Infamous 2

In my post a year and a half ago on the original Infamous game, I offered plenty of praise but lamented that the game seemed to lack its own identity. It combined GTA sandbox elements, a BioShock-like morality system and an ability leveling system much like those in many other Western RPGs, and a fluid movement and combat system that rivaled Prince of Persia's gameplay in terms of pure fun. I want to amend my stance on both that game and this one and just give both games two huge thumbs up and a hearty recommendation. Sometimes it can be tough to make a snap judgment on a game, and only in the many months that followed my completion of Infamous did it really sink in just how complete and excellent the game was. The fact that it had combined so many elements of so many other great games, while managing to tell one of the better stories I can ever remember seeing in a video game? Huge fucking kudos from me.

For better or for worse, Infamous 2 hasn't really changed much, gameplay-wise, from its predecessor. It takes place in a New Orleans-like city called "New Marais" (rather than the NYC-like city in the first game, "Empire City") and picks up more or less right where the first game left off. That first game ends with a pretty substantial dangling jump-off point for a sequel, and to give the development team credit, this game doesn't try to beat around the bush or sidestep its way to the point; there's an enormous and horribly destructive creature making its way don the cost to New Marais, and you've got to collect five or six "blast cores" in order to super-charge your electric powers to the point where you can take on "the Beast." A small array of other characters exist to help or hinder your progress, including your old pal Zeke from the first game. Zeke makes a surprising turn in the final third of the game as a source of emotional depth, but I'll say no more out of respect for spoilers and such.

Actually, I will say a little more. It seems like the general idea these days in gaming is that if an original game is good enough to yield a sequel, the sequel will also end up leading into a sequel of its own, because who doesn't love a good trilogy? But the way Infamous 2 ends, I mean, I have no idea how they'd make an Infamous 3. I say this particularly because there are two possible endings - depending on whether you've been good or evil while playing the game - and they are drastically different. Like, in the first Infamous, whether you were a dick or an angel, the game's endpoint was the same. Here? Not by a long shot. For what it's worth, I went hardcore evil in the first game, but decided to change my tone in the second. This little redemption arc was actually observed by NPCs commenting on my actions; my save data from Infamous still existed on my PS3, and therefore my reputation preceded me into New Marais, which I thought was a pretty cool touch.

A few final scattered thoughts:

• As I said, the story both here and in the first game was excellent. This one felt a lot weaker for the majority of the game, but in the proverbial eleventh hour it rapidly grew into something far greater than it had been up until then, giving emotional depth and deeper characterization where it was needed. I can't currently say which game had the better story; the first game's was better for longer, but the second game's ending was, well, pretty beautiful. No final decision on this one yet.
• I want to underline how much fun this game was to play. Not only did I end up doing the vast majority of all available side missions - something I rarely have the time and effort to do here in the age of backlog-clearing - but I also found myself just slightly disappointed when the final mission rolled around. "Aww, already?" isn't a sentiment I usually feel when games end, but this one - despite taking me a solid twelve or fifteen hours to beat - elicited that very reaction.
• I'll let one of my favorite game reviewers, "Yahtzee," sum it up: "A bad sandbox is one where you speed disinterestedly from plot mission to plot mission like the London Underground, but a good sandbox makes you go, 'Well, there's the next story mission, but, ooh, collectibles! Ooh, random encounters! Ooh, an intact thing!' A good sandbox is one where you can mess around for hours after making the hollow promise to yourself you'll stop any minute now." Took the words right out of my mouth; that's exactly how I felt while playing Infamous 2.
• Again, I'm really not sure if there'll be an Infamous 3. There is, however, a DLC game on PlayStation Network that takes place during Infamous 2, in which Cole has been bitten by a vampire and has to, well, take on vampires, I guess. Seems a bit silly and weak, and almost like it undercuts the tone of the rest of the series, but if I've still got an itch to play some Infamous a year from now, I'm sure it could see some playing time.