Image via Complex Original
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If you were suddenly granted a superpower, what would you do? That's the question that Infamous asks—and the answer, at least if you're gruff protagonist Cole MacGrath, is to either be a jerk...or a huge jerk. That's OK, though; if you could suddenly shoot bolts of lightning from your fingertips, you'd probably opt to be a jerk too.
Either way, Cole is back this spring for Infamous 2, and developer Sucker Punch Productions is set to deliver a game that looks to be bigger and more ambitious than the original by far. We’re glad to have Cole back—even if he can come off as a bit of a Eurotrash dirtbag—and here are five reasons why...
1. Lovin' The Ladies
1. Lovin' The Ladies
As Infamous 2 unfolds, Cole will develop relationships with two superpowered women: the NSA agent Kuo, who can freeze people solid, and the revenge-obsessed Nix, whose powers are oil-based. (Sound kinda gross? It is—Nix can turn herself into an oil spill and paralyze opponents like sea birds caught in a slick). The two ladies are all about kicking ass, which adds a new buddy-power dynamic to the game’s combat. Also, with Cole’s nagging girlfriend not surviving the first game (sorry, spoiler!), there's also a romantic component here. Be a good(ish) guy and you’ll wind up getting cozy with Kuo. Be bad and you'll light Nix’s fire. It might not be Mass Effect territory, but it's a nice dimension for an action game.
2. Variety Is The Spice Of Life
2. Variety Is The Spice Of Life
There's more to the romance than flirtation. In addition to the buddy powers, Infamous 2 introduces transfer powers. Essentially, by means of technological apparatuses hidden throughout the game, Cole will be able to swap powers with the lady of his choosing (is that a metaphor for something?). During our demo, we saw Cole conjuring a field of massive ice spikes to devastate a group of attackers, courtesy of Kuo. We can only imagine what Nix will bring to the table, but regardless, it’s nice to see Cole be more than a one-trick pony.
3. Play. Share. Create.
3. Play. Share. Create.
The big innovation for Infamous 2 takes a page from LittleBigPlanet and introduces user-generated content to the game's universe. Players can create their own challenges for Cole ranging from defense missions to escort missions to the freaky weirdness that will inevitably come once the general public gets their hands on the toolset. These missions, which will be curated by Sucker Punch in order to maintain a baseline of quality, will appear as waypoints within the single-player campaign, allowing players to dive in for a diversion whenever they want without leaving their game.
4. Face Time
4. Face Time
While we loved the 2D comic book-style cutscenes from the first game, they didn’t make the characters come alive. But all that's changed with the in-engine cut scenes of the sequel.
For the first time, we get to see more of Cole than the back of his head. He emotes. He has facial expressions. More importantly, so do the people around him—and thanks to motion-capture filming, their movements are equally convincing.
For those who don’t care about things like personality and character development, the cut scenes also allow the game’s environments to shine. While Infamous 2 is using the same engine from the first game, it has been modified to get more visual horsepower out of the hardware. Infamous 2 looks great - and keeps getting better – the additional polish we have seen between demo builds is impressive.
5. Give ’Em The Shocker
5. Give ’Em The Shocker
Cole may look better (not that there's anything wrong with that), he may be in a new New Orleans-style city, and he may have some new powers...but when it comes down to it, Infamous is about roasting your enemies with thousands of volts of electricity in massive and clever ways. Are there new powers in Infamous 2? Yup. Are they awesome? You betcha.
The biggest in scope on display at the recent demo was the ionic storm. Cole pulls his arms back like a shot-putter and lets go, unleashing a gigantic tornado sizzling with an electrical charge. The maelstrom proceeds to suck in, electrocute, and shoot out any enemies and debris unlucky to have been swept up in the carnage. It's beyond satisfying—and best of all, you don't have to wait until the end of the game to get it. Big impact powers like ionic storm will be available by way of a trigger system (the details of which are still being finalized), giving players access periodically throughout the game. And you know what we say: The more destruction, the better.