Sequels that got it Right: inFamous 2

 Could it be...? An actual feature?

 So, umm... yeah, a feature, pop the champaigne and bring forth the trombones. Oh, and don't forget the confetti. As the name implies, here I will write about sequels that I feel almost completely overshadow the previous installment of the franchise. I'm not talking about a good sequel, say, God of War 2, Onimusha 2, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's chest(It was good), but something that goes beyond what one would expect of a sequel. Something that most people would agree that puts the previous installment to shame.
 And what better way to... debut this feature than to mention a game that surprised me...

 Ah! inFamous 2, probably my favorite PS3 exclusive so far. What makes it so much better than the prequel? It's actually... hard to say. It has a certain je ne se quois that makes it feel so good... but I will try to dissect some of the improvements.
 For starters, the city itself. inFamous 1 was set in a very urban area, comprised of three big areas. The whole game was very heavy on greys and browns, and while each area had a couple of distinguishing landmarks, be it the seaport, the park or what have you, it felt a bit samey. Then came inFamous 2, with a much more tropical look to it. The game uses many more colors, and it looks amazing. The city feels alive, and it's a joy to explore. Not to mention, that while still consisting of three big areas, each area is completely different, one is a normal town, with a few jungles on the outskirts, the second area is a flooded town, which means Cole has to take to the skies and rooftops, lest he wants to die, and finally, the third area is an industrial one, with power plants and what have you.
 Another thing they did right, Cole's powers. While Cole gets de-powered at the start of the game, he gains his old powers back shortly, and then some. See, in inFamous 1, the unlockable powers were mostly little gimmicks. Like the electric missiles, if you were Good Cole, you could direct them by shooting electricity close to them. If you were Evil Cole, you'd get two mini rockets alongside the big one. Oh yeah, being Good Cole sucked, you'd mostly get precision upgrades, and Evil Cole would get destructive ones. Here, while Cole doesn't upgrade his powers, and doesn't get "new" powers... he gets new variations. For example, instead of a Shockwave, you could use a slimmer one, but that'd travel further. Or one that would make the enemies float, instead of pushing them back. And Good Cole can get an ability that makes electricity do minimal damage to innocents, alleviating the need to be careful that one had to have in inFamous 1. It doesn't end there, the idea here is "expanding", midway through the game, you get a choice for Fire powers or Ice powers. For example, remember the shockwave? Now you get an ice version, in which Cole produces various ice shards and blasts them with a shockwave, not only is it as awesome as it sounds, it feels oh so satisfying.

 Cole got a new voice actor. Yup, they recasted the main character. I can't remember the reason why, but it proved to be good. Old Cole seemed to be trying hard to sound gruff, dark and tough. New Cole sounds a bit... dorky, initially, but eventually it grows on you. Not only does New Cole have a better voice acting overall, the voice ends up fitting him quite nicely and has some very badass boasts, taunts and lines, and as a result of his new voice, he becomes much more relatable.

 inFamous 1 story wasn't really all that amazing, but it had some great moments and an amazing plot twist at the end. While inFamous 2 doesn't have such a plot twist, the overall story is much better. There's more side characters involved, and they are much more than just "voices". Cole directly interacts with them a lot more, and the dialogues are quite interesting.
 So everything got better. Graphics? Prettier. Sound-design? Better. Gameplay? Better. Story? Better. But topping all those additions is... controlling Cole. Yeah, it's part of the gameplay, but something that shocked me was... how much better it felt. Parkouring in inFamous 1 was just a means to an end. In inFamous 2, I can't pinpoint why, maybe the fact that the city is much more interesing? Dunno, thing is, controlling Cole feels better. Tighter even.
 inFamous 1 was a good game. inFamous 2 is an amazing game. In fact, inFamous 2 is so good, it makes inFamous 1 worth playing, just so that you can get the full gist of the story. inFamous 2 is a Sequel that got it Right.