Infamous 2

Go straight to the game's presentation video.


The first episode of Infamous stood out for its freedom of action. What more could we want than to be in the shoes of a superhero or super villain with the run of the city? The second episode is here and there's been no lowering of the electrical charge.

Content: a bigger area for more action

Infamous 2 carries on just where the first episode left off: Cole MacGrath still has his electricity super powers and is targeting The Beast who has destroyed Empire City. In guise of an explanation the dynamic introduction sets out the game in all its splendour. Finally a hero who doesn't lose his powers!

However, after a heavy defeat, Cole is forced to leave the razed city. He heads along the eastern seaboard and arrives in New Marais, a larger area than the Empire City of the Infamous 1 and which resembles the post Katrina New Orleans, with the game taking every opportunity to recall the hurricane catastrophe.

Cole MacGrath flees to New Marais to find reinforcements. There he meets Kuo, an ex-government agent, who promises him new powers.


New Marais is divided into two islands. The first - where the game begins - looks very much like the French Quarter with its atypical buildings; a city which shelters a militia ready to do anything to prevent Cole from gaining new powers. Guided by a certain Bertrand, the small army has been in control of the city since the flood. This is when the invasion of the half-man half-crab creatures began. These monsters are a lot more impressive than those in the first Infamous episode.
The second island is divided into two areas, one which is flooded and the other, owned by Bertrand, industrialised.


As with the first Infamous, Cole is faced with good and bad karma decisions. Here however, in contrast to the first opus, the choices take on the form of two characters. Kuo represents good and Nix, a woman with a strong personality and supernatural powers, evil.

Nix wants to persuade Cole to destroy the city and bring it to its knees. Manichaean choices and no half measures! Good or evil... and that's it. Of course, once again, these choices have an impact on Cole's environment, powers and appearance. His powers are even more impressive in this second version of the game. The feeling of power is omnipresent from beginning to end.

Infamous 2 thus has double the lifespan. The dialogues and plot line change according to our choices, but it's mostly the game ending that's different.

The additional missions are less repetitive and lengthen the lifespan of the game. The game difficulty has also been increased as Cole now has to take a good deal more care with the populace around him when he chooses to do good.

The new Sucker Punch title also stands out from the first Infamous for the introduction of a level editor. It's difficult to get the hang of at first but proves very extensive. After you get used to it, worldwide sharing of the challenges that you can create is very satisfying.

Gameplay: Cole is powerful and it shows.

What is there to fault Infamous 2 with? Not a lot. Apart from a sometimes random lock system Sucker Punch has managed to sort out the drawbacks in the gameplay from the first episode - already very good - and has further improved things.

The hand-to-hand combats are more dynamic thanks to a new weapon invented by Zeke. Cole moves faster and the new powers are ideal for getting around in New Marais.

Graphics: a post card

Empire City gave us a journey through dark grey streets, with sky scrapers dotted around. New Marais is more colourful and exotic. Infamous 2 represents quite a jump forward when it comes to the graphics. The environments are at last what you'd expect on an HD console.

Cole himself has also been slightly redesigned. The facial animations are well created, but some details, such as his hair, are a bit strange. Some players will see added charisma in the character, while others will find him totally stereotyped.


In terms of level design, the city is very well set out. The courier's new powers and the city's architecture make for a great gaming space. Sucker Punch has managed to adapt New Marais to the new gameplay to give more fluidity and intensity to the combats. Some parts - but not all - of the buildings can now be destroyed.

Unfortunately and even though this doesn't alter the storyline at all, there's still a certain amount of the aliasing and collision bug problems that we saw in the first episode. The look of the enemies has changed. There's more variety in the heads of the gangs and the better modelled monsters. The Beast now has nothing to envy the Titans of God of War for.  

Infamous 2 presentation video: