Gamers who like designing their own experience just got an entire sandbox to play with. Gamers who would rather play games than tinker with them just got tons of added content from their fellow gamers.
That’s right, “inFamous 2” not only shores up some of the problems of its predecessor, it goes all “Little Big Planet” on us, with a robust mission designer that may well provide more long-term fun than the game itself.
Of course, none of this would be possible without strong fundamentals. You can’t kill people with hooks like in “Assassin’s Creed,” and there are fewer opportunities to throw cars at helicopters a la “Prototype,” but developer Sucker Punch’s nods toward realism and restraint make “inFamous” a richer experience than either of those.
In most games anymore, whether a “Lord of the Rings” takeoff or World War II shooter, your character inexplicably regains full health if he or she avoids damage for a few seconds. “InFamous” may star a man who can shoot lightning from his hands, but when Cole MacGrath takes a grenade from a militiaman, if he doesn’t “recharge” by sucking electricity from a telephone pole, car or even air-conditioning unit, the next hit means curtains.
| ‘inFamous 2’ |
| » System: PS3 |
| » Price: $59.99 |
| » Rating: 4 out of 5 stars |
Also imbuing the experience with a sense of consequence is the game’s namesake morality system. Running around New Orleans, er, New Marais, where “inFamous 2” finds Cole powering up after his failure to protect, ahem, Empire City, there are plenty of opportunities to be good or evil. Save that woman being mugged, or toss ball lightning at those cops? Your choices not only affect the powers you obtain, but, depending on if you’re heroic or infamous, people on the street will cheer and photograph you wherever you go, or throw rocks and flee.
Neat as that is, “inFamous 2” does it one better by being the rare sequel that fixes its predecessor’s main problems. A sort of electro-bat puts the focus much more on melee fighting this time around — the first game’s fixation on lightning powers made it feel almost like a shooter — and you can now switch among your special moves much faster, without having to pause the game.
When scaling buildings becomes a drag, though — and it does — you can turn to the game’s sophisticated mission editor, where you can design anything from epic boss fights to contrived, gravity-defying jokes. The power to rain cars from the sky, or put ridiculous words in the characters’ mouths is yours, and even if you don’t want to make your own levels, New Marais will be dotted with your fellow gamers’ missions, which you can rate, browse and filter in accordance with your tastes.
Sure, it may not be long before other open-world games copy Sucker Punch’s decision to give you the keys to the kingdom — but this is a very special kingdom.
