inFAMOUS: Second Son Review - The Good Son

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

To be honest, having seen the gameplay even though the powers are "different" it looked like it was just different skins on the same stuff as before. Granted I didn't see late game footage either so I can't judge by that, but I wasn't horribly impressed with Infamous (except the vampire version of 2 which should have been a full game, not a damn mini-demo). It wasn't a bad series either, but I just could never bring myself to finish the games.

 

[Saltyk]

I was hoping to pick this up at midnight, but the store won't open for it. They have over 50 preorders! Feels kinda lame.

Kinda surprised you only gave this a 3.5, though, Jim. I'm not questioning your judgement, but from how you seemed to be talking I was expecting a solid 4 or 4.5.

If anybody else had written this article, the score would have been 4.5 or 5 stars. Not at all a complaint though and I'm actually kind of surprised by how few people seem to mind the score being 3.5...Anyway, stupid numerical rating system aside, THIS is one of the games I was waiting for. Now that it's out there are...well it's the second game I want that I can only get on the PS4. I really liked inFamous but Delsin being so damn happy to have his powers is the most refreshing thing I've seen in gaming for a while. Once I do eventually get a PS4, I'll likely grab this to go with it. Great review Jimmothy, Thank God for you!

You know I agree with you on just liking that Delsin likes his powers. I vividly remember a scene I've seen where his brother asks him if there have been any complications. Delsin stops and thinks saying, "Yeah... There... Nope. This is pretty freaking awesome." I liked Cole just fine, but the fact that Delsin enjoys his powers is not disappointing.

That's OK, Salty. My store had just under 70 preorders (my own collector's edition included) and I have to wait for 10am to get my copy. Apparently, 75 is the magic number.

OT: As for the review score, I like that it's a 7/10. Feels like an honest assessment - a good game bordering on greatness, but not quite there. Though I have to agree with what Yahtzee said years(?) ago, "You can't apply a simple numerical score to something as complex as an opinion and have it work." I paraphrased, obviously, but the general point stands.

It's all good. I just got home with my copy. Just about to start it up.

No, 3.5/5 is a good score. Angry Joe gave Titanfall a 7/10 for comparisons sake.

I was just a bit surprised that Jim gave it such a "low" score as he sounded to be praising it pretty highly. I suppose a few of his complaints meant more to him than I think they did to me. I am in no way complaining and respect Jim's opinion on the game. I just suspect that I will be giving this game a solid 4/5 or better personally.

 

[In Search of Username]

I really dislike this game so far. The graphics are nowhere near as impressive as people are saying, and the art design is totally bland. The characters, though not awfully voice-acted (again, I wouldn't say the voice acting is exceptional), are made unbearable by the unbelievably cheesy script. And the moral choices feel SO unbelievable, I went from being a carefree skater kid to a mass-murderer within minutes and the brother character seemed to feel a lot more conflicted about the former than the latter. Add to this the sound, which, while okay, seems to be mixed all wrong, with the music being far too quiet and all sound fading out when you're near-death, which sounds awkward as hell. And the combat itself so far feels really, really clunky, as does the platforming.

Woefully disappointing, in short.

On the other hand, the other game I bought today, Ground Zeroes, was a fantastically polished and well-constructed game - I understand Jim's concerns over the price compared to the length, but hell I'd take it over a mess like this any day, even at the same price. Quality over quantity, and Infamous is definitely not that.

 

[Caiphus]

Hey, this review actually read like a 7/10 should, if it wasn't for my honed gaming community instinct to shun anything receiving less than an 85 on metacritic.

Meanwhile, on Gamespot, the poor reviewer is getting his shit pushed in for giving the game an 8. Poor bastard.

Edited because that joke probably wasn't funny.

 

[Thanatos2k]

The score is curious, until you figure out that Jim dislikes Infamous for some reason and gave the first Infamous a 6.

 

[james.sponge]

yay, ps4 is finally getting some worthy titles, excellent!

 

[Arppis]

Thank you Jim for this review. I was considering buying this game. Now I know not to waste my money.

While I like my PS4 a great deal, I hate the touchpad! I want my plain old boring select button back.

For those of you who wish to tell me how awesome the PS4 touchpad is... don't. I don't like the touchpad on my laptop and I bet you don't either. It's barely useful on a laptop, and it's even less useful on a game controller. There are lots of things that Sony does right, but this is not one of them.

Hey man, the touchpad is hardly used in this game. And it doesn't feel as forced as Jim makes it out to be. It's only used to drain powers and opening doors.

The game is great, been playing it whole weekend.

And suddenly, just like that, I want a PS4.
That gameplay during the review looked rather entertaining.

