PS3 Informer

Infamous Second Look Review

When I first heard of this new action 'Heroic Free Roamer' I was equally intrigued and skeptical about the game. Based on the description, I was expecting a shabby GTA and Crackdown cocktail with no ideas or depth. In essence, a badly formed fusion of the two. Upon finally getting an opportunity with the game my worries were completely obliterated. The idea is fresh, face paced and surprisingly feels familiar and comfortable, you feel as though 'Parcour' (free running) has always being part of your repertoire. The Karma System, stylized look and feel of the game was a surprise, setting Infamous apart from other less impressive open world games. Because of its importance to the world of gaming in 2009, I thought it would be worthwhile to take a second look at Infamous in this re-review.

The Story Goes...

The game starts with you in the middle of a city that has been destroyed by an explosion for which you are to blame. You work as a courier in and around Empire City and the last thing you remember is a parcel going off that you were trying to deliver. Now when I say go off, I mean 'Big Boomer' scales as an entire city goes into turmoil as a result of the
parcel. You are seriously injured, trying to get out of the fire blazed pile of rubble through screams of advice from the law hanging on for you to get back. After meekly hobbling across from platform to platform, things continue to go ever more wrong.

The task ahead and the land you have to conquer...

You awake in hospital which is where the game really begins to pull you in. You discover that the city you call 'home' has been put under quarantine. The city's dwelling residents have either become twisted evil versions of themselves or weak fodder for the higher members of the food chain. You then discover how you have changed and have somehow become stronger, more powerful than ever before with you having the ability [in various forms as you progress through the game] to use electricity as a weapon and a cool weapon at that!. The way to look at this is that electricity has become one with the main protagonist.

Gameplay

You live on an open roof top in the heart of Empire City with your old time buddy Zeke. Zeke is' cool and quite funny but you get the idea that he wants what you have, but if he had your powers he wouldn't know what to do with them. His relationship with Cole helps the game along nicely as it keeps the story grounded. There are several characters that get involved with Cole which make the tale twist and turn, his girlfriend Trish offers
the emotion, Dallas offers thoughts on you and flame bait for the ongoing resistance, Moya from the FBI from outside the quarantine twisting the knife forces you into various areas , John the NSA Agent is the tortured do-gooder, Kessler is the Gatekeeper and his other boss style figures and last but not least the Reapers make up the meal of the game. The games runs smoothly, (No loading times here, people) great boss battles and an upgrade system that hides playfully behind the explosions and direction of the game.

Cole soon discovers that his new powers come with a price. Water causes him problems, entering cars results in them exploding and he can't use firearms. Should you take damage to improve life and replenish powers you have to hunt down point of possible draining of electricity. Signs, lights, cars, fuse boxes anything that uses electricity is a tool for Cole. The powers he has are balanced as this new strength doesn't come
without their challenges. Something has awakened in Cole and he is determined to find out what the hell is going on. Armed with his new ability he feels that this is something he has to do. And such the story begins to unfold. The Rooftop is your base if you will and your returning point for rest and general banter with the Roof Mate. The game throws you straight in with the story being fast paced and easy to digest. Side missions are dotted in and around the city and are offered to you in a way that will suit all players, you can either crack on with the campaign or add the side missions as you go along. Adding them doesn't make the story feel alien but helps towards making the city feel alive and in trouble. People are being attacked, massacred, civil wars, prisoners being harvested, people dying from illnesses it's all kicking off and its entirely up to you how you deal with
each problem before you. They all interact with you and in some cases its really funny, people referring to you as a Punk and goading you to 'Puddum Up'. That said it's a great place to be for all its sins.

You start out getting to grips with Cole and the fluidity of his trickery. Moving around becomes an absolute joy, something like a game of Tony Hawk on foot: you can jump, flip, glide, switch up, balance on everything using rails and moving vehicles as further aids to get about.

A few missions in and you will find yourself popping some awesome combos which are simply to get you from A to B. The interactions with the baddies is a huge amount of fun, you find yourself flipping in and out of hordes of Reapers smoking them with your agility and moves, very much a fighting system that Spiderman should have. Cole can take tens of them out at once with a practiced player, the challenge to get stronger is what keeps you testing him, jumping off a building and whistling toward to ground, then
blasting it spreading the close quartered, foolish ones, jump back blasting the cars that surround enraging them and creating an absolute hellish form of carnage. Then up to the top of a Lamp, quick charge, back in with the a few electro bombs with side flipping towards a foe. When all of these elements come together, the game looks like nothing else I've seen. I mean really good there is so much going on but once you fully get
to grips with Cole you feel as though you are commanding the battle, the fights can get intense and are challenging.

