyptic setting was partly inspired by a power failure in the developer's home city. That's a first for action games, we reckon.

• Sucker Punch giving "Serious thought" given to inFamous 3

  Though it's still hard at work on inFamous 2, the sequel to Sony's shockingly good superhero smash, Washington-based developer Sucker Punch Productions claims it would give "serious thought" to making a third game in the series.

  Speaking to Eurogamer, the company's co-founder Bruce Oberg claimed that the developer would "see where we want to go next", but hinted that Sony's platform was the most likely home for its next game. "We have a great relationship with them. We love the PlayStation platform" Oberg admitted. Asked whether that meant a follow-up to the second game, Oberg said "we would give it serious, serious thought".

  Oberg also praised Sony for allowing it to create "original IP", claiming that "the number of studios creating original IP is few and far between".

  inFamous 2 is due out in 2011, and will continue to follow hero Cole McGrath, who will continue his fight with the mysterious Beast, but this time in the city of New Marais, loosely based on New Orleans. After a wave of fan feedback, the developer has decided to keep the character design similar to that of the original, although this time Cole will be played by a brand new voice actor. Players will also be able to use the element of ice as well as electricity in combat.
  

• inFamous 2 gets creative with new mission-builder

  Cross open-world action-adventure inFamous with LittleBigPlanet and what do you get? A hefty slice of user-generated content for Sucker Punch's superhero sequel, that's what.

  Yes, the follow-up to the 2009 PlayStation 3 hit will come with a feature that allows players to build their own missions, which can be uploaded for other users to share. As with Media Molecule's game, inFamous 2 will offer users the exact same tools for creating levels as the developers themselves. And Sucker Punch will be keeping a close eye on those whose missions are the most highly-rated by other users.

  "There really aren't a lot of limits to the sorts of missions you can build," said Sucker Punch's Chris Zimmerman, writing on the official PlayStation blog. "If you want to bend the rules [ to create new kinds of missions, you can do that too. Wish inFamous 2 had pure stealth missions? No problem."

  Best of all, it seems you can take electrifying revenge on Cole's obnoxious sidekick. "How about a mission where Zeke just tells you bad jokes until you shoot him? Um, yeah, you can do that, too," explains Zimmerman.

  inFamous 2 is set for release this summer, and is exclusive to PS3.

• inFAMOUS 2 Review

  The Sign of the Beast

  After creating the brilliant Sly Cooper games for the PS2, the team at Sucker Punch put aside the world of cutesy cartoon thievery and got stuck into gritty, open world superhero action instead. That where inFAMOUS came from: a grown-up take on a comic book hero, that saw bike courier Cole MacGrath getting to grips with some sweet electrical powers while struggling to rebuild the shattered remains of Empire City.
  

  Now MacGrath is back, and inFAMOUS 2 is a bigger, more explosive, and far, far deadlier adventure. With a new setting, new powers, and a bunch of new enemies to take on, can the boys at Sucker Punch ensure that lightning strikes twice? You bet they can.
  

  Goin' South

  Towards the end of the first game, Cole MacGrath learned that he been given his powers in order to protect humanity from The Beast, a monster that was headed to Earth and would put an end to all life on the planet. inFAMOUS 2 starts with The Beast showing up, and although his arrival kicks off a truly dazzling fight, it a fight that Cole loses big time.
  

  So our hero along with his best buddy Zeke, of course gets out of town, heading to the Deep South city of New Marais. Here, his job is to learn a bunch of new powers and get back into superhero shape so that he can finish off the Beast once and for all. That means there are new missions to take on, new lightning attacks to unlock, and a whole new conspiracy to uncover in a city that being torn apart by an evil militia force, lead by a sinister superhero-hating rabble-rouser named Bertrand.
  

  New Marais is an absolutely brilliant playground for wannabe superheroes, and in no time, youl be taking to its rooftops and battling crime all over the shop. Along with urban streets and roomy town squares, the city also boasts swamps, graveyards, a ruined Flood Town, and a huge gasworks to explore. There are dozens of side quests slotted in alongside the story missions, and plenty of replay value depending on whether you want to follow a path of good or evil: both choices will lead to unique weapons and missions, and both have their own adrenaline-spilling conclusions.
  

  On top of that, inFAMOUS 2 also allows you to try out this whole game designing business for yourself, with the option to build your own side missions and publish them online. Other players will be able to review and recommend your levels, and youl be able to play theirs too. The editor allows you to cobble together some pretty exciting adventures, and if you rather just sit back and enjoy what other people have come up with, youe in for an action game that need never end, with new content being added all the time. That a pretty good deal.
  