It's a great game. For me it has been worth it so far. Been playing it as much as I can.

 

[Yossarian1507]

Ok, just finished the "Good Karma" playthrough. I didn't touch Dark Souls II yet (although I should probably try to finish DS I first, I stopped after it kicked my ass so hard I couldn't sit for a week), and there's that second season of Walking Dead ongoing, and at least one game scheduled to launch this year should be great but... Damn, I think this will one of my main contenders for GOTY come the end of year. It's shorter than the previous games (2 islands instead of three, and only 13 districts overall. I don't know the topography of Seattle, but I assume it's because it was supposed to be similar to the actual city), but gameplay was greatly improved, and it made great series just that much more awesome. I thought that Smoke Powers are the most awesome things ever, but when I got Neon and (especially) Video, I hardly ever used it again (although, this is probably related to Neon and Video powers much more convenient to travel across the city). Nothing is tacked on, everything that is there, has a purpose, and it's to be fun.

The story - it's good. Nothing mind blowing, no plot twists that will make your jaw drop, but it's a solid story featuring really well written characters you can actually sympathize with (or despise).

From me, solid 9/10 and mark of approval. If you have a PS4 and you don't have this one... Well then why the eff did you bought this console at this point anyway? Go to your nearest game shop and buy it. This was a first really worth waiting for exclusive for any new console (I'm excluding Titanfall, because it's on PC as well), and it delivered. Definitely worth your time and money.

 

[mysecondlife]

SO how much of the last two games' story do I have to know about for this one? There are more than one Superhu- I mean "Conduit" since Cole McGrath? It's like some nutter was just giving away superpowers!

Anyway, between the two, I find the infamous series more appealing than prototype's, especially regarding main characters.

Very little. Cole McGrath is not even mentioned in this game. Nor his sidekick Zeke nor any of the other previous characters.

 

[SporkySpork]

SO how much of the last two games' story do I have to know about for this one? There are more than one Superhu- I mean "Conduit" since Cole McGrath? It's like some nutter was just giving away superpowers!

Anyway, between the two, I find the infamous series more appealing than prototype's, especially regarding main characters.

Very little. Cole McGrath is not even mentioned in this game. Nor his sidekick Zeke nor any of the other previous characters.

Actually, he is.

...If you have the limited edition, which gives you the Cole's legacy DLC, in which a certain character from the past games returns to directly speak to Delsin. And in another certain flashback at the end of the game, another character is mentioned via a stylized comic drawing.

I really liked Infamous 1 and 2, and I have zero interest in this game. After 2, I was pretty much done with Infamous gameplay, and this looks like exactly the same stuff, just with a sort of new city and shinier graphics (which incidentally got rid of the comic booky look of the original). I've played Infamous already. I want something new.

What comic booky look? The series has always leaned towards realistic looking visuals. Unless you're talking about the cutscenes, which are still there incidentally.

 

[mysecondlife]

SO how much of the last two games' story do I have to know about for this one? There are more than one Superhu- I mean "Conduit" since Cole McGrath? It's like some nutter was just giving away superpowers!

Anyway, between the two, I find the infamous series more appealing than prototype's, especially regarding main characters.

Very little. Cole McGrath is not even mentioned in this game. Nor his sidekick Zeke nor any of the other previous characters.

Actually, he is.

...If you have the limited edition, which gives you the Cole's legacy DLC, in which a certain character from the past games returns to directly speak to Delsin. And in another certain flashback at the end of the game, another character is mentioned via a stylized comic drawing.

I do actually. I haven't got around it. But my point is, you can get by playing the game without knowing the back story.

 

[Casual Shinji]

I really liked Infamous 1 and 2, and I have zero interest in this game. After 2, I was pretty much done with Infamous gameplay, and this looks like exactly the same stuff, just with a sort of new city and shinier graphics (which incidentally got rid of the comic booky look of the original). I've played Infamous already. I want something new.

Second Son isn't very good anyway. It's basically the first two games but without electric powers, grinding on power cables, blast shard hunting, EXP, or generally fun missions.

It also has this annoying habbit of giving you an entirely new set of powers with only the slightest variation. Which you then have to upgrade from scratch. So say you upgraded the primary "shoot-bang" attack of your Smoke power. Once you get the Neon power you get a nearly identical version of that primary attack, which you then have to pour upgrades into in order bring it up to par. It's totally pointless and feels like a desperate attempt to pad out the game.

It really feels like a game that was crunched out so that the PS4 would have a high profile exclussive close to launch. Just replay the first two games and actually have fun. That's what I'm doing.