In early fights you sometimes find yourself saying 'How can I make an impact on this battle?' and next thing you know you are stood in the middle of the aftermath, Cars on fire with alarms and sirens going off, Cole pulsing with electricity, after slaying the obstacle.

Cole is a joy to control, he is swift and surprisingly differs a lot depending on which way you decide to go. We have one of two styles:

Good Cop: You will be agile, precise and swift. Making good choices make Cole Sharp and you can literally pick and chose where you head shots go easier through making good choices.

Bad Cop : You will be loud and unfazed - He attacks are big as he cares not for who gets in the way - literally making him not care will show through his abilities.

It must be said that the choices you make will show through Cole's appearance. Be good and you will be a shining blue beacon of correctness. Be evil and you become a crooked smiling distant version of yourself with Red being your choice colour. I must add the darker side of Cole is by far the cooler. Making these changes is mainly a consequence of the Karma System Set pieces. An early example is a group of innocents gather by a
gate in which they all want to pass, to add it's a door which you need to pass, then the Karma System hits you, choose RED: you can start killing everyone causing a riot of panic and use this as your stealth smoke screen to pass through, or take this high road. Blue : fight the law alone whilst keeping out of the path of the innocents. This is a great feature that makes you feel a sense of responsibility for your actions, further in and you will come across People and Reapers in various predicaments: do you save them, drain them, kill them or electro cuff them, the choice is yours.

Eye Candy

Smart is the word that comes to mind. The city as it opens up to you is your playground, the height of some of the building is staggering, vertigo inducing at one point in the game. Buildings look run down and battle scarred but it's been done with a vision as they haven't simply gone gray and miserable. Along with this there is a time system in place so day will become night and in turn a day in the game will pass. Areas are all
worthy of a scuffle or two as whether open or tightly built up you will find a way to overcome the Reapers and Co whilst making it look good.

Sucker Punch have really gone out and been original here, with awesome Comic Styles and Stop Motion Strips, the visuals gently unfold the story with Cole McGrath [the lead character] offering you a husky narration of his version of goings on. The graphics are tight and detailed over a good choice of palette, motion capture, rag dollish physics. It's all in there, making you realize this game has layers to it. The downside here is there is a lot of pop up animation, however you will forgive the game because it's such a high quality adventure everywhere else.

The heart of the game is definitely the open path available to the player. I found hitting the rooftops gives you a better view, is faster to cover and is a good spot to plan your method of attack as a free fall can turn in a booming starting shot for the fights to commence. I really like Empire City and found it believable and organic. You don't enter buildings or use vehicles so there was room due to the storyline for developers to
focus on the main areas of the game. I never came across a plot and thought 'that cable is there simply for me to grind across', if you know what I mean. It just feels right.

Sounding Out

Sounding off is something that infamous does well and as a result atmosphere is a plenty , especially with the Sewer Levels. Boss battles look and sound epic and the voice acting is some of the best I've come across, nice and believable without the 'veneer of cheddar' we are sometimes presented with. Gritty but 'comic-esque gritty' is how they like
to roll. The narration is handled by Cole and his rasping vocals add to the feel it. The world is hustling and bustling, weapons and smashed sound good. The silence which is offered at various points act as more of a breather than anything else as the game is so busy at times. Overall there is some good work here.

And the verdict is...

I can't assign Infamous a perfect score due to some annoying technical glitches. Pop ups can get annoying when you hit a Train Track at speed and when you really push the button and take on army of Reapers the screen is sometimes victim to slow-down and frame rate issues.

This aside, I am still a huge fan of Infamous and judging by the noises we are hearing on the net, Infamous 2 is coming and if they eradicate these issues they could really conquer here and win everyone over. This is a game that should be enjoyed by everyone as there is a lot to recommend it. Infamous offers something different and definitely establishes the game design credentials of its maker, Sucker Punch.

I must admit my first run of the game I played the 'Good Cop' and I helped and healed and sacrificed myself as I went through the game. Do this and the locals will praise you, posters of you will be plastered everywhere hailing you the 'Savior of the City' Women will scream how they want to have your babies, It's a cool little feature and makes you feel aware of your every action. Infamous is a game that has earned the right to be in
the Top 5 PS3 games in my opinion. It offers loads of re-playability [excuse the street talk] despite Sucker Punch deciding not to go down the Multiplayer route, but it shows as the Single Player escapade is brilliant and thoroughly satisfying.

Ladies and Gentlemen, if you decided to give Infamous a wide berth then trust me, pop down to your local Games Shop and bag yourself a bargain and get hold of Infamous. it's a future classic and in my opinion a little gem of game. Great story, great graphics, great controls and best of all a cool character to get to know. Overall an original and entertaining game

- Well done Sucker Punch!!