inFamous

"Modern Day Heroics at their Finest"

STORY

Let me start off by saying the story is a notch better than your typical action game (Devil May Cry, God of War, Ninja Gaiden). It's quite comic book-like, not just in the presentation but the plot as well, which should come as no surprise.

That said, it was fairly well done for what it was. Sure, there were rushed moments and cutscenes I felt could have been done better. But overall, it ranks favorably against many other video game plots I've had to bear with. The comic book style cutscenes help, although they may not be for everyone. Same with certain moments in the plot. I'll leave it at that since I'm sure you wouldn't want the details spoiled for you.

It's not one of those MGS style plots with conspiracies and intrigue at every turn. Yes, there is a conspiracy involved, but on a smaller scale. Don't expect to be handed the details on a platter (for that, you have collectibles called Dead Drops). I'd say it's more character driven than plot driven, which is alright by me.

GRAPHICS

The graphics work pretty well for a sandbox style game. I noticed the lighting is particularly well done. Explosions are satisfying to watch, and the lightning itself makes for an interesting display (especially when you're calling down Lightning Storms).

The main characters, especially Cole, have a good amount of detail to them. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for NPCs. They could have definitely used some work, especially in the area of expression. Enemies are presented well but they're often masked so you don't have a chance to see their faces. Some of the more unique opponents house an impressive amount of detail.

I enjoyed the look of the city though the different islands could have used a tad more variation--just a tad. You'll likely encounter some visual glitching here and there, with some definite pop-in moments and clipping. That never actually bothered me in any case.

SOUND

The music of inFamous is mostly negligible. It'll occasionally play during missions but the tracks tend to be subtle and not all that memorable. A few exceptions include tracks for the finale and the credits.

The voice acting is serviceable for all the main characters, the cutscenes, and pretty much anything you'll see in the main plot. Sure, the dialog could use some tuning, but the delivery is done pretty well. Cole narrates most of the cutscenes, so expect to hear a lot of his Solid Snake spiel.

NPCs... oh dear. They definitely could have improved both their dialog and delivery. The Photographer mission guy (there's more than one, but I say this because all of them sound the same) might even make you laugh with just how silly his voice is. You'll need to hear it for yourself.

Sound effects do their job but aren't that remarkable. Don't expect them to go out of their way to immerse you in the aural experience like Dead Space.

GAMEPLAY

Hybrid of Star Wars: TFU, Assassin's Creed, and GTA? I'd say that's accurate. The developers sought to capture the feel of a modern day superhero, and as far as I'm concerned they accomplished their objective.

One of my initial concerns was that electricity alone wouldn't carry the title, but I was proved wrong. It's really impressive how they made electricity such a dynamic game mechanic. Everything in the city revolves around it, making the environment highly interactive. Nearly everything in sight has a purpose to serve, from acting as an electrical source, to being an environmental explosive, to acting as a ledge for Cole to grab onto.

Parkour in this game is impressive in its execution, and I'd say it more than makes up for the lack of being able to ride vehicles. You can travel around about as fast as any sandbox game by sliding along the roof lines or grinding along rail tracks. It's unique, and it works. Best of all, you can use it to your advantage in combat. Cole can climb any structure with ease, as I'm sure you've heard by now. This makes for interesting tactical possibilities. You can take the high ground and snipe foes one by one, slide along a rail while dropping grenades to the unsuspecting, jump from a high rooftop and thunder drop enemies below, or just get up close and personal with melee. If any of this sounds cool, it is. There's impressive variety in how you can handle missions, and none of the abilities (of which there are 16, not including good/evil variations) feel like throwaways.

Speaking of missions, most of them are appreciated. There's a number of various types including race against time, escorts (that DON'T suck), device-disabling, and of course all-out combat. Even so, they tend to repeat themselves often. Further mission variety could have gone a long way for a title like this.

Diversity and challenge in enemy AI can often make or break a game, and in the case of inFamous, the situation's half and half. There are three main enemy factions occupying each island, each having various sub-types of enemies as well as more exotic ones. While they do a respectable job of mixing it up for every mission, pushing for more foes is something that would vastly improve the gameplay experience. They are worthy opponents for sure, but you know something is lacking when a grunt with a rocket launcher tries to blow you up at close range, and all the enemies have near-perfect aim no matter where you are.

To put it mildly, the believability of enemy reactions is an area for improvement. Yes, they'll chuck a grenade at you if you're behind cover, which is an appropriate reaction. But often times the reason they'll challenge you isn't because of smart thinking. It's because of the sheer number of them and some borderline cheap programming. They always seem to figure out your position extremely quickly, and they always have unbelievable reflexes. That said, there's never an area in the game that feels impossible, even on Hard Mode. For me, it was more of a trial and error challenge than a skill based challenge.

Karma moments are a large part of what differentiates this game from other sandbox titles. Truth be told, almost none of these moments are subtle in their distinction from right and wrong—the path you need to pick is always clear. Moral dilemmas aside, there are various rewards in choosing both the good and bad paths. While your basic abilities remain the same, the little differences and the way the city reacts to you adds up for a distinct experience on each alignment. You'll want to experience both sides to get the full worth of the game.

LASTING APPEAL

A single playthrough of the game's main story is surprisingly short for a game of its genre, even if you do all the side-missions. I can't give out an exact figure since I did all the side-missions on my first attempt, but if I were to approximate a time without doing any side-missions, I'd say 10-15 hours for an average player to complete the game. A couple more hours if you choose to do the side missions, and even more if you choose to go the opposite alignment or try Hard Mode.

Aside from that, there are plenty of collectibles to keep you busy in the game's aftermath. 350 blast shards, the game's energy power-ups, are scattered all over the city, so finding them all should be an extremely time consuming process if you're that kind of person. There are also Dead Drops to collect in the city as well, which tell you some of the story's finer details and help fill in the blanks.

All in all, there's a solid amount of content in this game. Just don't expect RPG levels of questing, leveling, and collectible insanity.

CLOSING REMARKS

inFamous is a game that adds some interesting twists to the standard GTA formula. It has an action hero who is unique in his gameplay style, diverse and rewarding combat, and a pretty decent story to contemplate.

On the other hand, there are many areas where it could be polished further. Some spotty enemy AI and glitches hurt the experience a bit, but don't make it a horrible game by any means. If anything, it just means a sequel to a game like inFamous would be blast to play should it begin to correct these issues.

Props to Sucker Punch for a fine first attempt at modern day heroics.

Final Score: 8.5

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 06/10/09

Game Release: inFamous (US, 05/26/09)