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inFAMOUS 2
PlayStation 3
More of the Same but Better
4/5 stars
Sucker Punch delivered inFAMOUS as one of the original PS3 exclusives. It was inevitable that a sequel would come along. inFAMOUS 2 takes everything that was good in the original and simply elevates it to the next level. Everything just feels more polished from the combat to the way you move to the graphics and such. While a weak story somewhat bogs things down, overall this is a great game for open-world fans and remains one of the better series exclusives for Sony.
Presentation: As I said, everything has been polished and inFAMOUS 2 looks a better because of it. It also helps that the city of New Marais (based partly on New Orleans) just feels more vibrant with neon and flashing lights giving the city a real life about it. The NPCs also seem a bit more developed as well - no quite GTA level but they can stand on their own. The graphics are still PS3 era - so it's not super great looking, but when it was released it would have been one of the better-looking out there. I didn't experience too much screen popping or jaggies - and no crashes to speak of.
The voice acting is still good as well, with Eric Ladin presenting Cole as still an every-man dealing with these powers, throwing in just a little Batman gravel. There are no celebrities here, just a lot of talented voice actors who know what they are doing. I especially liked Nika Futterman as Nix - all attitude. The soundtrack is good enough and most of the rest falls in to place nicely.
Story: The weakest aspect of the game is the story. Empire City is behind him, but Cole still has to deal with The Beast, a hulking conduit who sows destruction. After failing to stop him, Cole retreats to New Marais with Zeke and Agent Kuo, in order to track down Dr. Wolfe - the man responsible for the Ray Sphere and who has an even stronger RFI that will allow Cole to take down The Beast. But, of course, it can't be that easy and as soon as Cole arrives in New Marais, the good doctor is killed and his research scattered as a mercenary group led by anti-conduit megalomaniac Joseph Bertrand has taken over the city. Thus the crux of the game has Cole running around the city, trying to find blast cores to gain more power while figuring out how to stop Bertrand and his thugs. The game introduces to to the swamp witch Nix, a conduit with fire powers who loves destruction (all of her missions push you to the evil side) while Agent Kuo herself gets imbued with power following another experiment (ice) which unleashed a new group of conduits to deal with in the latter part of the game.
The game tries to throw too much at you without taking time to get in depth with any of it. Some of the story you can't even get unless you track down the carrier pigeons scattered about that have notes on hard drives. These help explain things from the original game and the new game, but it's a half-assed attempt if you ask me. In any case, I had more fun running around blasting random enemies and finding the blast shards then I did trying to piece together the rather convoluted yet dull story.
Gameplay: The game is a not too different from the original inFAMOUS. Parkour is still the main mode of transportation as you will jump, glide, ride the rails and otherwise run around New Marais. The combat is also relatively unchanged, but does seem more polished. The inclusion of a new melee weapon gives you better close-quarters combat while new powers (on both good and evil sides) provide incentive to unlock everything as soon as you can afford them. Enemies seem a bit more intelligent, you might actually have to employ some strategy, especially during some of the more elaborate fights, but not so much that it leads to frustration. There are really only a handful of boss battles, and most of them are not too difficult.
One aspect that is improved is finding the power shards. One of the last powers you receive is the ability to track down the nearest shard, no matter how far away it is. This ensures that you won't miss that last one if it's not within a certain range. Other new additions include a shock pole (to go along with the cables) that propels you upwards. You also get access to high-level destruction and drain abilities later on that can turn the tide of any battle - though you are limited in the amount you can store.
Replayability: The main reason to return is, of course, to experience the game from both the good and evil perspectives. You can also find a bit more challenge on the hard mode, if you so choose and, of course, there is plenty of user-generated content (even still today) if you want to play something different. While the changes are not that great, you do get unique trophies for completing missions in the good or evil routes.
Overall: If you enjoyed the first inFAMOUS, this is more of the same, but polished. The story is a bit bland but gameplay-wise it excels and looks great (even on the PS3). A good game for open-world fans.
Presentation: 4/5
Story: 3/5
Gameplay: 4/5
Replayability: 4/5
Overall (not an average): 4/5
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