The Gamer Ally Review Blog: inFamous 2: A Preview

The game that took us all by "storm" and left us all in "shock" is back in this sequel to the 2009 SuperHero original. In this game Cole will have you shocking, blasting, and even freezing and burning new enemies?
Hey Guys, It's GPS back here for a Preview of this shocking Sequel.

If that doesn't leave you amazed, I don't know what will.

Ok let's recap. We have Cole. We have Super Powers. Then we have a Sandbox Game that led up to an exciting conclusion of the first game. Well, Cole is back and better than ever. Infamous 2 provides us new powers, new areas, and new characters, not to mention the good old characters like Zeke from the first game, and the dreaded "Beast" that everyone feared. Alrighty now to the story...

Ok to start off, Cole, the protagonist of the first game, is back. After training to get ready for the "Beast" Cole is unprepared and gets the ever loving s*** kicked out of him. Cole and Zeke manage to get away, to the location where Cole's trouble's began.
New Marais, based on New Orleans, is the site where the Ray Sphere was invented that gave Cole his powers in the first game. In order to get new powers, Cole must absorb things called, Blast Cores. What Blast Cores do is they give Cole a brand new power. There are six Blast Cores hidden in New Marais that Cole must find, and use, in doing so, he gets one step closer to taking out the "Beast" and who knows from that point. Also spread across the game are purple orbs that allow Cole to use a one-time power like the Ionic Vortex or the Ionic Drain, two attacks Cole gains in this new game. You can store about 2-3 purple orbs at a time, but that may change as you progress through the game.

In inFamous 1, the makers of the game used only about 30% of the Cell Processor of the game, luckily the new game will be around 50-60%. Isn't that cool? They weren't even using their best when they made inFamous 1 and it was still awesome. I'm excited, when does that game come out? Oh, June 7, you say? I see, I know what I'm doing that day. Anyway back to the game, depending on who you pre-order with, you receive a special Voucher Code for exclusive DLC for the game. Walmart gives you a special Electrocution Grenade which straps your enemies down before exploding them. GameStop gives you a special Lightning Hook ability which allows you to drag your enemies towards yourself, zapping them in the process. Amazingly enough, pre-ordering at Best Buy, gives you a voucher code to redeem a Kessler Skin pack. If that isn't cool, well then I don't know what is. All these DLC's, its so hard to pick! Too bad I already Pre-ordered it...Oh, there's one more? Right, sorry, and finally, pre-ordering at Amazon.com will give you a special 24K Golden Amp.

You might be wondering what an amp is. Well, I'm getting to that, the amp is an addition to the game, that lets you to Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee your enemies in a couple awesome Judo maneuvers. It's basically kind of like a sword, but special for Cole, and it's awesome.

Returning in the game is the Karmic Decisions. Depending on how Cole decides to be, he can get two different partners, Kuo and Nix. Kuo is an Ice-type superhero, while Nix is the complete opposite, using fire powers and being an evil karma influencer. Whichever side you pick, your sure to get awesome powers. For Example, being evil will give you a Fire-Bird like technique where you fly towards your enemies and take them out.

Ice powers are granted to you if you choose to be good. Some powers include an Ice Jump which propels Cole upwards, and an Ice Storm ability which makes a path of Ice shards in front of Cole, which freeze all you enemies. I know, Awesome right? Karmic Decisions provide a greater role in this game, they actually decide the story with much greater influence then before. They also decide what kinds of clothes Cole wears. If Cole is good, his clothe's turn white (like Ice) also he grows some facial hair, and he gets a clear complexion. If Cole is Evil on the other hand. Then his clothes turn red, he turns pale and he gets cuts on his face. Obviously, the decisions you make are important, so don't f*** it up like the last game ok guys?

Also, on a side note, depending on which side you choose, you can either choose Ice or Fire (as I said before) but in order to get these powers, Cole goes through this thing called the Power Transfer Device, which gives Cole either Nix's or Kuo's powers. Here's a screenshot at the PTD.

Also returning to the game are drawn cutscenes like in the last game. In addition to the returning epic cutscenes we saw in the last game are actual cinematic cutscenes where they show actual characters in the actual 3D environment. Here's a couple pictures on the drawn cutscenes...

Another interesting addition to this game is level creator, similar to LBP and LBP2, it lets you create your own missions, you can add objects (move them how you want, or make them move how you want) you can add enemies, and civilians. Throughout this Sandbox RPG, you'll be able to see all these missions across the streets, sidewalks, rooftops, etc.

A picture of the player creating a new level from scratch.

Overall, it seems like a great game, awesome new powers from the blast cores plus new powers from your friends, new area, new story, and hopefully we'll be finally able to see and find out who this "Beast" is.

inFamous 2 is scheduled to come out June 7, 2011. Be sure to pick up your copy of this amazing game.