InFamous 2 review

Although the first Infamous game was admittedly very good, I never finished it because along came Prototype about a week later and completely took me away from it. Now electric guy Cole is back and Alex Mercer isn’t here in time to distract me.

If you liked the first game you’ll definitely get off on InFamous 2 because it’s basically exactly the same game, only with a lick of paint and improved powers. The game begins with Cole battling a gigantic beast, losing and then fleeing to the South to recharge his batteries and prepare for another big battle as the beast looms ever closer. So, although Cole loses some of his powers in the fight he can do more stuff from the get go this time around like boosting in the air using electricity and grinding along power lines.

Once again it’s a massive sandbox with so much to do it’s a bit too much to take in. There are main and side missions to do and you can choose to be a good guy or play the evil one, sucking people’s life force from them instead of just restraining bad guys or healing innocents. Once again this results in the game branching and ending very differently which encourages replay even though you’ll be pushed to do everything the game has to offer first time around in less than 20 hours anyway.

Most of the fighting you’ll do by flinging electricity from your hands. As you collect XP and power up by completing certain criteria, you can then assign different moves to different buttons with a tap of the d-pad. At first it’s a bit confusing but soon you get the hang of it and can switch between powers quickly mid battle and feel like a real badass. You’ll be fighting militia, mutants and also the odd boss creature or helicopter, tailing people from the rooftops or taking part in new user-generated missions anyone can upload to the servers. Popular ones then rise to the top giving pretty much unlimited free content from day one.

Graphics look better and the city feels more vibrant but Cole’s jumping mechanic feels a bit dated after playing the Assassin’s Creed titles. I’d like to just hold down the X button to jump and climb instead of having to keep pressing it every time I want to move form ledge to ledge.

Pretty much everything has been improved in this sequel. If you were getting bored by the end of the first game, maybe don’t bother with this one. If, however, you’re hankering for more reluctant superhero action then it’s delivered here in spades. InFamous 2 gets an almost perfect 9 out of 10.

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