Video Game Review: inFamous 2

Some of the funnest games are those that empower the player with awesome (and perhaps destructive) superpowers.  The first Infamous game offered players power, through the character of Cole MacGrath, a man who can harness and manipulate electricity.  You're given the choice to use your powers for good or for evil, and you're given free-reign throughout Empire City to fight bad guys, save (or punish) the citizens, and slowly unravel the truth.  The game ultimately ends with a heck of a twist; if you're familiar with what happens, then you'll know that what happens next will be something fresh, new, and epic.

Infamous 2 is pretty much the same game as #1, only a grade better.  The gameplay is sleek and fast.  The powers you get to use are refined to offer a perfect arsenal of empowering abilities.  Parkour and climbing are still essential, but are smooth and glitch-free.  You're still given free reign over a city (Cole moves from Empire City to New Marais, which seems to be inspired by New Orleans, and even includes a flooded-over area that echoes the Hurricane Katrina disaster).  As you make your way through the two large islands, you can spend many fine hours completing side missions, hunting down collectables, playing through the story, or just exploring.  This game also introduces a neat feature in which users can create their own levels and publish them online; the user-generated levels appear all over the map and can be played by anyone.  It all makes for a fantastically addicting experience; best of all, the game is never frustrating, and it's never over or under challenging.

The story you get to play is not quite as mind-blowing as the first one, but it is a decent continuation.  Parts of it seem to mirror the first game, but it does introduce a cast of great new characters (many of which are superpowered), and plenty of new territory is covered (not only as a setting, but also in regards to the game's concepts, ideas, and background).  Characters are as endearing as ever, and the common themes of good-vs-evil and moral choice are as strong as ever.

The game looks really great too, with superb graphics.  Textures, renderings, animations, and lighting are great.  It's especially remarkable compared to the first game, which looked rather low-rez; the characters receive a magnificent boost in quality, and everything else is a grade better.  The open-world cityscape is designed really well.  Designs for all the settings, characters, and objects are good.  Voice-acting is good, sound designs are good, music is good...heck, the whole game is good.

Go play it.

5/5 (Entertainment:  Perfect | Story:  Good | Game:  Perfect)