inFAMOUS 2's fun gameplay and atmosphere make it feel like a fully-realized comic book; an unforgettable power fantasy.
As this is my first attempt at a review here, I figured I'd start off with one of my favorite games of this generation, just to get things started.
The first inFAMOUS was one of the first games I bought for the PlayStation 3. This may have been because I hadn't played too many open-world or action-adventure games, but, for whatever reasons, it quickly became a favorite for me. The gameplay (while essentially just being a reskinned third-person shooter, with elements also found in games such as the Uncharted franchise) managed to keep things fresh with two basic mechanics: the morality system and reliance on electricity, but I'll get to those later. For all of its faults, the compelling universe it created and gameplay mechanics laid groundwork for an interesting followup.
Considering the way the first game ended, I was frantic to see what would happen next, heck, I was wild in the leadup to this game. Call me a fanboy, but I was pretty much obsessed with inFAMOUS (to be honest, I still don't quite know why I have such strong feelings towards this franchise, but I guess we all have those things we can't quite explain). Shockingly, this game met all of my expectations.
It fixed many of the technical and aesthetic problems people had with the original. Instead of the drab, gray, overused New York stand-in of Empire City, we got a stand-in for New Orleans (cleverly titled New Marais, or "New Marsh" in French). The bland skyscrapers and apartments of Empire City are gone; in their place are brick buildings that feel lived-in, and a city that truly felt alive. Street performers sitting on corners, drunk partygoers wandering around, and an atmosphere that seemed to invoke New Orleans. The stiff, robotic animations of its predecessor have been replaced largely by dramatically improved in-engine cutscenes, but hand-drawn, comic-styled depictions of certain events have also made a comeback.
The gameplay has jumped considerably higher in this game as well. It still revolves around climbing and shooting electricity, but both of those have taken on some noticeable changes. Instead of upgrading a single power, you're given a choice between multiple different types of powers (a rapid-fire shot, a long-ranged one, sticky grenades or grenades that freeze enemies on impact, for example) that allows one to quickly change between playstyles at the press of a button or two. You're also given several movement enhancements that make getting around New Marais a fun experience, and make getting around it fast as well.
The game still retains its morality elements and, unfortunately, things are still pretty black-and-white in that regard. Choices are color-coded for Good and Evil, and, while it is possible to mix-and-match choices of one or the other, it still seems to be beneficial to stay consistent, to get the most out of your upgrades. I have to commend Sucker Punch for providing and ending that I appreciated whole-heartedly, and almost made me cry. That doesn't happen often for me, so, when it does, I know that the folks behind the media have done an excellent job.
As for the subjective matter of the overall style of the game, I personally found it to be very appealing. While many seem to miss the grim tone of the first game, the lighter one found here was a welcome change of pace for me. Zeke Dunbar, for example, goes from being a selfish conspiracy theorist only focused on earning some "cashola" to one of my favorite characters in all of gaming. Sure, he's a selfish jackass, but his attempts at redemption for what happened in the first game are endearing. His feelings of jealousy towards Cole suddenly being powerful and important, and his willingness to do anything to regain the friendship that the two of them used to have made him someone I could truly relate to. He is an out-of-shape, still-kind-of-arrogant friend who wanted to make up for his past mistakes, and I truly love him for that.
Cole even managed to change a bit, although not as dramatically. Due to the karmic system, so much of his character is still a blank slate, but Zeke and Cole manage to actually convey a genuine friendship due to Caleb Moody and Eric Laden's performances, respectively. Cole is no longer the "grumpy potato" he was in the first game, instead he's lightened up a bit. Hearing Cole laugh at something immature may have been, well, juvenile, but hearing some personality from him was, once again, a nice change of pace.
Those words seem to sum up my feelings on this game: it's a welcome change. The game feels much lighter, the characters seem to feel more like people, not just vessels solely there to deliver the plot, and both the city and gameplay are noticeably improved over their predecessor. While this game may not be perfect technically, there's a certain something, a je ne sais quoi that made me connect with it on a deep level. I highly recommend it.
