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.