  Zap, Crackle and Pop!

  At its heart, though, this is all about Cole MacGrath and those super powers of his, and it on this front that inFAMOUS 2 really shines. Youl start off with a simple range of lightning attacks and electrical grenades, but before long, you'll be adding the likes of ice rockets and napalm bombs to the mix, as you sail through the environment with a brilliant electrical tether that allows you to cross huge distances almost instantaneously. Melee combat has also been reinvented, with the addition of Cole new Amp weapon, allowing him to lay the smack down on both enemy troops and swamp monsters alike in a truly brutal manner. Nasty!
  

  Parkour, super powers, and user-generated content: inFAMOUS 2 is an action game with something for everyone. Cole MacGrath second adventure is a huge undertaking, with at least twenty hours of content lurking in the good and evil karma pathways alone, along with a deluge of side quests and uploaded missions to wade through after that. The new city gives you plenty of fresh territory to explore, while there a whole world worth of explosive fun to be had just poking around your growing arsenal of super powers. If youe looking for a game that lets you take on a whole city's worth of trouble, that lets you express your darker impulses as well as your most heroic thoughts, and that allows you to soar over rooftops and clamber up drainpipes as if gravity is nothing to worry about, then Sucker Punch latest is where it at.

  inFAMOUS 2 was always going to be a cracker, but as action adventures go, this one is shockingly good stuff.
  

  

  Sizzle!
  + Great super powers.
  + A brand new city.
  + User-generated missions.

  Dead on arrival:
  - No co-op.
  - No online multiplayer.
  - The long wait for inFAMOUS 3.

• InFamous developer hard at work on a new game

  inFAMOUS 2 is probably still snug in PlayStation 3 ownersdisc trays the Sony exclusive open-world game came out this month and has torn up the charts but Sucker Punch, the team behind the magic is already getting itself together for a follow-up.

  That according to the Sucker Punch website, anyway, which, as Eurogamer has spotted, is advertising for staff to work on a new PlayStation 3 game.

  But what is it? Another inFAMOUS sequel or something new?

  A year back, the developer told Eurogamer that it would give erious thoughtto making InFamous 3 if Sony was interested. "We'll see where we want to go next," said the studio co-founder Bruce Oberg. "That could be with Sony. We have a great relationship with them. We love the PlayStation platform. The support and marketing, and also their approach to us, to let us make the game we want to make, is really incredible. Our relationship with Sony has been just incredible, all through the Sly series and all through InFamous."

  A sequel would certainly be very welcome, but when youe talking about the team behind InFamous and the Sly Cooper PS2 games, anything they put their minds to is okay with us!

• Capcom launches $25,000 Street Fighter x Tekken reality show

  If it's good enough for Jordan, it's good enough for Ryu. Capcom has revealed that its upcoming fighting game crossover, Street Fighter x Tekken, will be preceded by an online reality show in which two teams of players, each representing either Street Fighter or Tekken, will take part in an intensive week-long tournament.

  Two teams of five will take part in the show, called Cross Assault, with "two legendary players from the fighting game scene" taking the role of leader. Everything from practice sessions to player interviews will be streamed live online, with a $25,000 prize awaiting the eventual winner.

  In other Street Fighter x Tekken news, producer Yoshinori Ono has confirmed that the Xbox 360 version of the game narrowly missed out on having Master Chief and Gear of War's Marcus Fenix as playable characters. "We were in discussions with [Microsoft] for which character to put in as an exclusive," he told Xbox 360 Achievements.org, "But we weren't able to decide on a character because of differences in timing and things like that." The PlayStation 3 version features Cole from inFamous and Japanese PlayStation mascots Kuro and Toro.

  Street Fighter x Tekken is lined up for a March 9th release on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
  

• Pac-Man and Mega Man join Street Fighter X Tekken for PlayStation

  Capcom has revealed that two very special guest characters will be featured exclusively in the PlayStation editions of the forthcoming crossover fighting game Street Fighter X Tekken.

  When the title hits stores this year, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita owners will be able to leap into battle as Capcom legend Mega Man and Namco Bandai's iconic hero Pac-Man.

  In an unusual twist, Mega Man will be depicted in his burly and muscular form from the infamous cover art of the very first Mega Man game, while Pac-Man will ride atop Mokujin, the wooden warrior from the Tekken series.

