Hey, have you ever thought of using electricity to throw a car at a giant swamp monster that’s eating everyone in its path?  Even if you haven’t, you will now with Infamous 2.

Infamous 2 is an open world video game for PS3 developed by Sucker Punch Productions and published by Sony Computer Entertainment.  It came out this past summer on June 7.

At the start of the game we find Cole Macgrath at the docks in Empire City.  He is about to leave
with his friend Zeke and NSA agent Lucy Kuo to get stronger for his fight against the Beast.  Suddenly, the ground begins to shake because the Beast has shown up earlier than expected.  Cole isn’t ready yet, but he tries to see what he can do.  It is to no avail, he must flee Empire City as its fate has been sealed.

Later, Cole arrives in New Marais, the setting for the rest of the game.  New Marais covers a fairly
large area and is divided into three areas: New Marais (starting area), Flood town, and the Powerworks.  Similar to the first Infamous game, you must turn the power back on for these new areas to be safe.  The process of powering up new areas in Infamous 2 is much different than how it was in the first game though.  Whereas in the first game you went through a sewer to power up a large generator, now you have to activate multiple small generators throughout the area and defend them while they go back online.

One of the major improvements in Infamous 2 is the greater variety of powers that Cole has access to. Instead of just upgrading different effects of your attacks, you can unlock different forms of each attack. Also, you can swap between the powers you have bought to customize your
move set or to be ready for any occurrence.

Another major improvement is the melee.  Originally you had to run at enemies with
just your fists.  This is not the smartest or most effective thing to do when all of your enemies have firearms.  Now Cole has a new gadget at his disposal, the Amp.  After the opening
part of the game, Cole’s friend Zeke gives him this cool and highly effective invention.  The Amp is a weapon shaped kind of like the letter Y that harnesses Cole’s electrical abilities.  With it you can string together combos, use devastating finishing moves, or surprise enemies below you by slamming the Amp down on to them.

While not as significant, there are a few more changes that improve the game.  One of these is that, the karma system that was instituted in the first game now has a larger impact on the story.  Another improvement is Mocap cut scenes.  These cut scenes demonstrate how much the
graphics have improved since the first game. Also the voice actor for Cole has changed.  At first, the change in Cole’s voice is very noticeable, but after playing for a few minutes you realize that the new voice is better suited to the character.

Though there are many improvements that make Infamous 2 so much more enjoyable than
the first game, there is still one problem experienced throughout the game.  One of Cole’s main methods of transportation is using his parkour skills to climb up buildings so that he can
jump from rooftop to rooftop.  If you jump off while climbing you run into the problem.  Cole sticks to everything.  To explain more thoroughly: if you are hanging on to a ledge and jump off, you will grab the nearest thing that you can hang on to (if it is within reach). This problem can be helpful if you learn how to use it, but for first time players it can be frustrating.

Overall, the game plays really smoothly.  The upgrade system adds variety to your
attacks and the Mocap makes the cut scenes just that much more watchable.  While still retaining the annoying problem of sticking to everything, there are way more improvements than problems.  Once you play this game, you will actually get lost in it.  New Marais is the kind
of place that you want to explore compared to the dull, drab place known as Empire City.

Infamous 2 is one of the best PS3 games of the summer.  If you don’t own this game or just haven’t ever played, you need to pick it up as soon as you are done reading this
sentence.