The Beast is coming. This is the basic premise behind inFAMOUS 2’s existence. A fifty foot tall flaming behemoth — whose coming was foretold by antagonist Kessler in the first game — is making his way towards the city of New Marais. In its wake, this monstrosity is leaving a trail of death and destruction that Cole MacGrath simply isn’t up to stopping at the outset of this new ordeal. By scouring the city for blast cores which soup-up Cole’s abilities to the point at which they devastating power, players will experience one heck of a fantastic sequel from Sucker Punch productions.
The first rule printed in the “Sequel Development for Dummies” book states that follow-up titles are required to strip the main character of all the powers he/she acquired in the first game. I think you can actually do jail time in some states for disobeying this sacred commandment which is believed to have been originally handed down from the designers of classic Zelda and Metroid titles. That’s why my hat goes off to the team at Sucker Punch for putting players in control of an already powered-up Cole MacGrath from the very start of inFAMOUS 2. It’s not one of those sneak previews that is immediately followed by the developers stripping all of your fun powers away either.
Strangely, once I became reacquainted with Cole’s preexisting move set, it actually hurt my experience a bit in the early going. The first several hours of the sequel are just too similar in feel to the original title. However, those players who stick with it and forge past inFamous 2‘s opening will be rewarded with a rich sandbox experience chock full of interesting missions. It can truly be said that nearly all of the best games start slow before methodically building towards something greater. This is precisely what inFAMOUS 2 does, and it never stops improving upon itself until the credits roll.
Even once Cole’s adventure in the New Orleans’ style setting of New Marais has concluded, most players are likely to pick the controller right back up and begin anew. This is due in large part to the well-publicized existence of two NPCs that personify and encourage either good or sinister play styles. Just as it was the case in Cole’s last outing, players must choose whether they will act cruelty to the civilians of New Marais or instead set out on a more noble path. The twist here is that doing so will ally you with one of the aforementioned NPCs and make the other a bit of a rival.
It’s impossible to keep both of them happy all of the time. Many of the story missions offer two sides of the same coin; players will only be permitted to complete the objectives of their ally of choice. If you accept a quest of a dubious nature, a good one will be locked out and vice versa. It is therefore impossible to experience the whole game during your first playthrough of Infamous 2. There’s more to this dynamic than the surface appeal of being Mr. Nice Guy or a pyromaniac jerk and getting different endings, however.
What’s going to be ultimately responsible for your path is whether you prefer to play with fire or ice. For those not in the know, Cole’s two sidekicks are both “conductors” like him. This means that they have been afforded superpowers of their own courtesy of the series’ deux ex machina, the Ray Sphere. Sucker Punch permits the player to combine the new ally powers with Cole’s personal lightning abilities. But, again, you can only have one side of the equation at any given time.
Regardless of which path you choose in the game, you’re be having a fantastic time whether you’re making tossing out ice or coating enemies in flame. It truly is the power options available here that make inFAMOUS 2’s campaign a joy to roll through. There’s a decent amount of enemy types — and the big boys among them really pack a wallop– but fighting them wouldn’t be particularly exciting if not for MacGrath’s excellent variety of attacks.
During one memorable encounter, I glided down to the tip of an enormous icicle jutting out of the street atop of which was perched an “ice freak” baddie. Immediately after landing, I summoned forth my own icy platform that sprouted through the center of his and propelled me into the sky. As I came crashing back down, a quick button press caused me to send out a massive electrical shock after executing a ground pound. Next I rained down a flurry of ice grenades and electrical missiles on those foes unfortunate enough to have taken up position around me. Those still standing scattered and returned bullets and ice assaults of their own. And that’s when I got mad. As a superhero, I didn’t feel that I should have to put up with that kind of thing; so I called down an electrical storm from the heavens, as if I was Storm of X-Men fame. These are the type of water cooler moments that will stay with you long after you finish the game.
