So yeah, remember when I journal'd about inFAMOUS vs prototype a while back and i said the two were tied? Of course you don't. Because nobody ever reads these. I changed my mind. inFAMOUS wins.

Why? Lastability. I can play the first infamous multiple times and still have fun with it. I made it through prototype 1 and got bored... seriously bored.

But hey, new fancy game is out called Prototype 2! Because of that, I thought it was the perfect time to go and buy inFAMOUS 2. no, no, im not getting prototype 2. Why? Because it seems too similar to the first and they replaced tragic identity crisis Alex Mercer with a scary black man who swears a lot (in other words, a walking cliche).

inFAMOUS 2 begins a few months after the first inFAMOUS and seems to disregard the state of Empire city after you're done with it (good path or evil path).

You're still Cole Macgrath, your only friend in the world is still Zeke Dunbar and with you now is NSA Agent Lucy Kuo who claims that a professor in this New Orleans-esque place can help boost Cole's powers to fight against THE BEAST.

First lets talk about the problems I had with the game.
1. Cole feels significantly weaker than he did in the first game. Enemies take unreal punishment, as he zaps them repeatedly in the chest to no avail. Also, his lightning bolts feel more sluggish and less spammable. Also Cole's defense has been lowered and there's no way to bring it up so a few hits and your screen turns monochrome (an indication that you're DYING). Standard bolts even drain your electricity reserve, and grinding on power lines doesn't recharge you anymore. Your ultimate power, the "ionic storm" which calls a lighting strike down from the heavens, is still lamer than in the first game, because it now targets the strongest enemy. In the first game, you could guide it once summoned, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake.

2. Missions feel less diverse. Most of it is just "Look, there's a group of enemies over there. go f*** em up." It was like that in the first game as well, but there was more variety. (you had to stop armored buses from tearing their way through town, do some tricks for this photographer, jumpstart the electric trains and ride them to glory, blow up gang surveilance equipment, etc.)

3. Enemies. Some enemies just take way too damn long to murder and jump all over the place (ice people) making an already difficult to murder target even more difficult... to murder. Also, enemy strength seems kinda stupid. Here's an example, there are these mutant creatures that look like mole bug things. They are the lowest "boss" type enemy in the game, but because they can burrow underground while summoning a group of killer little bugs that chase you down and shoot you, they're more annoying and difficult to deal with THAN A GODZILLA-SIZED ENEMY. Back to the ice men, the toughest ice enemy, The Titan is far less annoying to deal with than the subboss type ice enemy.

Now what I do like.

1. Cutscenes. No longer do Cole and company move like robots. Instead we get motion captured beautifully done facial animations and movements. I dunno how the rest of you feel, but in inFAMOUS 1, Trish looked butt fugly. Voice acting is pretty good too. Sure I miss the old batman/wolverine/solid snake kinda voice from the first game, but new cole sounds okay. Fits the character more now when people call him "kid".

2. Speed. Cole is now travel really fast. By the end of the game, you can climb up a tower in just a few seconds. Your glide ability is more refined and even gives you a slight boost upwards. Not sure if rail griding is any faster, but it sure LOOKS faster since the camera is now centered lower to the ground.

3. Supers. With the exception of the previously mentioned "Ionic Storm", your Ion powers make you feel amazingly powerful. Kinda makes up for your weak standard attacks. Mob of enemies ahead of you? Boom, Ion Vortex. Send A FRIGGIN' TORNADO at them.

Overall, it's about as good as the first. It's what the first game would have been had there been more polish, but it doesn't really wow as much as I'd hoped. It IS, however, better than prototype. That's just my opinion.



Overall it's not as enjoyal