Review by: Justin Amirkhani

Campaigns within sandbox games can be hard to pull off. The genre is intended to provide the player the greatest level of personal freedom and by definition a campaign can interfere with this. inFamous 2 suffers from offering the player a fantastic set of tools to enjoy in a big open world but then miring the experience with a tepid campaign that does nothing but get in the way of the player’s fun.

It’s not that the objectives within the campaign are entirely unappetizing – they definitely appeal in concept – but the superhero fantasy Sucker Punch has tried so hard to create doesn’t lend well to confined adventures. Being given the ability and instruction to go anywhere and do anything contrasts too greatly with menial chase sequences and rote beat-'em-up sections that ultimately aren’t satisfying with a character as liberal as Cole.

It doesn’t help that the story is a little too ridiculous, even for those versed in the oft out-there superhero mythos. Then again, with a motive as direct as "get more powers," it’s hard to tell if the writers were even trying which is disappointing considering the creative potential for a world as unconstrained as inFamous’.

Too often the game penalizes players for veering off course or doing things the "wrong way," which is genre sin. It’s incredibly frustrating to be given enough tools to complete a job a dozen different ways, but being shoehorned into one less than ideal solution. Despite all the effort spent making inFamous 2 a great sandbox, the campaign does nothing to capitalize on this.

Outside of the campaign, inFamous 2 still knows it's a sandbox game and gets right a lot of what makes a sandbox game fun. Whether it’s leaping from rooftop to rooftop or throwing electric tornados down a street, the abilities given to the player always feel fun and provide a sense of control in an otherwise chaotic environment. The player is most empowered when they’re given free reign of their abilities and are afforded the opportunity to just have fun.