Being a hero is optional. That line infuses you with excitement doesn't it? Would you like to save the world or terrorize its inhabitants? But there lies the very problem; it's either one or the other.
inFAMOUS was developed by Sucker Punch Productions; the sexy people behind the Sly Cooper franchise, and this is their first throw down with the current generation. Sandbox games are a dime a dozen recently, with GTA 4, Saints Row 2, Red Faction and Prototype all gunning for the number 1 spot; inFAMOUS needs to be damn spectacular to land on top.
You play Cole McGrath, a supposedly badass delivery boy, who one day during work opens the package he was delivering. Suddenly everything in the city explodes in a shower of blue sparks and crispy pedestrians. Cole gets electrifying powers while everyone else is thrown into a metaphorical toaster. Ouch.
Now you have become a super powered postman running around the recently quarantined Empire City. Comprised of three islands; The Neon, The Warren and the Historic District and there's enough variety in the settings to keep you happy for the duration of the game. I found it particularly odd that you can?t ride the train from one island to the other, as the tracks are all localised within their separate boroughs. You must now progress through the game deciding whether to save the city you blew up, or make it your whimpering ***** as you fry everyone you see. The option to go back to delivery boy status was never presented.
Like most games inFAMOUS has good points and bad points; luckily it's one of those games that balances itself out well enough that you rarely notice the bad. The explosive and interesting powers, stylish "graphic novel" cut scenes and general story overpowers the occasional clipping, pop in problems and random errors that you will encounter on your electrifying journey.
The graphical quality of inFAMOUS is like a see-saw, the in game visuals are above average for a PS3 game, but not by a lot. They aren't bad but the occasional issues such as random jaggies and funny looking "pixelated" shadows occasionally give you a funny feeling. However the cut scenes are lightly animated comic book type slides and they are marvellous. Poppy and full of colour they really shove a bucket of style into an already fabulous game.
Cole and the residents of Empire City all have the regular people animation, which is unfortunate as you'll see some random lady glitching because she got too close to a trash can; but this doesn't happen often. You may also come across a car without a driver, but don't worry there are no ghosts in Empire City. Musically inFAMOUS isn't very memorable, at the time you'll appreciate the tunes but you won't give a toss once you stop playing. It's not the sort of game that'll have you scouring the internet for the soundtrack. The voice acting is mediocre, as with most sandbox titles you'll hear a lot of voices repeated, and Cole himself sounds like Christian Bale from Batman, like a blender full of gravel. Your sidekick "Zeke" and ex-girlfriend Trish both have an equally annoying persona.
The high point of the game would most certainly be the controls, climbing buildings, grinding rails over rooftops and rolling into cover all feel exciting and just roaming the city looking for the blast shards (pieces of electrified rock) is entertaining in itself. Each attack has a simple control system and it's easy as pie to target and shoot the hell out of bad-guys.
Doing missions and kicking ass with specific stunts will earn you valuable experience points, these are used to upgrade your powers. Being good or evil has different effects on your powers too; being Evil usually makes your electricity far more... explosive. You also have an exclusive power in relation to your moral choices. You get a charged up bolt that links between enemies, or Arc Lightning like a Sith from Star Wars. Arc Lighting is awesome.
Mission variety is acceptable, no other way to put it. All games have some form of repetition; but the question is how it affects the flow of the game. Is it horrible like Assassins Creed's pitiful mission types? No, inFAMOUS has a number of varied side missions, with occasional repeats but they aren't a huge problem. At least they aren't all "go here, kill them". One annoying mission type however, is the continual underground sewer quests to obtain new powers; you'll get sick of these by the 3rd time you venture down that filthy manhole. But the reward of new abilities makes it well worth it.
The story changes slightly depending on your goodness/evilness, but what really grinds my gears is that you have to either be all the way good, or all the way evil; no in-between neutral-ness. Seeing as there are 15 exclusive good/evil missions you're going to have to play twice for the full inFAMOUS experience, but truthfully that's not a bad thing. You feel the need to get to grips with all the story and powers, plus if you're a trophy-whore you'll have to play through twice. Collecting all 350 blast shards adds another challenge for you; so all in all the game will last you a decent amount of time.
There are a couple of downsides, as of now Sucker Punch have claimed that there will be NO DLC and NO Multiplayer; this means that what you get in the box is all you?re going to get. However the ending, while mind boggling, leaves a sequel in the works. I'd rather have inFAMOUS 2 and Sly Cooper 4 than DLC.
In spite of all the hype and fanboyism roaming the internet, I have to say I was pleased with the overall outcome on the game. I had great fun playing it, and found myself reminiscing back to the old Spiderman games, back when they were good. More flexibility with the morality would have been a nice addition, but I don't ever expect developers to perfect that. Bioshock, Fable, Black & White and inFAMOUS are all examples of its peak.
inFAMOUS is a good game, it has its problems but still stands tall; and it's a worthy addition to your PS3 library. It's got style, grace, and you can zap people in the balls without consequence. The "mash the X button" climbing may get you down from time to time, but the lack of loading times in the game bring it soaring back to the top! Whether or not it's the best superhero/sandbox ever made is a debate for another time, but it ranks up there with the best.It's good,but it's not GTA: Vice City/Spiderman 2 good.
