Why inFamous 2 Is So Damn Appealing
I loved inFamous and I'm sure I'll love the sequel. It also seems that everyone I know feels the same way.
So I asked myself, "why are these games so damn appealing to so many people?" Well, the open-world setting is definitely a big draw, as evidenced by the immense popularity of Grand Theft Auto. Plus, it helps that Sucker Punch is a fantastic developer and we're almost guaranteed a satisfying, stable adventure with tight control and impressive technical elements. But there's something else...
I actually think it's this unique combination of action-based mania and the exploration involved with a sprawling metropolis. At first, I thought Cole's speed was much too fast but after playing for a while, I realized that it was just right, and it didn't diminish my appreciation for my surroundings. Amazingly, I always wanted to fight and I always wanted to explore and look around. The pacing of one really doesn't match the pacing of the other, so perhaps it's this contrast that so many people enjoy. It can be difficult to get such pacing correct.
It's the pacing and the freedom; the freedom to approach enemies in a variety of different ways. You can do so in other free-roam games, too, but you can't very well launch yourself onto a rooftop in seconds in GTA. You can't zip from one rooftop to another. You can't go back and forth between the ground and the air on a whim. What other game lets you do this, and do it so unbelievably effectively for so long? And in such an environment? The combination is so totally addicting. It's just an atmosphere and style of gameplay and immersion that seems almost singular in my eyes, and this is why I think inFamous 2 will sell extremely well.
Of course, now that I said it, the game will tank. ...but it better not.
5/27/2011 Ben Dutka
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Comments (55 posts)
WorldEndsWithMe
Friday, May 27, 2011 @ 11:31:56 PM
Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Friday, May 27, 2011 @ 11:34:00 PM
frylock25
Saturday, May 28, 2011 @ 5:47:04 AM
gunblademaster
Friday, May 27, 2011 @ 6:26:29 PM
Reply
lateralus27
Friday, May 27, 2011 @ 6:38:13 PM
WorldEndsWithMe
Friday, May 27, 2011 @ 6:43:59 PM
GuyverLT
Friday, May 27, 2011 @ 7:51:34 PM
Also Ign has reviewed the game and given it a 9.0, I'm still trying to figure out how the hell they got they're hands on the full version game already.
Last edited by GuyverLT on 5/27/2011 7:52:58 PM
blitz30952
Friday, May 27, 2011 @ 6:36:23 PM
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WorldEndsWithMe
Friday, May 27, 2011 @ 6:45:16 PM
Reply
sirbob6
Friday, May 27, 2011 @ 8:47:15 PM
Beamboom
Saturday, May 28, 2011 @ 5:07:45 AM
I don't agree that IGN is biased in their reviews, though. This review not being an exception - the reviewer write very positive words about the first inFamous too, and, well, 9.0 really speaks for itself.
Usually their scores do not differ much from the metacritic/gamerakings average.
Last edited by Beamboom on 5/28/2011 5:11:42 AM
___________
Saturday, May 28, 2011 @ 11:14:51 AM
or they say nothing good about a game, spew praise for it, then give it a 8!
WTF?
infamous 2 perfect example only thing he complained about was the camera!
what, the cameras that bad it takes a whole point of does it?
infamous 2 still looks really buggy to me, so a 9 looks very generous!
but for crying out loud, you have to explain why it gets a 9!
you cant just say ZOMFG this is the best game ev3r!!!!!!!
then give it a 9!
Beamboom
Sunday, May 29, 2011 @ 6:29:37 AM
In my opinion the perfect 10 is almost a theoretical, impossible score, the "ultimate, *perfect* game" with no flaws whatsoever. And from that perspective a 9 or 9.5 is pretty darn close to perfect!
Sancho
Friday, May 27, 2011 @ 6:57:42 PM
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I got the platinum on Infamous in 9 days after finding it on blockbusters shelf about a week before its release date. I couldn't get enough of it. Even though I hated looking for those 300 damn shards I did it.
I will be getting Infamous for one of my choices for the goodwill service they're providing. That way I can beat it again right before 2 comes out. I'm pretty psyched for this game.
Sancho
Saturday, May 28, 2011 @ 1:19:30 PM
Sancho
Saturday, May 28, 2011 @ 1:19:32 PM
WorldEndsWithMe
Friday, May 27, 2011 @ 9:55:42 PM
Temjin001
Friday, May 27, 2011 @ 11:02:20 PM
WorldEndsWithMe
Friday, May 27, 2011 @ 11:07:55 PM
sirbob6
Friday, May 27, 2011 @ 8:53:48 PM
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I think the reason it is so appealing might have to do with the style of the game. The navigation, fighting, stuff to do. The way everything works together makes it the only open-world game (except Fallout 3) I can play after the campaign of without boring.
The characters(except Zeke and Trish) are also a huge draw into the game. Cole is awesome. Alden looks awesome. Kessler is one of my favorite antagonist ever. And Sasha, well she makes being evil sooo much more amazing.
That voice...
