It was almost like they didn’t want to show InFAMOUS 2 at Eurogamer, it was hidden right in the corner of show floor on 2 TV’s with no signs what so ever. I was lucky to catch it when queuing up for developer sessions, this meant time waiting to play was relatively low. We had the chance to play the demo shown at E3 in which we had to kill a few swamp monsters and then chase a limo which ended in the destruction of a helicopter. This gave us all a good taster of the new melee combat, improvements to platforming and destructible environments. There is little I really need to say since all of what was shown has been shown before, so all I will say for the demo is that those who have played the first game will feel right at home. The melee combat works well and the increase in destructibility really helps you feel like you are superhero. It’s something to look forward to.
Thankfully that wasn’t the only presence at the show, Sucker Punch also offered a developer session in which they showed off some different gameplay, talk about what’s new to the series along with a Q&A. They opened by revealing (can you call it a reveal?) of the new Cole after all the backlash the redesign got. The only real change is in his hair, he now has a shaven head and now wears a summer version of his original outfit. The comic book style cut-scenes make a return, they showed the opening cinematic which gave us the basic plot for the game and the main threats. Based in the New Orleans inspired New Marais, Cole encounters The Beast and barely escapes with his life. The Militia have taken over the city with a goal of getting anyone or anything with superpowers out of the town.
Variety seems to be a big focus this time around. The combination of long and short ranged combat, New Marais will have a wider variety of environments instead of just one large wasteland along with Cole’s Ice powers all help add to this variety. Unfortunately when showing the gameplay their were technical issues resulting in a lack of sound, thankfully we had pew pew sound effects to fill in the blanks. Cole started in a swamp being attacked by nearby monsters and militia, guard towers could be destroyed to get rid of ranged enemies along with wooden platforms. The range of the destructible environments seem to be limited to wooden objects at this moment. We saw some nice combo finishes and at the end a boss fight which has been shown at previous shows. What we have seen so far looks promising and nice step up from the respectable original.
During the Q&A not much could be revealed. When asked about the possibility of multiplayer they simply said that the single player is the main focus at this time. The ice powers couldn’t be explained further either and DLC will be decided after the completion of the game. New Marais will be around the same size as Empire city and water will play a bigger part than just death for Cole. Karma will return and will be bigger than ever. Your choices will have a bigger impact this time around and there is a small possibility of transferring over the save from the first game. There was also an amusing question about if Cole will have a house this time around since living out in the open for a guy who is allergic to water was a bad idea. They obviously replied with no comment at this time.
