Review: Infamous 2: Festival of Blood

It seems like emasculating vampires has become somewhat of a trend in popular media as of late and the knee-jerk reaction from most is to roll their eyes whenever they crop up. This has not stopped Sucker Punch from injecting them into their newest hit franchise, Infamous. In the same vein as last year's wildly successful DLC spin-off, Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare, Infamous 2: Festival of Blood ignores canon and embraces the absurd in the interest of delivering a fresh take on a game that is long past its prime. After being turned by an ancient Vampire on the fictional holiday of Pyre Night, Cole McGrath races against the clock to slay the villain before sunrise. Is this festive, standalone expansion worth the price of admission or does it fall victim to the same problems that have been ruining vampire legend for years? I think the answer may surprise you.

Infamous 2: Festival of Blood (PS3/PSN)
Developer: Sucker Punch
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America
Release Date: October 25, 2011 (NA)

Let me start by stating what Festival of Blood is not. Festival of Blood is not your standard DLC in that it doesn't rely on the success and popularity of the original to sell itself. Available for purchase on the Playstation store and completely playable without a copy of Infamous 2 in your possession, Festival of Blood can serve as either an extension of the core game or a proper introduction the franchise.

From the beginning, Festival of Blood takes clear advantage of Infamous 2's existing strengths by crafting a campy tale of horror starring the two lead characters, Cole and Zeke. In an attempt to impress a pretty girl at a bar (and open itself to a cliché and hokey twist later on), Zeke spins a dramatic tale of how he saved his best friend, Cole McGrath from the clutches of an evil Vampire. From there, we are treated to more of the comic book style cut scenes that have become a staple of the franchise and given the subject matter, it fits perfect within the universe. After being turned by a vicious and powerful vampire named Blood Mary, Cole must quickly find a means of curing himself before sunrise. Of course, this twist of fate leads to some interesting new mechanics that keep this DLC feeling fresh.

While this expansion does tell a standalone story and completely ignores the plot of Infamous 2 proper, it does continue the trend of equipping the player with wicked electrical powers and super human strength. Of course, with Cole's new status as a vampire, the rules have changed a bit. Electricity must still be drained from electrical sources to regain power and health but Cole now sports a new vampiric ability that is fueled by the consumption of human blood. Pressing up on the D-Pad now transforms Cole into a flock of bats and propels him through the air at break neck speed. Using the analog stick, traveling from the ground to the highest point in New Marais can be done in the blink of an eye. It is an amazingly useful ability that not only serves as super satisfying mode of traversing the world but also plays a key role in combat scenarios.

Character progression works much like that of Infamous 2 but the festive Halloween theme that permeates the game forces players to venture down the evil path this time around. I don't necessarily consider these nuances to be detrimental to the experience but a lack of any kind of moral choice makes the game a bit more linear that I would have liked. Of course, the depth or variety of missions and moral choice was never the strongest aspect of Infamous to begin with.

Combat is fun and remains true to the original game but the introduction of vampire enemy-types elevates the frustration level at times thanks to their super-speed, agility, and tendency to hang upside-down from poles and shoot you. When you throw in the fact that they must be finished off with a stake to the heart, some scenarios can prove to be rather difficult. Luckily, Cole is fast on his feet and easy to control thanks to a well designed camera system so frustration rarely escalates.

Like Undead Nightmare, the most noticeable and exciting thing about Festival of Blood is the atmosphere that is created as a result of the stylized world. The city of New Marais is adorned with Pyre Night (think Halloween) decorations and people in costume litter the street in celebration, ripe for the picking. As the night goes on and Coles infection spreads, he is forced to stalk the citizens of the city he once protected in order to drain them of their blood. The icing on the cake however is the approaching sunrise that continues to approach as the hours slip away. In a similar fashion to the approaching Beast of Infamous 2, players are constantly reminded of their fate as the sunlight peaks more and more over the horizon. It is a wonderful atmosphere that really should be experienced.

By cleverly combining electricity based gameplay with campy vampire lore, Sucker Punch once again demonstrates their ingenuity without sacrificing the appeal of the core game. Released at the more-than-fair price of $9.99 and clocking in at a healthy 4-5 hours of original content, there is no doubt in my mind that Festival of Blood will stand among this years best DLC releases.

Score - 82%
(80-84%: A great game with very few major issues)