4/5
inFAMOUS was developed by Sucker Punch Productions; the sexy people behind the Sly Cooper franchise, and this is their first throw down with the current generation. Sandbox games are a dime a dozen recently, with GTA 4, Saints Row 2, Red Faction and Prototype all gunning for the number 1 spot; inFAMOUS needs to be damn spectacular to land on top.
You play Cole McGrath, a supposedly badass delivery boy, who one day during work opens the package he was delivering. Suddenly everything in the city explodes in a shower of blue sparks and crispy pedestrians. Cole gets electrifying powers while everyone else is thrown into a metaphorical toaster. Ouch.
Now you have become a super powered postman running around the recently quarantined Empire City. Comprised of three islands; The Neon, The Warren and the Historic District and there's enough variety in the settings to keep you happy for the duration of the game. I found it particularly odd that you can?t ride the train from one island to the other, as the tracks are all localised within their separate boroughs. You must now progress through the game deciding whether to save the city you blew up, or make it your whimpering ***** as you fry everyone you see. The option to go back to delivery boy status was never presented.
Like most games inFAMOUS has good points and bad points; luckily it's one of those games that balances itself out well enough that you rarely notice the bad. The explosive and interesting powers, stylish "graphic novel" cut scenes and general story overpowers the occasional clipping, pop in problems and random errors that you will encounter on your electrifying journey.
The graphical quality of inFAMOUS is like a see-saw, the in game visuals are above average for a PS3 game, but not by a lot. They aren't bad but the occasional issues such as random jaggies and funny looking "pixelated" shadows occasionally give you a funny feeling. However the cut scenes are lightly animated comic book type slides and they are marvellous. Poppy and full of colour they really shove a bucket of style into an already fabulous game.
Cole and the residents of Empire City all have the regular people animation, which is unfortunate as you'll see some random lady glitching because she got too close to a trash can; but this doesn't happen often. You may also come across a car without a driver, but don't worry there are no ghosts in Empire City. Musically inFAMOUS isn't very memorable, at the time you'll appreciate the tunes but you won't give a toss once you stop playing. It's not the sort of game that'll have you scouring the internet for the soundtrack. The voice acting is mediocre, as with most sandbox titles you'll hear a lot of voices repeated, and Cole himself sounds like Christian Bale from Batman, like a blender full of gravel. Your sidekick "Zeke" and ex-girlfriend Trish both have an equally annoying persona.
The high point of the game would most certainly be the controls, climbing buildings, grinding rails over rooftops and rolling into cover all feel exciting and just roaming the city looking for the blast shards (pieces of electrified rock) is entertaining in itself. Each attack has a simple control system and it's easy as pie to target and shoot the hell out of bad-guys.
Doing missions and kicking ass with specific stunts will earn you valuable experience points, these are used to upgrade your powers. Being good or evil has different effects on your powers too; being Evil usually makes your electricity far more... explosive. You also have an exclusive power in relation to your moral choices. You get a charged up bolt that links between enemies, or Arc Lightning like a Sith from Star Wars. Arc Lighting is awesome.
Mission variety is acceptable, no other way to put it. All games have some form of repetition; but the question is how it affects the flow of the game. Is it horrible like Assassins Creed's pitiful mission types? No, inFAMOUS has a number of varied side missions, with occasional repeats but they aren't a huge problem. At least they aren't all "go here, kill them". One annoying mission type however, is the continual underground sewer quests to obtain new powers; you'll get sick of these by the 3rd time you venture down that filthy manhole. But the reward of new abilities makes it well worth it.
The story changes slightly depending on your goodness/evilness, but what really grinds my gears is that you have to either be all the way good, or all the way evil; no in-between neutral-ness. Seeing as there are 15 exclusive good/evil missions you're going to have to play twice for the full inFAMOUS experience, but truthfully that's not a bad thing. You feel the need to get to grips with all the story and powers, plus if you're a trophy-whore you'll have to play through twice. Collecting all 350 blast shards adds another challenge for you; so all in all the game will last you a decent amount of time.
There are a couple of downsides, as of now Sucker Punch have claimed that there will be NO DLC and NO Multiplayer; this means that what you get in the box is all you?re going to get. However the ending, while mind boggling, leaves a sequel in the works. I'd rather have inFAMOUS 2 and Sly Cooper 4 than DLC.
In spite of all the hype and fanboyism roaming the internet, I have to say I was pleased with the overall outcome on the game. I had great fun playing it, and found myself reminiscing back to the old Spiderman games, back when they were good. More flexibility with the morality would have been a nice addition, but I don't ever expect developers to perfect that. Bioshock, Fable, Black & White and inFAMOUS are all examples of its peak.
inFAMOUS is a good game, it has its problems but still stands tall; and it's a worthy addition to your PS3 library. It's got style, grace, and you can zap people in the balls without consequence. The "mash the X button" climbing may get you down from time to time, but the lack of loading times in the game bring it soaring back to the top! Whether or not it's the best superhero/sandbox ever made is a debate for another time, but it ranks up there with the best.It's good,but it's not GTA: Vice City/Spiderman 2 good.
4/5
