Infamous 2

By Tristan Tancredi

Cole MacGrath makes an electric return in Sucker Punch Productions much anticipated Infamous sequel.

After Empire City is destroyed by The Beast at the beginning of the game. Cole must travel to New Marais with his not so trusty sidekick Zeke, to strengthen his powers, kick the arses of the local Militia the Ice Soldiers and finally to combat the forces of the Beast.

Let me begin by saying I highly recommend playing Infamous 1 before starting Infamous 2.

Numerous characters and sub-plots are carried over from the first game and without playing "Infamous 1", Infamous 2 will be abuzz with confusion of a man running around aimlessly zapping people.

Much like the games predecessor, Infamous 2 is awash with interesting characters. Lucy Kuo, Nix and Bertrand are the new characters introduced and all play a pivotal role to the games development. The voice acting is comical and entertaining and the relationships between characters enables the storyline to flow seamlessly.

One notable difference is the change of voice actor of main character, Cole. Although initially disappointing as the original voice was great, you adjust to the new voice and it fits well with the character.

The free roaming environment has improved from the first game with subtle differences to note. Instead of a train track to grind from one area to the next, it is now a tram track. As you will see the differences between New Marais and Empire City are minute, though the graphics look a lot nicer.

The game play has also developed from the first game with a lot more emphasis placed on hand to hand melee combat, with Cole rocking an electric two pronged weapon. The melee is fun but the camera gets lost a fair bit and you lose track of where you are at times.

Good versus Evil are the paths you can follow throughout the game. At certain stages of the story there comes a time to decide whether you want to be a hero or a villain. The 2 parallel running story lines are dependent on the choices you make throughout the game.

Despite all of the good that comes with this game, there also a few disappointments or frustrations along the way.

- The side missions are all repetitive.

- You seem to always be fighting the same bosses.

- When fighting the bosses it is always the same. Wait for an opening, shoot, wait for an opening, shoot.

- The biggest annoyance of the first game was taking ages to travel from one corner of the map to the other. This game isn't quite as bad, although it does happen at times.

A new addition to the game is User Generated Content that enables gamers to create missions and distribute them online.

Although trailing franchises Uncharted and Assassins Creed, Infamous 2 will still charge your senses and give you hours of electrifying excitement.

Game: Infamous 2
System: Playstation 3
Developers: Sucker Punch Productions and Sanzaru Games
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment

Rating: 80%

(Ratings Key/Explanation)