Yeah, that’s right, I said it: inFamous 2 is pretty much the same game as inFamous (1). Save for some tweaked visuals, extra powers and an online element, superhero slash supervillain slash overzealous electroshock therapist Cole McGrath has found himself in an adventure that looks and plays virtually identically to the first time he learned to do the electric boogaloo.

But why should that be a bad thing?

Look, the story about The Beast from the end of inFamous returning to kick McGrath’s ass again is definitely a somewhat tenuous one. Equally eyebrow-raising is the seemingly unnecessary inclusion of new characters in the form of Kuo (effectively the angel on Cole’s right shoulder) and Nix (effectively the devil on his left). However, as the plot unfolds and new abilities are gained, a more rewarding game with a tighter narrative and enhanced style of play is slowly but surely revealed.

And damn, are Cole’s new abilities cool. Numerous types of lightning bolts and grenades mix up the ranged attacks, and a melee weapon called the Amp lets you unleash a variety of sweet finishing moves on evil Militia foes. Sure there’s a somewhat disobedient camera occasionally refusing to whip your view to where it should be, and sure Cole is a bit of a nancy compared to the bullet-sponge he was in the first game, but repeatedly zapping bad guys with giant electric tornadoes and even eventually wielding the incredible powers of fire and ice make you feel crazy potent and more than make up for the annoying niggles.

A variety of new cannon fodder has been added too in the form of some temperamental swamp critters ranging from Cole-sized pests to behemoths the size of buildings. These are supplemented with a few fresh recruits in the Militia ranks including chaingunners and shotgun minions, and this eclectic mix is a welcome change from the boring clones from Empire City.

Speaking of which, it’s also somewhat true that the city of New Marais is ostensibly the same old Empire City with some flood damage. Again though, development studio Sucker Punch have proved that if it ain’t broke, don’t give in to fanboy pressure and ‘fix’ it. The city’s layout feels familiarly designed, and Cole’s movements themselves feel unchanged, and these work together to make running around like a parkour expert on ‘roids as much of a pleasure as it was the first time around.

As with much of the content in inFamous 2 the Karma system has returned, but I’m not entirely convinced about this new implementation which has effectively taken away any moral ambiguity: here you’re either very clearly a Boy Scout or malevolent murderous scum. In fact, it would be easier if inFamous 2 just asked you if you planned on being good or evil from the get-go and took you that way from there, though I suppose if you’re dead set on being valorous like me then it’s easy to be dedicated to your chosen alignment, even if you do accidentally fricassee the occasional pedestrian.

Despite being built on remarkably familiar foundations, inFamous 2 has still managed to keep up with the times with some sexy, tweaked visuals and a much smoother feel to the action. Different suburbs have their own personalities like the tricky Flood Town with its deadly, uh, flooding, and moving between these neighbourhoods feels like a gentle transition between familiar territory and somewhere fresh and exciting but not forced.

There’s even a User Generated Content addition which lets players create their own missions from a ridiculous amount of content options, and these appear on your mini-map for you to tackle in between the regular tasks. Some of these are honestly quite shoddy and amateurish, but open up one of the Featured missions (chosen by user votes) and you’ll be doing everything from solving murder mysteries to monkeying up impossibly tall towers to find a mini-bar; the possibilities are seemingly endless.

So is it really such a bad thing that inFamous 2 is so similar to its sibling? Admittedly there are some pacing issues early on with too many sweet powers being thrown your way before they’re really necessary, and the voice acting and dialogue are cringe-worthy at times, but it’s hard to sweat the small stuff when you’re so busy feeling like a much-upgraded powerhouse fighting the forces of evil in such a perfect environment with such a host of impressive powers.

Add to all this a very generous playtime of at least 15 hours, and double that if you want to replay everything again as your alter ego, and you’ve got a game that doesn’t just rip off inFamous (1) but one that instead takes an old favourite, pumps a few million extra volts into it and makes it just that much better.

And that, fellow gamers, is most definitely not a bad thing.

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