During a closed-door session at E3 a couple weeks ago, we had the chance to see - andthen play- a demo for InFamous 2, the 2011-bound sequel to Sony's promising, lightning-charged superhero/disaster/sandbox adventure from 2009.And while we weren't all that hot on the first game, we came away from this one impressed; while weonly played for a few minutes,everything we experienced was better, faster and more visually interesting. And now, instead of just reading reactions like thatfrom people like us, you can see footage of the InFamous 2 E3 demo for yourself.
It's pretty straightforward stuff. Beginning just as a hate-rally in hero/villain Cole McGrath's honor (which you can glimpse in the first trailer) is interrupted by slavering mutants, the video opens with Cole sprinting into action with his weird cattle prod/sword thing and beating some mutant ass. The takedowns - complete with slow motion - were just as smoothly represented when we played, and were a significant improvement over the first game's martial arts.
From there, it's a chase after Bertrand, leader of the KKK-like Militia (and organizer of the rally), as he flees in his limo through the New Orleans-inspired streets of New Marais. This isn't so much about countering bad PR as it is about finding someone named Wolf, whose whereaboutsBertrand apparently knows. Just as it was at E3, the video's an impressive showcase of Cole's powers, as he zips across power lines, floats back down to earth and takes out Militia gunmen with electrical blasts. It also features an awesome new superpower, the Ionic Vortex, which takes the shape of a giant, electrically chargedtornado that sweeps up cars and enemies and leaves them scattered in hilarious piles.
Above: This was just as much fun to play with as it was to watch
Here, Cole uses it to bring down a chopper that harasses him near the demo, which marks the end of the video - sadly cutting off before the scene when a gigantic, barely seen monster emergesfrom the cloud ofdestruction Cole creates. Even so, it's a pretty badass showcase for a game that won't ship until sometime next year,and it already looks to be a big improvement over the first InFamous.Big enough that we can't wait to see more, anyway.
Jul 2, 2010
