Hands On: inFamous 2

If inFamous was purposefully monochromatic then the sequel is a veritable explosion of colour, the city of New Marais awash with greens and reds rarely found in Cole’s last comic book adventure. Indeed, this is a dazzlingly vivid change of aesthetic, and it’s one that suits the renewed vigor that the game now seems to possess – inFamous 2 seems alive with energy and character, something I thought the first seemed to lack.

It’s not just the graphics, either (which have been improved throughout, with new effects and a lovely draw distance) – Sucker Punch have upped the pacing somewhat and, if our hands on demonstration level is anything to go by, players can expect a more structured, cinematic and engaging storyline too. inFamous had stacks of potential, but never really seemed to live up to expectations – at least from what we’ve played so far, that’s all about to change.

For starters, the split morality paths of the first game are returning, but this time they’re also echoed in the alternative paths you can take through some of the missions. It’s not emergent, evolving gameplay by any stretch but at least you’ve now got options, and in our demo we were tasked with saving a fellow agent via one of two completely different routes: take Zeke’s shooting-heavy approach, or go the way of new character Nix and her appetite for wanton destruction.

And sure, it boils down to either a red or blue blip on your radar, but once your mind is made up the mechanics change completely – I quickly ran through both scenarios and althought they ended up with the same result if this is carried through to the entire game with some semblance of plot development depending on your decisions it’ll push it way above the slightly shallow good/evil aspect of the first. And to Sucker Punch’s credit, both options were great fun.

Also improved is the melee combat – Cole now feels like a superhero and whilst his electrical powers are present and correct, it’s in jumping into a moving truck full of the enemy that the game comes alive – he’s handy with his fists and feet and the visual impact of landing some of the combos is fantastic. Later in the level, when there’s help from the local police, inFamous 2 really ramped up a notch, and the various sub-missions all fitted together nicely.

I’m impressed. The game looks and plays fabulously even at this stage, and most of my qualms over what the developers would fix and what they would leave for the sequel have been eased. The AI co-operative play is smart enough to make a difference, Cole (after a few tweaks) is a fine figure of a man and his improved combat and manoeuvrability is a blessing – you should see him climb buildings now.

Oh, and he’s got some wicked new powers…