Time to mark the passing of half of 2011 with some releases for Sony’s lean, mean, black machine. Though Sony has taken a hit with the recent PlayStation Network fiasco, this hopefully won’t stop gamers from looking forward to more great releases for the PS3. Here are some upcoming launches we got to try out recently.

inFamous 2

In the eagerly anticipated sequel to Sucker Punch Production’s inFamous, you’ll be introduced to a more world-weary Cole.

After the conclusion of the first game, it was revealed Kessler, the main antagonist, was an alternate reality (a future self actually) version of Cole. The events of the first game were orchestrated to prepare Cole for an adversary only known as the Beast. inFamous 2 carries on the story after Cole has defeated Kessler, and has to face the Beast earlier than anticipated.

The game begins with an in-game tutorial of sorts, where the player is taught the basic controls as Cole is forced to face the Beast. After getting his butt soundly beaten, Cole heads to New Marais to get his electrical abilities enhanced further so he can finally defeat the Beast, and stop it from destroying everything.

As you can see from the pictures, Cole is sporting a more laid-back look with jeans and a tee, but his appearance isn’t the only thing that’s changed from the first game. Cole will not only have old abilities enhanced, and new electric-based abilities to play with, at some point in the game, players will also be able to choose to gain elemental-based powers of fire or ice. I wasn’t able to get that far in the game to experience them in the short preview session, but the game gives you a new weapon, the cattle prod, right off the bat. So melee combat is more varied with Cole utilizing the cattle prod in addition to his fists (and the goal kick for those who love kicking downed enemies).

The developers have said that there will be more focus on moral choices made by the player, with the in-game story will changing accordingly. And while Empire City resembled an industrial wasteland from the first game, you will see swamps and trees in the background of New Marais. It seems the developers paid more attention to the minor details in the game and it does show.

Looks like his hand thrusters are still around

Fans of the first game will not be disappointed with this sequel, and as with most sandbox-type games, there will be a new mission editor included in inFamous 2. Players can design missions and share them online with others.

Besides the regular game, there will be a Hero Edition that includes the game, a wearable full size replica sling bag, a mini inFamous 1 comic from DC Comics, and a limited edition 8.5″ Cole statue. And for those who are suckers for online content, the Hero Edition also includes a bonus PlayStation Network code for an exclusive downloadable inFamous 2 soundtrack and four other bonus in-game content.

Release Date: 7 June 2011

Hunted: The Demon’s Forge

Hunted is basically a dungeon crawler with a few unique premises: co-op multi-player and the ability to take cover (similar to shooters like Gears of War). Providing cover fire as your friend charges enemies head-on, or reviving your partner with health potions when he/she is down are all examples of how working together will allow you to progress further in the game. Unfortunately, while you can just walk over and revive your downed comrade in a co-op game, Hunted requires you to have a potion in your inventory to do so, and if you don’t, you will have to contend with watching your ally crawl around until they keel over, dead.

Hunted reminded me of Dungeons and Dragons though, as I explored a town that has fallen siege to monsters. Set in high fantasy trappings, the game lets you play as either Caddoc, a stereotypical brawler/tank, or E’lara, an archer that’s more adept with bows and spells. Caddoc will charge enemies head-on while E’lara provides ranged fire. Choosing either character will mean the other is controlled by A.I., but during checkpoints, you can choose to swap if you get bored playing one character.

Dungeon crawling anyone?

Players can play the campaign alone with an A.I. controlled character by your side or split screen if your friend decides to join your campaign. Unfortunately there is no way for a player to drop out of the co-op mode during gameplay; both will have to exit the game.

The game feels great as a hack and slash, with pretty hectic combat, but I felt that there were little difference to the two characters. Sure, E’lara seems less resilient to melee attacks, but otherwise not many distinguishing features early in the game. Caddoc can whip out his crossbow and fire away while E’lara can choose to slash with her sword even if she is more adept at using the bow. There were times when combat felt the same despite switching between controlling Caddoc or E’lara.

Hunted is another game that will come with a map editor tool. Here, it’s a mode called Crucible, where you can create your own dungeons, and unlock new tools to be used within Crucible with gold earned in the main campaign. This should definitely keep players engaged in the campaign to earn gold for use in Crucible.

Release Date: 2 June 2011

El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron

El Shaddai is an odd one. El Shaddai tells the tale of a human, Enoch, who is sent back to Earth by God to rid the world of Nephilim, the offspring of fallen angels and humans. You control Enoch from a 3rd person view of what is essentially a melee game that focuses on combos, but with breaks between the action that consists of platforming. Yes, good old-fashioned platforming action.

Good, old-fashioned platforming

Combat-wise, it feels like Devil May Cry on a potent cocktail of hallucinogens. The color palette of the game can range from blazing white backgrounds to a swirling rainbow mix, and characters look very anime inspired. There are also no health bars or any kind of HUD on screen at all. Players will have to take cue from real-time visual identifiers. For instance, as Enoch take hits from his enemies, his armor will drop off piece by piece until he’s left in his jeans. And that’s when you’ll realize that he is close to death.

El Shaddai has a very distinct visual style

The game has the most unique backgrounds and stage layouts we have seen in awhile

There aren’t that many weapons in the game either, and if you do wish to change weapons, you will have to stun and enemy and ‘relieve’ them of theirs. Each weapon will not only have their own attack modes, but also infer certain abilities to Enoch (such as jumping higher) that will be needed to pass the puzzle sections of the game. And speaking of enemies, in El Shaddai, I noticed there aren’t that many enemies on screen at any given moment, but they are tough. The enemies can take a beating and it seems the game focuses more on providing tactical encounters instead of just swarming you with low-powered minion types.

The background, environments, character design, and even the lack of a HUD speaks of a game that is very focused on its visual representation, so it would come as no surprise that the brains behind the game is Sawaki Takeyasu, an artist who previously worked on both Devil May Cry and Okami franchises. The actual release date for El Shaddai is still unconfirmed, though it should be scheduled sometime in June. However, the version released locally will still be a Japanese import. Those waiting for the North American version might have to wait longer.

Release Date: TBC