John was a pretty good guy in the first game, and even though his intentions were somewhat "noble," the fact that he became pretty inhumane just felt weird. Honestly, though, I felt they could have added a little more depth to The Beast's (John's) character. The in-game cutscenes were AMAZING this time around, and I would have loved to see Zeke actually kneel down and lift Cole off the floor, before people of the city begin to gradually take note of this and come to his aid (sort of like that scene after the train-fight in Spider-Man 2, lol).
The only thing I didn't like about the ending was it being told in the comic-book style. I just wish Suckerpunch's next game wasn't Sly 4 now. I thought the same of the first game too.
I am of oppinion that the good karma ending is canon to the plot of the story. So with that out of the way I think the big question is, are we to believe that the bolt of lightning that hits the boat just as the credits roll is meant to bring Cole back to life? The twist that "The Beast" was John from the first game was also a brilliant. I don't remember the music in the first game being so good !! Also the music.not just for the final moments but throughout the entire game was fantastic IMO. I like how Kuo and Nix did a complete 180 for the final karmic choice. To be the ultimate hero you had to become a complete martyr and sacrifice your own life for the good of mankind !! That ending was so awesome and not what I was expecting at all. So I just completed the game for the first time on completely good karma. (I suggest someone makes a thread for the other ending like this one) For discussion of the GOOD ending only, please no spoilers from the BAD ending !!