PS3 Informer

InFamous Review

When we first caught wind of this game we had mixed emotions: the concept seemed to be genuinely creative, but how would the developers at Sucker Punch deliver such an ambitious product? We were scared that it would turn out like a bad mixture of GTA and Crackdown, with some electricity thrown in for good measure. Then the fateful launch day arrived and on first contact with this game, all of our fears were dissipated. InFamous is a game with its roots firmly in the comic superhero genre: it contains strong imagery and some exceptional voice acting to accompany the story, most of which involves a binary tale of good and evil.

The ground on which this story unfolds is very well designed [not without the
odd bug, but these are forgivable]. Everything in the world feels alive -- interaction and random comments make you feel that each character has something behind the eyes. They will cower before you should you choose to skip down the road of the dark side (the same road Akuma and Darth followed on many an occasion). Your powers and appearance will change to reflect the moral choices you make in the game. Should you choose to be a Good Chap, then things go the opposite way, which in both cases is very interesting and another reason to play the game twice (along with the trophies of course). The choices you make have an impact on the crowd if you will. Show them hatred and they wil run from you and shout the odd malice cover slur. Save them and they will love you - The public will take pictures, posters of you will appear around town and women will even scream that they want to have your babies (Cool strut not included).

The level design is slick and you will quickly get the hang of movement. At first
you move around as though you are playing a game of Hop Scotch, due to the lack of experience with Cole. A couple of levels in and you will be much more fluid and swift in your movements -- looking ahead and chosing flamboyant routes which can be seemlessly connected. Think Tony Hawks Pro Skater on foot and you get an idea for how this works with practice.

The lead character Cole is a troubled soul as he has some real issues to deal with --
waking up in a city that has been completely turned into hell, cordoned off with no
explantion offered. The City has totally become a breeding ground for the Darker
Side of life as they too have changed somewhat. The general public within the city
are more Prey than they are Citizens. They tale has depth and has the pull you need
to get involved -- meaning the more you learn the more you want to play. The Karma
System is refreshing and the game has some sizeable choices -- I chose to take to
Good Route first but with each one I did I ran the Dark Side Choice on my seperate
profile and found I giggled like ayoung School Boy everytime I chose the Dark Route. This touch adds to the emersion and gets you either thinking like a prestine
shining beacon of a Hero -- Chest out and everything -- when being a Goody Two Shoes, but has you slightly hunched rubbing your mitts together with a crooked smile everytime you perform a 'Me, Myself and I' trick, leaving the public to burn.

The Bosses and tasks set before you are fresh and dazzling and will have you quietly commending Sucker Punch for pulling off such a good game - the idea of being a Super Hero in a modern world with no Sensei or Master to show you the way is an idea which has been used before [Spiderman is one example] but its the way they have built the game that makes it work. They have created something here that I expect to be in the Charts for a while as it has diversity and the skill of making you say - 'Wow, I wonder why that happened?' which keeps you interested.

The lesser likeables are technical flaws - although inFamous is pretty the pop ups do offer a little annoyance and there is the odd bug here and there -- as a form of compensation however, there are NO Loading screens during this game at all. So, the transition is always smooth when charging through the game.

Overall inFamous is a cracking game that has come out of the rubble pretty much
unscathed. As a score I would give this an Nine out of Ten and say that is deserves
to be in any PS3 Owners catalogue. Great Views, Great Story, and surpisingly a real
easy learning curve when it comes to getting to grips with Cole.

A real refreshing and enjoyable piece of entertainment. Well done Sucker Punch.