9.0

inFAMOUS 2

Our favourite protagonist "hero" or "villain" Cole MacGrath, returns in the highly anticipated sequel with inFamous 2 finally hitting our shelves. This open-world third person action-fighter once again allows players to control Cole and the like the first game, morality is a key component of how the story will play it and will shape you in either becoming a hero or a villain. Continuing from the first game, Cole has moved from his home town of Empire City to New Marais and unfortunately for the citizens of Empire City, it has been destroyed by the creature known as "The Beast".

In order to stop the "The Beast", Cole must find Dr. Sebastian Wolfe who has the knowledge of ending this threat but unfortunately for our hero/villain, a politician called Joseph Bertrand III has New Marais under martial law. To complicate things even more for Cole, mutants are now attacking the city and the militia are once again a thorn in his side. Fortunately Cole has some assistance that include bed bud Zeke, special agent Lucy Kuo of the NSA (good alignment) and the nefarious Nix (evil alignment). Your friends and allies will play a key role in defining your character.

As you explore this giant open-ended world, there are several missions that you must embark and these are generally given under the guidance of Zeke, Kuo or Nix who help move the story along. However just like the original game, karma plays an integral part in the story and your decisions will ultimately effect your direction of hero versus villain.

Your choice of morality also effects your superpowers which is a little reminiscent of the force powers from Star Wars. It's definitely a fun take and a challenge to remain stuck to your intended morality. Karma can be collected in a variety of different ways in inFamous 2. For example, if you're a hero, you might be healing citizens or protecting them from evil, whereas if you're a villain, you might be causing mayhem or murder. This makes for some really fun gameplay as you hold their lives (quite literally) in the palm of your hands.

Apart from the main missions, there are plenty of side missions to engage in and just like Grand Theft Auto or L.A. Noire, these are optional. These side missions do offer some diversity to the game and help spice things up from the main storylines. Combat also plays a key element to inFamous 2 which is where the game kicks into gear. Initially combat is a little lacklustre and your enemies do give you a challenge but as you progress, your superpowers increase considerably and this is where you really become a badass and your enjoyment factory increases.

Nothing is more enjoyable than using your powers such as your electrical based powers where you can fry your enemies or shooting a tornado through the streets of New Marais. As opposed to your standard powers, Cole has access to ionic powers which define your character even more, much like Superman's strength based or flight powers. One such impressive iconic power is "storm" which basically calls down the heavens upon your enemies. It's sweet!

The control system of inFamous 2 is almost identical to the previous game which is good. The interface has been well mapped on the DualShock controller and interacting with the world is quite easy, especially using your superpowers. Sometimes the controls do hamper the combat a little as your valiantly trying to point your analog stick in the right direction but once you have figured out the nuisances, you'll be flying high. It's really fun exploring the city with your super powers as you jump across buildings or glide along electrical wires. Attacks included both ranged and melee attacks and thankfully now Cole has this advanced police stick that allows him to beat the absolute crap out of his enemies.

Besides your stock standard mutants and soldiers, Cole must also face a few boss battles along the way that can be quite challenging at times. Some of the bosses are gigantic and you must use all your skills and superpowers to take them out. One frustrating aspect of inFamous 2 is the damage system and when you get hit, the screen turns black and white. When you're getting your superhero hide handed to you, this sometimes does become tricky, especially when you're trying to flee an enemy for a respite. In terms of completion, the game should take most gamers around 25 or so hours to complete, give or take. Add in another play with another alignment and there is some value to money to this title.

The developers of inFamous 2, Sucker Punch have also allowed players of the game to create their own missions via a mission editor and these can be quite in-depth at times. There is quite a bit of customisation available from creating missions revolving around urban warfare to even racing missions. However with that said, these are probably a little too complicated for the average gamer but if you have the time, it's definitely a good past time to engage in. Add in a plethora of unlockables and character customisation of Cole and inFamous 2 will definitely have you glued to your PS3 for quite some time. I'm glad that the sequel is finally out because I really needed some fun mindless entertainment and inFamous 2 delivered on this.

Graphically, inFamous 2 definitely has some "wow" moments. The level design is superb and showcases the town well from its Red Light district to business areas, everything comes together rather well. The highlights are the detailed character designs and more specifically the superpowers of Cole which is pure eye candy and really jump out at you when you use them. The unfortunate aspect of the graphics is that every now and then, the camera goes a little askew.

Voice acting is quite professional, although Cole still sounds like he has been smoking and drinking too much but apart from this, everything is quite good. Sound effects work well in conjunction with the game and the soundtrack suits the story perfectly which changes to suit the pacing of the story. Nonetheless, the title has been improved both in the graphic and audio department since the first game.

In conclusion, inFamous 2 is a worthy successor to the original game and although its fundamental nature is a rebadged gaming engine, there are several memorable moments in the game and for me, the story was much more down to Earth and relatable as opposed to the fast pacing of the original. Even though the combat does become a little repetitive at times, the developers have included enough twists and turns to entice you to complete the game and then you have the mission editor that allows you to either create your own missions or download them from other players. This is not a traditional superhero game, it's far more enjoyable than the current superhero game as the world of Cole is much interesting! Check it out!