Shock Factor: inFamous 2 Is Electric

Your reputation precedes you, Cole – indeed, you can sense the somewhat tangible weight on Sucker Punch’s shoulders as this PlayStation 3 exclusive props up Sony’s E3 window.  It’s an exciting prospect, playing inFamous 2, the first game a marred by repetition, a lack of direction and a faulty morality system – but this direct sequel promises much, even from the first few hours.

Review code, fashionably late, only arrived yesterday.  With barely an evening’s worth of playtime on offer this was hardly going to be a full review, but we did want to let you know that the developers appear to have worked wonders with what was a smart, original idea, turning it into something much grander in scale but also managing to embed a sense of focus that was sadly absent the first time around.

[drop]Not that too much has changed, of course.  Cole himself retains his electrical powers and abilities and the player can continue on from an existing inFamous save game (which will determine your good/evil leaning and starting level) – not to mention the plot, which immediately follows on from the ending of inFamous, in Empire City.  You’re not there for long, mind, the initial battle with the Beast kickstarting a boat trip to New Orleans-based New Marais.

The goal is simple: to enhance Cole’s powers enough to enable him to tackle the Beast suitably armed, but New Marais isn’t quite the idillic retreat expected – Militia dominate the streets and the Ray Sphere distorted Corrupted provide a second focus for the game’s new emphasis on melee combat, which now sits snugly and balanced alongside the ranged bolts and other kinetic tools players will be used to.

Already the story’s taking a few unexpected diversions, but the most interesting aspect is the way morality is handled this time around.  Essentially, it’s less prescribed and feels much more organic – decisions between good and evil aren’t always so signposted even if subconciously they’re obvious enough – and it feels altogther more personal as a result.  Sure, sometimes inFamous 2 will push a decision in your face, but it can be subtle too.

The city, too, feels more receptive to Cole’s presence.  The civilians that litter the streets are still dumb (your opponents a little less so) but there are impressively destructable elements to the environment and – ultimately – your karma choices appear to have much longer lasting effects on how the game pans out rather than being locked to isolated subsections.  Whether this’ll make for a deeper game experience we’ll have to wait and see.

[drop2]Visually it’s much improved, although inFamous 2 still isn’t one of those games that constantly impresses – it’s sharp to the point of being aliased and although the graphics nip around at a fair pace they are a little basic in places and perhaps a tad simplistic.  At least Cole’s special powers (of which there are a few new ones) attempt to give the game some aesthetic flair, even if smoke effects pull a ‘GT5’ and drop the resolution considerably.

The controls feel tighter, though, the camera still a little wayward in the air but generally much better behaved, and the new melee weapon is – as you’d expect – implemented nicely onto the square (and triangle) buttons providing plenty of variety to the multitude of battles.  The first new ability – being able to pick up items like cars and throw them – is welcome and hopefully indicative of the types of powers we’ll get later on.

But that’s all we’ll have until our review, which will be with you before the game lands next Friday here in Europe.  We’ve not talked about the considerable scale of the map in the game, or the user generated content – all that’s going to have to wait.  In the meantime, if you’re wondering whether inFamous 2 is the game for you rest easy in the knowledge that inFamous fans will absolutely love this one.

You can read our interview with developers Sucker Punch here.