Developer/Publisher: Sucker Punch/Sony Released: June 2011

Played on: PS3

Infamous 2 has a serviceable story starring unmemorable characters. There are even a few plot twists and surprises, but they leave very little impact. The original game felt the same, so why would I play the sequel? Because the game is an obscene amount of fun (and was also free in PS+).

You play Cole, a hero “infected” with superpowers, and you need to save the city from the government who want to wipe out all the infected, or a crazy mutant who wants to destroy everyone not infected. Or something like that. Whats more important is that you get to run around an open world at breakneck speed – getting from one place to another is a delight, controlling Cole as he dashes through the deteriorating city of New Marais. While Assassin’s Creed is known for its parkour mechanics, Infamous 2 has delivers a far more nuanced control scheme, putting the former’s “hold down R2 to do everything” to shame. Cole’s sprinting through locations while hopping on cars feels as natural as his scaling of tall buildings and gliding through the air.

One of my favourites of the game’s many optional challenges involves starting on a rooftop in one end of the city and reaching another without ever touching the ground, only jumping through the air and grinding on electric cables. The sheer speed of these challenges is unlike any other 3rd person game I’ve played.

The combat in Infamous ranges from small street scuffles to epic battles with massive monsters and dozens of enemies. You can use ice, fire and electric superpowers to take down your foes, and the varied environments of New Marais (city, swamp, shantytown, cemetery) require you to adapt your combat strategy to suit the location.

Verdict: Infamous 2 is a great open world action game that is easy to lose yourself in for hours. Lackluster story and characters prevent it from being more compelling. Anyone who dismissed Infamous because of its similarity and close release to Prototype should reconsider – Infamous is a lot more fun.

Should Bradley play this: He would enjoy this game thoroughly, but it should not be on his must-play list.