Infamous 2 manages to live up to the original as a sequel, but it's lacking in a couple of departments.
The gameplay is significantly more enjoyable from the first game, featuring more side-mission variety and more intense story moments. The biggest improvement in this game is probably the overhaul of the game's in-game cinematics, compared to the unpolished and ugly in-game cutscenes from the first. The quality of the cutscenes are impressively polished and animations are top-notch. This really makes the story much easier to enjoy and engaging. The game's upgrade system is easier to handle and rewards you for trying out new things in battle, but sometimes it feels restricting due to locked abilities that you may never unlock before you finish the game. The combat is a blast and probably the most exciting and enjoyable part of the game. The animations are fluid and every hit and shock is satisfying, especially with the new weapon that Cole uses for melee attacks, which is incredibly useful.
Sometimes you'll run into a glitch or two, but the game's new features feel very well-implemented and everything looks beautiful. A few good things from the original game are missing, and morality choices are pretty much non-existent. Instead, the choices you are provided with don't seem to affect the storyline or give you any consequences besides trying to satisfy the hearts of certain female sidekicks. You never really feel guilty for making an evil decision during the main story because the story is just so similar and it will only affect how your 'ladies' feel about you by the end.
The good stuff in Infamous 2:
-Beautifully refined graphics give you a very polished experience.
-Combat is an absolutely exciting activity, less of a chore.
-Some intense story moments and dynamic mission design keep your interest.
-The implementation of user-generated levels really adds to the replay value and will clock extra hours on this game.
The bad stuff in Infamous 2:
-Morality choices are more of a popularity contest between you and your lady sidekicks rather than affecting the way you feel towards the story.
-Cole's new voice actor barely does the character justice.
-Moya (an important character from the first game) is nowhere to be found with a lack of explanation.
-A few glitches that may result in restarting the game. (Enemies not dying, enemies or you getting stuck)
This results in me giving it a rating of 8.3/10 which is rounded to 8.5.