Fans of Infamous rejoice – the latest issue of Game Informer is now making its way to subscribers, and it is jam-packed with all sorts of information on the much-anticipated sequel,
Infamous 2. While you can read Game Informer No. 207 for yourself for all of the hot details, we've broken out some of the more important information the magazine reveals for you right here.
The magazine itself compares Infamous 2's jump from the original to Uncharted 2: Among Thieves' jump from Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. Now, this may or may not be completely accurate -- Uncharted 2 didn't recast its main character's voice actor or design a new character model for Drake – but developer Sucker Punch's intent is still clear. As the game's director Nate Fox tells Game Informer, they have a "no stone unturned" mantra in regard to their sequel. "We have to make everything better," Fox tells GI.
So let's get the obvious out of the way. Yes, Cole has been completely redesigned. He looks (and will sound) nothing like the Cole many of us knew and loved from the original Infamous. Cole's sidekick Zeke has returned, too, and although the magazine confirms that he will be voiced by the same person, his design has also changed. His purpose is also intended to be more active in the game, though how that's going to be executed remains to be seen. The overarching theme in the redesigns, especially in terms of Cole, appears to be that
Sucker Punch wants players to care more about Cole and to be able to relate to him more.
Game Informer also lets loose details about Infamous 2's storyline as well as its setting. The game actually begins in Empire City, the locale made famous in the original Infamous. Kessler has bent time and done all he could do to prepare Cole for his showdown with the demonic creature known as The Beast, but Infamous 2 starts out with Cole getting beaten badly by his foe and nearly dying as a result. Cole needs to become stronger, but revving up in Empire City isn't going to do the trick. This is where a new city, New Marais, comes into play.
New Marais is clearly inspired by New Orleans, Louisiana. You could tell that just by looking at the cover of the magazine –
and we did -- but Game Informer confirms that New Orleans was definitely Sucker Punch's inspiration. New Marais plays an important role in Infamous lore, as the magazine reveals, because it's the location where the First Sons created the Ray Sphere, the bomb-like device at the focal point of the original story. The powerful First Sons organization has plenty of other strange technology hidden around New Marais, and Cole wants to find it because it will make him stronger and stronger. Of course, he'll have plenty of other villains to dodge all the while, most notably, an organization known as The Militia. Led by a man named Bertrand, The Militia is attempting to keep the city pure of any and all superpower-wielding persons. It appears that Cole's power-gaining experience in Empire City wasn't as unique as we once thought, after all.
As Fox notes in Game Informer, Cole must become a "super superhero" to take on the powerful Beast, and New Marais is the new location you will get to explore while Cole does just that. Sucker Punch insists that Cole will feel more powerful than he did at the beginning of the original Infamous, and that there should be carry-over between some powers he used in the first one. (Cole's ability to grind along wires is Game Informer's example of skill carryover.) Sucker Punch's Chris Zimmerman explains that New Marais will have "more cars, more people, more bad guys, more everything," alluding to a more active location than Empire City. Fox puts what New Marais is all about more bluntly, however. "New Marais is the kind of city where you feel like you could get stabbed at any time of day."
The Game Informer article has some other interesting little nuggets of information as well. The magazine notes that it appears Cole may have access to more kinds of powers other than his typical electrical fare (in this case, ice). However, Sucker Punch's Ken Schramm lets them know that "Cole is the electric man. You're not going to be the ice man." Take that as you will. Game Informer also notes that they saw two new powers. One, known as the Ionic Vortex, is an electrical tornado attack, while the other unnamed move is a vertical and horizontal launch skill that seems to be used in platforming and building-scaling. Cole will also be able to wield what appears to be some sort of gigantic cattle prod (that he inherently electrifies), which will apparently make melee combat much more useful and satisfying than it was in the original.
Fox promises Game Informer that choices will still play a big role in Infamous 2 as well, and perhaps even a bigger role than we imagined. In the original Infamous, your ending was basically static no matter how you played through the game, but there will be two radically different endings in Infamous 2, depending on the choices you make throughout the game. "There are bigger consequences to your choices, and it's not really obvious what's good and bad," Fox explains. Sounds good to us.
Here's hoping more Infamous 2 information is forthcoming soon (at E3, perhaps?) Maybe they will have a Mass Effect-like save game connection between Infamous and Infamous 2? We can only hope. In the meantime, you can consult Game Informer No. 207 for a much more detailed rundown on Infamous 2, complete with plenty of art and screenshots.
Are you fucking kidding me? They're really going to go through with this? They made Cole look like a complete smurf. Honestly my anticipation for this has taken a nose dive.
