It's been an exciting year at PAX 2010. Duke Nukem Forever was officially announced, and demoed, and a ton of big name titles were shown off on the show floor. One of the games that I've been really looking forward to seeing, after its appearance at Gamescom, was inFAMOUS 2. If you remember, Sucker Punch revealed at Gamescom that they were reverting back to the old character model of Cole, shaved head and all, and released a small little teaser that gave a short glimpse at new/old Cole. At PAX, Sucker Punch decided to bring out the big guns, giving fans the chance to not only play as new/old Cole, but also try out a new demo, showing off the game's new setting. Take a look at the video below and judge for yourself.
The first thing I immediately noticed from the trailer was the graphics. Now, I know that's kind of a cliche thing to be judging a game on the quality of its graphics, but you can't deny the fact that inFAMOUS 2 looks amazing! Sucker Punch wasn't lying when they said that inFAMOUS 2 was getting a graphical overhaul. The environmental textures look extremely realistic, Cole's model, as well as the enemies and pedestrians, are extremely well done, and the lighting and color scheme come together quite nicely. I've heard some people complain that the footage looks too brown and bland, but I'd like to counter that by saying that, the game takes place in a New Orleans/swamp-like setting, what did you expect, New Zealand? Judging by the other trailers, the game appears to have a pretty diverse color scheme and enough different locations to keep things interesting, so I'm not too worried. Also, the sounds of the enemies, especially that shrimp-like creature, were really well done and the soundtrack in the background did a great job of capturing that Louisiana bayou feel while still managing to sound like an epic, action orchestral score.
The second thing I wanted to note was the gameplay. Sucker Punch has really stepped up the animations from the first game. Cole's movements in inFAMOUS 2 look so much more fluid than in the first game, from shooting lightning bolts, to dodging bullets, to using his new lightning rod melee attack, everything appears to have been improved from the first game. Also, the pedestrians actions in the background are drastically improved from the previous game. In inFAMOUS 1, it seemed like all of the bystanders would go through the same canned animation when running away, while in inFAMOUS 2, their actions and motions look more fluid and random, which adds that extra little bit of realsim when fighting bad guys in crowded streets.
To wrap things up, I'd just like to say that inFAMOUS 2 keeps getting better and better every time I see it. I just hope the story is as interesting and well thought out as the first game, because that was personally, one of my favorite parts of inFAMOUS 1, and I'd hate to see them settle for a generic superhero storyline. Right now though, the game is showing a lot of promise, and while I hate to make assumptions this early out, looks like it could be a strong contender for Game of the Year 2011, although Portal 2's gonna be a tough act to follow. So, what are your thoughts on the new inFAMOUS 2 gameplay? Leave a comment below if you'd like, I always enjoy hearing what you all have to say.
Anyways, thanks for reading guys and don't forget, if you haven't joined the VGH forums you can do so by clicking here or at the top of the page, and don't forget to subscribe to us on iTunes, under Henchmen Cast, and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/videogamehenchmen.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Wow the first “trailer” gameplay sequence was beautiful, and this is equally beautiful as it shows unscripted awesome moments. They really amped up the environment destruction. Love the camera work/angle shifts when he’s doing melee. It all looks freakin fantastic. WOW.
Oh, and I really like your site guys. It’s in my RSS feed and it’s the first one I check. You express yourselves well without immature negativity when something looks bad. Keep it up.
Warmed up to the first one the more I played it. If Sucker Punch brings some variety I am willing to dive back in.