WorldEndsWithMe
Friday, May 27, 2011 @ 9:58:10 PM
sirbob6
Friday, May 27, 2011 @ 9:27:31 PM
WorldEndsWithMe
Friday, May 27, 2011 @ 10:01:01 PM
Reply
Highlander
Friday, May 27, 2011 @ 10:07:14 PM
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I think the appeal is that it;s a super-hero game where you play an ordinary guy thrust into the role of a super hero or super villain, plus you have the totally open world for exploration and combat. As you say, you are free to reformulate your tactics fluidly as the situation demands, there's not necessarily only one way to finish.
jimmyhandsome
Friday, May 27, 2011 @ 10:12:29 PM
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All of that combined with open-world gameplay, a variety of mission types, and enough incentive to do the other things like collecting shards, completing side missions, and gaining XP has kept me playing this game for a LONG time.
That's why I like it anyway. June 7th can't come soon enough.
Last edited by jimmyhandsome on 5/27/2011 10:13:53 PM
Nas Is Like
Friday, May 27, 2011 @ 10:54:06 PM
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WorldEndsWithMe
Friday, May 27, 2011 @ 11:10:57 PM
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Since playing the game I think how boring it is when I'm downtown just stuck on the ground. I wanna shimmy up a lamp post and jump onto the light rail tracks and skid away :)
Last edited by WorldEndsWithMe on 5/27/2011 11:11:13 PM
Temjin001
Saturday, May 28, 2011 @ 8:07:14 PM
Lawless SXE
Saturday, May 28, 2011 @ 12:40:15 AM
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Still trying to play through inFamous. I'd be a lot further through it if I hadn't have lost the last three days ability to play it. I seriously love it though. An all around amazing game.
Peace.
WorldEndsWithMe
Saturday, May 28, 2011 @ 1:07:21 AM
Reply
Beamboom
Saturday, May 28, 2011 @ 8:06:18 AM
Temjin001
Saturday, May 28, 2011 @ 8:10:41 PM
BikerSaint
Saturday, May 28, 2011 @ 3:25:03 AM
Reply
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___________
Saturday, May 28, 2011 @ 3:48:44 AM
Reply
nothings more satisfying then standing in a narrow street and letting off a tornado lifting everything in the street and hurling it around!
O, wait there is.
letting off a few grenades before firing off the tornado so when it comes through and lifts things up they explode in peoples faces!
i love doing that, when we had the demo from the lead combat designer in the conference room everyone just busted out laughing!
one thing i wish games would still have is cheats.
almost every game has them untill the final stages where there locked out.
why?
why not let people use cheats once there finished the game for the fun of it?
the whole point of infamous is blowing sh*t up!
what better way to blow sh*t up if you had unlimited energy and could throw missile after grenade after shocks and never stop!
was so much fun having unlimited electricity, i remember we had a competition who could have things going off for the longest without killing themselves or a civilian.
was so funny seeing a car get blown off the ground, then blown again in mid air, invisible juggling!
awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww, come on give us our cheats back!!!!!!!!!!
dillonthebunny
Saturday, May 28, 2011 @ 4:21:22 AM
I just doont understand why they stopped giving us the option.. GTA really is the only series where they have always given us cheats, but even now it comes with conditions.
I know people get on their high horses and spout some rubbish about being a real gamer and completing games the natural way, but thats bull. If people want to play the game they brought what ever way they want... Let them!
Sancho
Saturday, May 28, 2011 @ 4:55:57 AM
aaronisbla
Saturday, May 28, 2011 @ 6:16:57 AM
___________
Saturday, May 28, 2011 @ 11:21:45 AM
but why not make it that they can not be unlocked till you have finished the game on the difficulty your playing, and lock certain trophies out?
i wish they would not lock trophies out though, it makes it easier to get certain ones like i recently played infamous again and am trying to get all the shards again.
if i had infinite health i could zip around and collect them, instead of constantly having to stop and kill enemies, replenish my health.
one thing i wish would stop is saves locked to your profile.
so freaking annoying!!!!!!!!
whats the point of being able to setup multiple profiles if you can only use the save file on one?
the ps3 i got downstairs has its net card broken so i cant get it online, so i cant play my games downstairs anymore i have to bring my newer one downstairs, unhook the old one and set the new one up.
pain in the a$$!
wish you could combine trophies too, since sony refuse to give me the PSN account details so i can replace the funds so i can get my account back ive lost my original account, so im now using a new one and have lost all my trophies.
SoulController
Saturday, May 28, 2011 @ 6:45:07 AM
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sunspider13
Saturday, May 28, 2011 @ 7:08:26 PM
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I was hooked from when I saw the very first trailer they had for inFamous they showed at E3 a few years ago. I got it day one and popped in and again I was instantly hooked. You wake up in the middle of a very large crater for crying out loud! That alone made me want to play the game to it's end. That and the fact you could chose to be good or evil.
Yeah my Hero edition of I2 is paid for. Just another ten days...the 7th can't come soon enough.
sunspider13
Saturday, May 28, 2011 @ 7:13:02 PM
Reply
Lairfan
Tuesday, May 31, 2011 @ 6:58:13 PM
Reply
Btw, I completely agree with the article Ben, and although this is getting a little repetitive of me to say, it was excellently written once again.

inFamous 2









Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Reply
Friday, May 27, 2011 @ 6:06:19 PM