Home
User-generated content isn't inherently a bad thing. Sony's "Play. Create. Share." initiative works beautifully in games like LittleBigPlanet and ModNation Racers because creating new levels and challenges is integral to their design. But the whole idea goes horribly wrong when it's injected into titles that have absolutely no business being tampered with -- like Infamous 2.
The problem is that Infamous' strength lies in exploration and well-crafted scenarios. This is not to say that all UGC is poorly made, but it can often feel less refined and engaging than content designed in a studio. In Infamous 2, the creation tools don't allow for character interaction as Cole never talks to anyone face-to-face outside of a voiced cut-scenes. When players create missions with a semblance of story (as is often the case), the game relegates their dialog to uninteresting, scrolling text moving over in-game action.
In simpler terms, the whole venture seems very artificial and distracting. For a game series that's so heavily motivated by choices and how your NPC allies respond to them, including voiceless add-on content is just a frustrating mess. I grew so tired of seeing the extra missions on my mini-map as I explored that I completely disabled them. They added nothing to what I wanted from the game: poignant story-driven missions, evil or heroic side-quests, and tons of extras to seek and collect.
Infamous 2's core content is exactly what I wanted out of a sequel. Cole takes his extreme parkour and dangerous electric abilities to the "gorgeous corpse" of New Marias and engages in exactly the same building-climbing and power-line-riding action that made the first game so great. New Marias feels like post-Katrina New Orleans, complete with desolate, half-submerged neighborhoods, decaying southern mansions, and breathtaking architecture. It has a more down-trodden and desperate character than almost any video-game city and beckons you to explore it. It's very easy to lose hours to hunting down blast shards and dead drops without ever touching the story missions.
When it's that easy to spend hours doing practically nothing story-related, the created content feature seems insignificant. I'm the sort of gamer who doesn't need multiplayer or artificial longevity shoved into what she plays. I've repeatedly returned to the first Infamous because the act of running around Empire City is the main draw. Infamous 2 has a brighter, more intriguing playing field yet is completely hamstrung by Sucker Punch trying to add an element of multiplayer through custom level design. It's unnecessary and tarnishes what could have been a truly brilliant sequel.
User-generated content doesn't have a place in every game. When your product proves that intense, single-player action can still move units, cramming the sequel full of distracting and unpolished extras doesn't feel like a progression. It isn't. It's a disappointing step backward. If you turn it off, Infamous 2 is a rewarding continuation of Cole's struggle to hone his powers and put an end to the destruction sweeping across the U.S.