  Pac-Man and Mega Man will join a growing roster of PlayStation-exclusive characters for Street Fighter X Tekken, with inFAMOUS star Cole McGrath and Sony mascot cats Toro and Kuro also set to be included.

  The game arrives first on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in March 2012, with PS Vita and PC versions to follow later.

  It represents the first meeting between the Street Fighter and Tekken universes, with confirmed characters including Ryu, Chun-Li, Guile, Nina and Yoshimitsu.

  Published: 31/01/2012

• inFAMOUS 2 Review

  

  The Sign of the Beast

  After creating the brilliant Sly Cooper games for the PS2, the team at Sucker Punch put aside the world of cutesy cartoon thievery and got stuck into gritty, open world superhero action instead. That where inFAMOUS came from: a grown-up take on a comic book hero, that saw bike courier Cole MacGrath getting to grips with some sweet electrical powers while struggling to rebuild the shattered remains of Empire City.

  Now MacGrath is back, and inFAMOUS 2 is a bigger, more explosive, and far, far deadlier adventure. With a new setting, new powers, and a bunch of new enemies to take on, can the boys at Sucker Punch ensure that lightning strikes twice? You bet they can.

  

  Goin' South

  Towards the end of the first game, Cole MacGrath learned that he been given his powers in order to protect humanity from The Beast, a monster that was headed to Earth and would put an end to all life on the planet. inFAMOUS 2 starts with The Beast showing up, and although his arrival kicks off a truly dazzling fight, it a fight that Cole loses big time.

  So our hero along with his best buddy Zeke, of course gets out of town, heading to the Deep South city of New Marais. Here, his job is to learn a bunch of new powers and get back into superhero shape so that he can finish off the Beast once and for all. That means there are new missions to take on, new lightning attacks to unlock, and a whole new conspiracy to uncover in a city that being torn apart by an evil militia force, lead by a sinister superhero-hating rabble-rouser named Bertrand.

  New Marais is an absolutely brilliant playground for wannabe superheroes, and in no time, youl be taking to its rooftops and battling crime all over the shop. Along with urban streets and roomy town squares, the city also boasts swamps, graveyards, a ruined Flood Town, and a huge gasworks to explore. There are dozens of side quests slotted in alongside the story missions, and plenty of replay value depending on whether you want to follow a path of good or evil: both choices will lead to unique weapons and missions, and both have their own adrenaline-spilling conclusions.

  On top of that, inFAMOUS 2 also allows you to try out this whole game designing business for yourself, with the option to build your own side missions and publish them online. Other players will be able to review and recommend your levels, and youl be able to play theirs too. The editor allows you to cobble together some pretty exciting adventures, and if you rather just sit back and enjoy what other people have come up with, youe in for an action game that need never end, with new content being added all the time. That a pretty good deal.

  

  Zap, Crackle and Pop!

  At its heart, though, this is all about Cole MacGrath and those super powers of his, and it on this front that inFAMOUS 2 really shines. Youl start off with a simple range of lightning attacks and electrical grenades, but before long, you'll be adding the likes of ice rockets and napalm bombs to the mix, as you sail through the environment with a brilliant electrical tether that allows you to cross huge distances almost instantaneously. Melee combat has also been reinvented, with the addition of Cole new Amp weapon, allowing him to lay the smack down on both enemy troops and swamp monsters alike in a truly brutal manner. Nasty!

  Parkour, super powers, and user-generated content: inFAMOUS 2 is an action game with something for everyone. Cole MacGrath second adventure is a huge undertaking, with at least twenty hours of content lurking in the good and evil karma pathways alone, along with a deluge of side quests and uploaded missions to wade through after that. The new city gives you plenty of fresh territory to explore, while there a whole world worth of explosive fun to be had just poking around your growing arsenal of super powers. If youe looking for a game that lets you take on a whole city's worth of trouble, that lets you express your darker impulses as well as your most heroic thoughts, and that allows you to soar over rooftops and clamber up drainpipes as if gravity is nothing to worry about, then Sucker Punch latest is where it at.

  inFAMOUS 2 was always going to be a cracker, but as action adventures go, this one is shockingly good stuff.

  GAME's Verdict

  The Good:

  • Great super powers.
  • A brand new city.
  • User-generated missions.

  The Bad:

  • No co-op.
  • No online multiplayer.
  • The long wait for inFAMOUS 3.

  Published: 01/06/2011

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